As it continues to thrash out the specific rules to be included in Japan’s coming Integrated Resort Implementation Bill, the ruling Liberal Democratic/Komeito coalition government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (pictured) has reportedly proposed including a novel anti-addiction measure.
According to a Thursday report from The Japan Times newspaper, the lawmakers have recently suggested utilizing the integrated circuit chip inside government-issued My Number identity cards to limit Japanese citizens and all foreign nationals living in the country to ten casino outings per month. The plan purportedly calls for prospective players to be allowed only three visits over any seven consecutive days while a month would be defined as an uninterrupted 28-day period.
The newspaper reported that Liberal Democratic/Komeito legislators are moreover due to propose limiting the size of the gaming floor in any new casino to around 161,458 sq ft while stipulating that this area may not constitute more than 3% of a development’s total floor space.
Although most casino gambling is currently illegal in Japan, lawmakers from the conservative Liberal Democratic Party and their allies controversially ratified the enabling Integrated Resort Promotion Act in December of 2016. This piece of legislation via the Integrated Resort Implementation Bill hopes to help attract foreign tourists by legalizing up to four integrated casino resorts featuring hotels, shops and conference spaces at various locations across the island country.
The Japan Times reported that the government is now hoping to put its Integrated Resort Implementation Bill up for a vote before the nation’s 465-seat House of Representatives ‘by the end of March’ but is expecting stiff resistance from some Komeito lawmakers as well as members of the opposition Japanese Communist Party and Democratic Party.