Japan’s Constitutional Democratic Party held the first meeting of the Casino Problem Countermeasures HQ on 12 January where it confirmed it would cooperate with relevant regions regarding opposition to various IR bids.
The Kanagawa Prefecture chapter of the Constitutional Democratic Party is working to enact an ordinance to hold a referendum on Yokohama city’s intended IR bid and has carried out a petition campaign along with residents groups who oppose the IR project. It made a request for the ordinance but the proposal was rejected at a plenary session of the city council on 8 January.
Yokohama mayor Fumiko Hayashi voiced her opinion in opposing the referendum, stating it “would be pointless”and that “representative democracy is functioning soundly.”
In response to this, Yukio Edano, Head of the Countermeasures HQ, said, “The mayor and the council are acting as if they might ignore this. Representative democracy is not a carte blanche mandate.”
The group’s website declares this to not be a Kanagawa-only problem as there had been moves for an IR bid by Tokyo after the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election. It also says the Countermeasures HQ had been set up in response to a need to act as a party, calling for establishment of a nationwide movement.
Inside Asian Gaming asked the Constitutional Democratic Party for more details on exactly what it means by “moves toward a Tokyo IR bid after the election (to be held in July this year)” but did not receive a clear answer.
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