Japanese government moving to pass IR bill

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with the head of its coalition partner Komeito and made a commitment to pass the bill before July 22nd.

Japan.- The casino industry may be legalised in Japan should the House of Councillors pass the integrated resorts (IR) implementation bill. For that matter, the current Diet session has been extended until July 22nd and the ruling coalition is determined to pave the way for the segment to land in the country.

In order to reach its goal, Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Shinzo Abe met with Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of its coalition partner Komeito, in Tokyo and committed – once again – to pass the bill this month.

There is some opposition to several topics (such as problem gambling) that lawmakers are trying to address before passing the IR implementation bill. That’s why a draft legislation titled Basic Bill on Gambling Addiction Countermeasures was presented and discussed by an upper chamber committee and is expected to be enacted as early as this Friday.

Friday seems to be a major date for the potential casino legalisation as not only would the problem gambling issue be tackled but also the IR Implementation Bill is likely to be discussed at a plenary session, GGRAsia reports. Soon after, the bill would go to the Committee on Cabinet and may be finally passed by July 19th.