Japan approves country’s first legal casino

TOKYO: Japan´s government said on Friday it had approved a controversial plan to build the country´s first legal casino in Osaka, hoping to draw tourists after years of wrangling.

The local governments of Osaka and Nagasaki in western Japan have long sought approval to build “integrated resort” (IR) facilities combining casinos, convention centres, hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues.

The Osaka plan, which aims to open the casino by 2029, was approved after “sufficient examination from various perspectives”, land and transport minister Tetsuo Saito told reporters. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida praised the move, saying the complex would help development in the region and “become a tourism base that will disseminate the charm of Japan to the world.”

Japan was long the only developed nation that banned casinos but passed legislation in 2016 paving the way to make the industry legal. And in 2018, parliament enacted a law allowing the construction of IR facilities.

Critics warn that approving legal casinos could worsen the country´s already significant gambling problem. “We have grave concerns about the decision,” a pair of NGOs that deal with gambling addiction said in an open statement to government officials.

The groups pointed to a surge in requests for help from young people addicted to gambling via smartphones and illegal online casinos, adding the public would be better served by stronger anti-addiction measures than the casino´s approval.

A 2021 government survey found about 2.2 percent of the population, or 2.8 million people, were affected by gambling addiction.