Discussions of the Japanese Integrated Resorts Implementation Bill will probably start in the local House of Councillors as early as next week. According to media reports, the upper chamber in the Japanese Parliament would not start discussions on the new casino expansion bill before next week, which basically means that the extension of the ongoing parliamentary session would be inevitable, as it is normally set to close on June 20th.
Initially, media reports said that the discussions of the casino gambling bill in the upper house could begin by the end of this week. However, on Tuesday, a number of opposition parties submitted a petition to dismiss the House of Representatives Cabinet Committee’s Chairman Daishiro Yamagiwa. The Committee deals with matters which are considered by the national cabinet, including the Integrated Resorts Implementation Bill. The move against the Committee’s Chairman comes as a result of his decision greenlight a vote on the controversial gambling bill which is expected to officially open the Japanese casino market.
Now, the opposition parties’ motion against Mr. Yamagiwa is set to be put for a vote at a plenary session of the lower chamber on Thursday, which means that the Committee’s vote on the Integrated Resorts bill could be scheduled on Friday, at the earliest.
As reported by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, representatives of the Japanese opposition parties walked out in response to the ruling Liberal Democrats and Komeito’s proposal for the vote on the casino bill, saying that there had not been enough discussion on the measure. According to some reports in local media, opposition parties might try to disrupt the Integrated Resorts Implementation Bill progress in the Japanese parliament by filing a “no confidence” resolution against the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Ongoing Diet Session Could Be Extended to Mid-July
The Japanese lawmakers started discussions of the long-anticipated integrated resorts bill at a House of Representatives plenary meeting on May 22nd.
The proposed piece of legislation, which is set to establish a legislative and regulatory framework on so-called integrated casino resorts in the country, has already caused turmoil in the local Parliament. Previously, some members of the cabinet have shared their concerns that the opening of the casino gambling market of Japan is to lead not only to a sharp increase in gambling participation rates but also in the number of players affected by gambling addiction.
Now, the ruling parties will probably use their majority in order to dismiss the attempt of local opposition to block the vote on the proposed bill. The Committee on Cabinet in the lower house is expected to make an official resolution in terms of the Integration Resorts Implementation Bill, which means that the proposed piece of legislation could get the green light from the lower chamber on the same day. Then, the bill would be able to reach the upper chamber on the following week.
As previously reported by Casino Guardian, the ongoing parliamentary session could be extended beyond June 20th, as media reports on the matter say that as much as 20 extra days could be added to the current Diet session, with its ending date likely to be extended to the middle of July.
- Author
Daniel Williams
