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Japan A Gamblers Paradise
25 local government leaders have thrown their support behind lifting the casino ban. Britain is not the only one who saw the potential economic benefits of enticing foreign tourists to part with their money at the roulette wheel. The casino would make Tokyo "better for everyone" Shintaro Ishihara, governor of Tokyo, believed that a casino complex in Tokyo would create about 10,000 new jobs and revitalize the Odaiba waterfront district, which is the preferred site for the capital's first casino. As envisioned by Mr. Ishihara, the entertainment would include a 1,000-room hotel, restaurants and shops, creating projected revenue of 224 Billion Yen a year. The casino alone would bring in more than 90 Billion Yen a year, he said.
Attracting more tourists was only half of the appeal. Mr. Oiwane said, "The aim isn't just to attract more foreigners but to stop Japanese people from spending huge sums of money overseas in places like South Korea, Japan is the only country in Asia that bans casinos. It doesn't make sense. Even North Korea has one."
The pro-casino lobby says Japan is losing out to other Asian countries, such as South Korea and China, in the race to secure extra tourist dollars. Singapore has recently lifted its ban on casinos and Thailand is expected to do the same to challenge Macao's reputation as the Las Vegas of the east.
"The idea isn't just to build casinos but to develop huge entertainment complexes that include shops, restaurants and theatres to give tourists and business people something to do, apart from seeing all of the usual historical and cultural sites of course," says Takayuki Aoki, chief political aide to Takashi Iwai, a Liberal Democratic party MP who heads the party's subcommittee on casino entertainment.
They hope to legalize casinos during the current parliamentary session but last-minute changes and a packed legislative schedule mean they will probably have to wait until next year. Mr. Aoki said, "We haven't decided how many casinos would be built but it would be very few at first. We would give them a trial period to see what problems, if any, arise."
It will take them five years to train enough croupiers and other staff to deal with the influx of foreign tourist, from the time the bill passed. This bill will make Japan a gambler's paradise, said Masayoshi Oiwane, principal of the Japan Casino School in Tokyo.
Aside from the casino, Japanese can already bet on several sports, such as horse racing and cycling and play the national lottery - bringing the state coffers an estimated 7 Trillion Yen a year in tax revenue.
Friday, September 15 , 2006
Edward O'Connor