Japan’s lower house has voted to extend the current Diet session until 22 July in order to pass key legislation, including the long-awaited IR Implementation Bill.
The IR bill passed through the lower house on Tuesday but was in danger of stalling again with the standard 150-day Diet session originally due to expire on Wednesday 20 June. Those fears have now been allayed with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the leader of coalition partner Komeito, Natsuo Yamaguchi, agreeing on Wednesday to extend the session by 32 days.
Senior members of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan alongside those from five opposition parties had earlier this week expressed their opposition to House of Representatives Speaker Tadamori Oshima regarding any extension to the current Diet session but were told they had no legal grounds to stand on.
Passage of the IR Implementation Bill will open the door for Japan’s first casino resorts with three initial IR licenses to be offered. It is expected that two will be located in metropolitan areas and one in a regional location.