Japan’s ruling party gives up again on bill legalizing casinos—for now

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party has decided not to pursue the bill that could pave the way for legal casino operations in Japan, at least until the next Diet session. The reason: LDP’s coalition partner is still on the fence on gambling.

During last year’s ordinary legislative session, LDP and two other parties jointly introduced a bill to legalize casino operations but the proposal was carried over to 2015 after LDP decided to prioritize passing the more pressing national security bills last September.

Now, an LDP member told Jiji Press they are giving up “again for this session.” Why? Because the ruling party wants to avoid a conflict with coalition partner Komeito ahead of the upcoming Upper House election in summer.

“The problem is whether an accord can be reached between the LDP and Komeito,” another LDP lawmaker told the news outlet.