The former Defense Director of Japan’s Ministry of Defense, Michio Kitamura, has been nominated as Chairman of the Casino Management Committee – the regulatory body set to oversee the nation’s IR industry.
Kitamura was one of five individuals presented to both chambers of the Diet on Wednesday as nominated members of the Casino Management Committee, which will be formally established on 7 January 2020 with the task of overseeing the selection, licensing and general supervision of Japan’s IR industry.
The other four members presented to the Diet are former head of the Nagoya Regional Taxation BureauHiroyuki Kane, psychiatrist Michiko Watanabe, Keio University special professor Noriko Endo, and former police chief director Kenji Higuchi.
It is hoped that the Diet will approve the appointments of the five nominees before the end of the current session on 9 December 2019, although it is possible that opposition parties will object.
The Japanese government is set to publish a “basic policy” by July 2020 that will determine the criteria for the selection of operators of Japan’s IRs.
Local governments will then apply for a maintenance plan alongside their chosen operator. The national government will choose up to three locations nationwide, including two metropolitan and one regional.
