Japanese Government to delay national IR development schedule
Four opposition parties have submitted legislation for repeal of casino IR
An anti-casino political storm has been gathering in Japan following all kinds of accusations over the 500 Dot Com bribery scandal, which has also drawn much public anger over the Abe government’s gambling policy.
Reports predict a probable delay to the national IR development schedule that the Government has tried to railroad through, with maybe a complete reversal of the legalization of casino gambling. Earlier in the week, four opposition parties submitted legislation on the first day of the Ordinary Diet Session calling for repeal of the 2016 IR Promotion Act and the 2018 IR Implementation Act.
While it is extremely unlikely that the Abe government will accept this opposition legislation, they do seem to be coming around to the conclusion that they can no longer simply brush off the widespread objections and will need to make a national policy response to the bribery scandal. This may include the formulation of policies restricting contacts between IR operators and certain government officials, which currently don’t exist.
The Japan Tourism Agency announced last November that local government proposals for the three available IR licenses would be accepted from January 4 through July 30, 2021. It is unclear at this juncture whether or not the government will be sticking to this timeline.
However, what seems certain is that the expected IR Basic Policies that were to be issued this month by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism will not be forthcoming anytime soon.
