Photo/Illutration Visitors to a casino in Las Vegas in January 2019 play roulette. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Despite a recent run of bad publicity and continuing local opposition to casino-centered resorts projects, the central government is still planning to roll the dice on bringing them to reality in Japan.

The government set up a commission to manage such venues on Jan. 7 amid growing concerns about a bribery scandal involving lawmakers and a Chinese company hoping to operate a casino in Japan.

The commission will be an independent entity with a strong mandate, just like the National Public Safety Commission and the Fair Trade Commission.

The new commission, set up at the Cabinet Office, will be headed by Michio Kitamura, former head of the Fukuoka High Public Prosecutors Office, with four members.

The four are Hiroyuki Ujikane, former chief of the National Tax Agency’s Nagoya Regional Taxation Bureau; Michiko Watari, a psychiatrist; Noriko Endo, a professor of energy science at Keio University's graduate school; and Tateshi Higuchi, former head of Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department.

The commission will advise the land ministry over the basic policy of integrated resort projects, including casinos, which the ministry is now drafting.

The policy sets forth criteria for authorizing such projects by the central government.

After the policy is hammered out, local governments hoping to attract integrated resort facilities will flesh out details of their plans.

The casino management commission will later set more detailed rules concerning the facilities.

The commission is also expected to scrutinize the backgrounds of executives of casino operators and their major shareholders, including any criminal records and connections to anti-social forces, to determine if they are free of criminal ties.

Whether prospective operators also institute measures to address concerns over the gambling addiction of customers and possible money laundering will be important considerations when awarding licenses.