Japan Policy & Politics: Reform minister Ishihara proposes casino scheme

TOKYO, April 30 Kyodo

Nobuteru Ishihara, state minister in charge of administrative and regulatory reforms, proposed legalizing casinos to stimulate the economy at a recent key government panel meeting, according to minutes released Tuesday.

During last Wednesday's meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy to discuss the creation of drastically deregulated ''special zones,'' Ishihara proposed setting up a ''casino zone'' to improve sentiment in local communities.

Ishihara, a son of Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara known for advocating legalized casinos, attended the meeting on an ad hoc basis, as he is not a member of the council headed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

His proposal was fully supported by Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of Toyota Motor Corp. and a private-sector council member, who said Okinawa and Shikoku Island would be good places to introduce the scheme.

Building a casino in Shikoku Island might increase the use of the money-losing Honshu-Shikoku Bridges linking Japan's main island of Honshu and the southwestern island of Shikoku, which could lead to the privatization of bridge operations, Okuda was quoted as saying.