Economic reform-minded politician Sanae Takaichi won a “supermajority” in Sunday’s lower-house national election in Japan.
Ms Takaichi of the Liberal Democratic Party supports the policy of having integrated resorts (IRs) each with a casino as a form of regional economic stimulus for the country. She became in October Japan’s first female prime minister, before in mid-January calling a snap election to bolster her position.
According to the first Monday reports of the poll, she has gained a two-thirds majority in the 465-seat lower house of Japan’s parliament, the Diet.
The Japan Times reported that as of early Monday, results indicated that the LDP – on 198 seats before the poll – had won 316 this time, which the news outlet said would give it “a higher proportion of representatives in the lower house than any other party in postwar Japan”.
With its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, the bloc would have in likelihood 352 seats, “significantly expanding” its pre-election majority of 233, stated the Japan Times.
The news outlet said that Japan Innovation – a particular supporter of the IR policy according to GGRAsia’s Japan correspondent – increased its seat count by two, to 36, a proportionately much smaller gain than that for the LDP.
The opposition Central Reform Alliance, formed by the Constitutional Democratic Party and Komeito – the latter party a coalition partner of the LDP for a number of years up to October – looks to have secured 49 seats.
The casino policy is only one element among a number of economic reform initiatives that Ms Takaichi has promoted.
Japan’s Cabinet’s had in January proposed a timetable of May 6, 2027 to November 5 that year for a new application round for local governments interested in hosting an IR.
The sole fruit of a first-round process for IR applications – the JPY1.51-trillion (US$9.64-billion currently) MGM Osaka – is due to launch at the end of 2030.
On Thursday, the management of MGM Resorts International said on its fourth-quarter earnings call that MGM Osaka – being developed with Japan’s Orix Corp and other local partners – was still on track to open in 2030, based on construction progress.
MGM Resorts added that its 2026 funding commitment on the scheme would be approximately US$350 million to US$400 million.
Last month the governor of Hokkaido prefecture – a place thought to be a front runner to make an IR bid in the second round – called for Japan’s national government to “examine reasons” why the country’s first round generated a single successful candidate.
In December, officials in Wakayama and Fukuoka seemingly ruled out joining even Japan’s next IR application round in 2027.
