Japan mulls legalizing casinos to boost tourism
05.11.2009, 07:00
TOKYO Japan's ruling party is reportedly thinking of gambling as a way to grab a bigger piece of the global tourist pie.
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Quoting unidentified lawmakers, the Kyodo News agency reports the Liberal Democratic Party is going to encourage lifting Japan's ban on gambling parlors. If so, Japan would follow in the footsteps of Singapore, which last year reversed its decades-old ban on casino gambling.
Kyodo quotes one lawmaker as saying casinos could attract many tourists and help to boost the economy.
A subcommittee plans to produce an interim report in April that will outline possible legal changes and what gambling houses should be like if they are legalized.
The latest government statistics show more than five million tourists visited Japan in 2003. Japan wants to nearly double that by 2010.