Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAPAN FEB 2020 42 Rusutsu, Hokkaido, where 500.com was eyeing development of an integrated resort. 500.comが統合型リゾート開発のために注目していた北海道ルスツ JAPAN O n Christmas Day, Japan’s IR industry was struck a heavy blow when the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office arrested member of the House of Representatives, Tsukasa Akimoto, on suspicion of bribery in relation to integrated resorts. This was the first arrest of an incumbent diet member in 10 years. Akimoto has been accused of accepting compensation in the form of money and goods from Masahiko Konno, former advisor to 500.com – a Chinese corporation aiming to enter the Japanese IR market. The scandal goes back several years. In December 2016, the House of Representatives cabinet committee, chaired by Akimoto, passed the IRPromotionAct bill, and it was established in the diet. This was about 20 years after the Odaiba Casino Concept was first proposed by Shintaro Ishihara in 1999, who was governor of Tokyo at the time. The first steps on the yellow brick road to Japan’s IR industry had finally been taken. On 3 August 2017, Akimoto was appointed to the position of Senior Vice Minister of the Cabinet, in charge of IRs. The day after the appointment, an IR Symposium was held in Naha City, hosted by 500.com . Akimoto was paid a speaking fee of JPY 2 million (US$18,000) for this event. On 28 September of the same year, the House of Representatives was dissolved and Akimoto was reelected in the general election held in October. During that time, he was given JPY 3 million (US$27,000) by 500.com under the guise of “jinchu mimai”, which is a Japanese term for a gift for persons hard at work as a sign of support. Besides Akimoto, JPY 1 million (US$9,000) each was also given to five others, including Mikio Shimoji (Japan Innovation Party, part of Kyushu), Masahisa Miyazaki (Liberal Democratic Party, part of Kyushu), Takeshi Iwaya (Liberal Democrat Party, Oita District 3), Toshimitsu Funahashi (Liberal Democrat Party, part of Hokkaido) and Hiroyuki Nakamura (Liberal Democrat Party, Hokkaido District 4). All five were members of the non-partisan IR caucus that