Sometime this summer, Japanese lawmakers could award the country’s first casino licenses to development groups in Osaka and Nagasaki. But the man behind the country’s integrated resort (IR) legislation did not live to see the industry he envisioned become a reality.
The late prime minister Shinzo Abe, just 67 years old, was killed by a gunman as he was giving a speech on July 8. At the time of his assassination, Abe was on the stump for Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) candidates ahead of elections held on July 10.
IR legislation was a cornerstone of Abe’s administration, and in his view, a way to increase international tourism to the country. According to Inside Asian Gaming, Japan first seriously considered IRs between the first and second Abe cabinets, from 2009 to 2012. An IR Working Team convened in 2011, and led the conversation just as Singapore opened its two IRs, Marina Bay Sands (MBS) and Resorts World Sentosa.
The LDP swept back into power in December 2012 and the second Abe cabinet began. In 2014, the prime minister visited MBS and said, “I hope we can achieve the goal of increasing [foreign tourist visitors to Japan] to 10 million or 20 million by the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, and this type of facility will be key in Japan’s growth strategy.” IRs were a linchpin of the “Japan Is Back” growth strategy formulated by the cabinet that year.
In December 2016, under Abe’s third cabinet, the IR Promotion Act was established, and in July 2018, the IR Implementation Act was established under the fourth Abe cabinet. Japan was first seen as the next “Holy Grail” of gaming, but government-imposed restrictions on gaming space and locals participation dimmed its luster for some operators. Then came Covid, slowing investment in markets around the world.
In elections following Abe’s death, the LDP and Komeito parties increased their overall representation in Japan’s upper house to 146 seats. Both parties as well as the Japan Restoration Party included IR promotion in their platforms. The Constitutional Democratic Party and the Japanese Communist Party respectively want to stop casinos from being built.
Only time will tell if the vision of the leader mourned as “Abe-san” will come to pass, in the form of a vibrant, profitable and competitive IR industry.
