When last Thursday’s meeting of the Liberal Democratic Party with the Komeito party ended, a disappointed Takeshi Iwaya, one of the strongest lawmaker proponents of IRs, told reporters that it was “impossible” from a scheduling point of view for the Cabinet to submit the legislation this month. It will have to wait until April or even later.
This creates a scenario that pro-IR lawmakers had hoped to avoid. The regular Diet session is scheduled to end on June 20, and it seems that the IR Implementation Bill could now start flirting with the deadline.
The two ruling coalition parties are currently far apart on their views about regulation of the IR industry. Many Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers favor looser regulation and they reflect views close to those of the major international operators. Komeito is much more skeptical about the entire IR project, and wants to see tough and tight regulation.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ongoing corruption scandals are also creating a drag on the schedule. The opposition parties boycotted most parliamentary sessions last week.
Source: GMB / AG Brief