Only a week after being officially appointed as the latest Prime Minister of Japan and Fumio Kishida (pictured) reportedly told parliamentarians that the nation’s coming trio of integrated casino resorts will serve as ‘an important measure’ in helping it ‘to become an advanced tourism country’.

According to a report from GGRAsia, the 64-year-old bested a trio of rivals late last month to succeed the unpopular Yoshihide Suga and become the 100th Prime Minister of Japan. The source detailed that the Tokyo native officially took office on October 4 and is now set to lead his Liberal Democratic Party through the country’s next general election, which is scheduled to take place in just 19 days’ time.

Global goal:

In his first House of Representatives encounter as Prime Minister on Monday and Kishida reportedly disclosed that the three envisioned integrated casino resorts will help Japan to meet its aim of annually attracting up to 60 million foreign tourists by 2030. The leader purportedly stated that these Las Vegas-style developments are to aid this effort because they will feature not only large gaming floors but also hotels, family-friendly entertainment spaces and facilities to host meetings, conferences and exhibitions.

Kishida reportedly declared…

“Integrated casino resorts are an important initiative for Japan to become an advanced tourism country in the future. The various regional governments are currently preparing their integrated casino resort applications including risk assessments and we are proceeding appropriately with the necessary procedures such as the implementation of strict regulations on casinos based on the Integrated Resort Implementation Bill and other legislation.”

Financial fallout:

For its part and Inside Asian Gaming reported that Kishida responded to numerous critics by divulging that the coming casino-friendly developments are to moreover be tasked with taking measures to help prevent a rise in gambling addictions. This source explained that the former Minister of Foreign Affairs within the administration of past Prime Minister Shinzo Abe furthermore asserted that the facilities will have a positive ‘ripple effect’ on the economies of their host jurisdictions and lead to more jobs and improved economic prospects.

Chief candidates:

Although most gambling is currently illegal in Japan, the coalition government of Abe passed the Integrated Resort Implementation Bill in July of 2018 so as to initiate a program to license a trio of large integrated casino resorts. The large city of Osaka as well as the territories of Wakayama Prefecture and Nagasaki Prefecture have already selected their preferred operating partners, which is a requirement of the process, and are now preparing to submit their official bids to a panel of federal selectors in advance of an April 28 deadline.