Japan May Legalize Casinos This Fall

For many years, a bill to legalize land-based casinos in Japan was deadlocked in the country’s bicameral legislature, the National Diet, despite strong support from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

The LDP, along with other minority parties, for years supported the bill referred to as the Integrated Resorts Promotion Bill in hopes to provide funds to the country’s budget. However, despite some small momentum, they were unable to push the bill into law due to resistance from the Buddhist-backed party Komeito, who has been adamant about prohibiting gambling in the country due to social concerns.

The issue was at hand until recently. With Komeito part of the leading coalition, the LDP was unable to secure a majority on the Diet without support from the minority party.

Despite this, during the most recent elections in July 2016, the political landscape in Japan changed. For the first time since 1989, the LDP secured an outright majority of the Diet and no longer required Komeito as part of the coalition.

In a meeting Friday, the Parliamentary Affairs Committee will set forth an agenda for an extraordinary session of the Diet for this September through November. The Financial Times reported …

continue reading in source www.pokernews.com