The General Assembly of International Sightseeing Industry Development Diet Member Association—known informally as the “IR and Casino Diet Member Association”—approved a measure that would permit any casino in Japan to charge an entry levy for Japanese citizens who wanted to gamble. The edict is modeled after the Singapore statute that requires citizens and permanent residents to pay S0 (US) or S,000 annually to visit the casinos in that island nation.
While the committee is not a formal group associated with the Diet, the legislators, public officials and businessmen are likely to frame the debate when it is officially considered.
According to Tokyo-based consultancy Gaming Capital Management, the purpose of the session was to explain the outlines of an enabling law to allow casino gambling in Japan. The House Legislation Bureau of the Japanese Diet is drawing up a bill that will be introduced at a later date.
The chairman of the committee, Issei Koga, of the Democratic Party of Japan, said neighboring countries, such as South Korea and Taiwan, are considering the legalization of gaming via integrated resorts, and Japan cannot be left behind.
