Opposition Motions to Delay Lower House Committee’s Vote on Casino Bill

June 12, 2018

Tokyo- The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and other major opposition parties submitted on Tuesday a motion to dismiss Daishiro Yamagiwa as chairman of the House of Representatives Cabinet Committee, in protest against his decision to hold on Wednesday a vote on the controversial bill to introduce casino-featuring integrated resorts in the country.

As the motion is scheduled to be put up for a vote at a Lower House plenary session on Thursday, the committee's vote on the bill will come on Friday, at the earliest.

But chances cannot be ruled out that the vote on the casino bill would be pushed back into next week, because the opposition camp eyes a no-confidence motion against land minister Keiichi Ishii, who introduced the legislation, informed sources said.

At an executive meeting of the committee on Tuesday, Yamagiwa of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party decided on the Wednesday vote under his discretion. Members from the CDPJ and other opposition parties reacted harshly to the decision claiming that the committee has not held sufficient deliberations on the bill, and walked out.

"More and more problems have been emerging in 18 hours of deliberations so far," CDPJ Diet affairs chief Kiyomi Tsujimoto told reporters. Forcibly holding the vote "means the refusal of the government and the ruling coalition to deliberate on the bill," she argued.

The LDP and its coalition partner, Komeito, are examining the idea of extending the current parliamentary session, set to end on June 20, by some 20 days to ensure that the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, passes the casino bill into law during the session.

Meanwhile, the ruling and opposition parties agreed at an executive meeting of the Upper House Cabinet Committee to start on Thursday substantial discussions on legislation related to the revised Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement among Japan and 10 other countries, excluding the United States.

The ruling camp proposed taking a vote on the bill on June 19, after holding discussions attended by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The legislation passed the lower chamber last month. Jiji Press