Casino Bill Passed in A House

In the National Diet of Japan, reckless drive of Liberal Democratic Party goes on. A majority of lawmakers passed Integrated Resort Coordination Promotion Bill, or Casino Bill, in the Plenary Sitting of House of Representatives on Tuesday. Although the bill was discussed for only six hours in a committee in the House last week, Liberal Democratic Party promoted unilateral procedure in the House, without thorough discussion on economic impact or morality of introducing gambling in the name of tourism. The Diet does not work for checking and balancing between legislative and executive branches.

The bill was designated to set exception in the provision of Penal Codes of Japan, which prohibited gambling or lottery. “Coordinating integrated resort will contribute to promoting tourism or local economy,” told Chairman of Committee on Cabinet, Tsukasa Akimoto, LDP. Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga expected the law to enhance a slogan of being tourism country in his press conference on Tuesday.

Opposite parties protested. Lawmakers with Democratic Party walked out from the Chamber, when the Speaker, Tadamori Oshima, called voting. Although Japan Communist Party stayed in the Chamber and voted no, the bill was passed with approval of LDP, Japan Restoration Party and a part of Komeito. “Casino is place for gambling and produces nothing. It cannot be called a growth strategy,” told JCP Chairman of Diet Affairs, Keiji Kokuta. Even some lawmakers with Komeito, the coalition partner of LDP, called the legislation unpatriotic.

There are an argument that casino will produce a number of people who are addicted to gambling. The likeliest trouble of gambling is suicide, followed by divorce, missing person and excessive debt, as far as existing gambling like pachinko or horse race matters. While most people regard those negative impacts of gambling as a matter of character of gamblers, gambling addiction is recognized as an illness. Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare requested budget for caring gambling addiction for next year.

Different from horse race, casino is administrated private company. Even how the government works hard for regulating gambling coordinators, concern on involvement of criminal organization or international money laundering cannot be eliminated. A civil group against building casino delivered statement against the bill. “It is concerned that the law will produce gambling addiction or multiple debts and unlikely for the government to set regulation on it,” said the statement. Growth strategy based on unhappiness of someone is not popular.