Ruling camp likely to allow 3 casinos to open

March 31, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, Komeito, are expected to agree on a plan to allow three casinos initially to be launched across the country under a planned law, informed sources said Friday.

The agreement will represent the LDP's concessions to Komeito, which has been calling for limiting the number of casinos to two or three due to concerns over gambling addiction. The LDP has suggested that at least four or five casinos should be allowed.

The ruling parties plan to hold a meeting on Monday in which they aim to reach an agreement on the matter and other issues related to legislation designed to introduce casino-featuring integrated resorts in the country.

At their meeting on Friday, the LDP and Komeito failed to narrow their differences, giving up their goal of concluding their talks on the legislation by the end of March.

An increasing number of LDP members have called for accepting Komeito's request to limit the number of casinos to two or three on condition that related regulations are reviewed earlier than currently envisaged.

Takeshi Iwaya, a representative of the LDP, told reporters that the party may reconsider its opinion on the number of casinos if Komeito makes concessions in return.

Komeito is expected to support the LDP's call for an early review of casino regulations.

The two parties initially considered a plan to review regulations after five years from the opening of the first integrated resort.

They are now likely to adopt a plan to review regulations effectively two or three years after the launch of the first resort, the sources said. Jiji Press