IR Corruption Case: Chinese Company Asks Akimoto to Expand IR Development Area

IR Corruption Case Chinese Representative Requests Representative Akimoto to Expand IR Development Area December 27, 19:44

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IR = A bribery Chinese company adviser asked Akimoto to increase the number of IR maintenance areas from February to March last year in a corruption case in which Representative Akimoto was arrested over the business of an integrated resort facility. I learned from interviews with the people involved. At the time, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito Party were in opposition over the number of maintenance areas within the ruling party, and the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors' Special Investigation Division hoped that companies would make it easier for them to enter the IR. We are elucidating the actual situation as if we had passed it.

Mr. Akimoto, 48, a member of the House of Representatives who was a deputy minister of the Cabinet Office in charge of IR and other matters, received a bribe of 3 million yen in cash in September from a Chinese company seeking to enter IR. In February of last year, he was suspected of bribery, claiming that he had received about 700,000 yen in profits from a family trip to Rusutsu Village in Hokkaido.

A Chinese company aimed to enter the IR in Rusutsu-mura, but Masahiko Konno, a 48-year-old counselor who was arrested for alleged bribery, improved IR from February to March last year. Interviews with stakeholders revealed that he had requested Representative Akimoto to increase the number of areas as much as possible.

Regarding the number of IR development areas in the country, the working teams of the LDP and Komeito were discussing the submission of a bill for IR development at that time, taking into consideration the LGUs that LDP is trying to attract. The Komeito party, which emphasizes gambling addiction, argued that "at least four to five places", and disputed that the government should limit the number of places to two or three.

Last April, the two parties finally agreed to limit the number of maintenance areas to three, but Chinese companies have since continued to work with the Deputy Minister's Office of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism together with the chairman of the village of Rusutsu. I was meeting with Representative Akimoto.

The Special Investigation Department hopes that Chinese companies will make it easier for them to enter the IR, and is working to elucidate the actual situation, assuming that they had given bribes to Representative Akimoto.

Akimoto told NHK before the arrest, "I have never received any petition or provided any convenience from a Chinese company. How can I do this before the IR law is enacted? And strongly denied involvement in fraud.

Flow of discussion on IR framework

IR including casino = How many integrated resort facilities will be established in Japan? We have summarized the flow of the discussion about the "frame".

The House of Representatives Cabinet Committee on December 2, 2016, which was chaired by Representative Akimoto.
In deliberation of a bill to promote IR development, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party said, "In the development of IR in Japan, the number of areas will start from a few at first, and if the desired local government comes out gradually, the number will increase. We are thinking of a direction to increase the number of people. "

After that, the IR Maintenance Promotion Law was enacted on December 15, 2016. After the enforcement of the law, to prospect within one year, it has been required to perform a specific regulation legislation that incorporates such as the casino of management skill in the art.

Following the government's plan to submit a bill for IR development, the LDP and Komeito working teams discussed how casino regulations should be regulated, including the number of IR development areas in Japan, last March. To do.

LDP insisted on "at least 4 to 5 places" in consideration of local governments working on attracting, while Komeito, which emphasizes gambling dependence measures, limits it to "2 to 3 places" Opinions were disputed.

On April 2, last year, the Liberal Democratic Party approached the Komeito Party, and the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito Party agreed to review the number of maintenance zones three years later, seven years after the first zone recognition.

For the time being, a bill to improve the IR, which covers up to three areas nationwide, was approved by the Cabinet on April 27 and passed on July 20, last year.

Rusutsu-mura, Hokkaido executive "I was told it would be the fourth"

A senior executive from Rusutsu-Mura, Hokkaido, which had been considering investigating IR since 2014, told an NHK interviewer, "When I spoke with an IR expert several years ago," Nationwide in Yokohama, Osaka and Nagasaki. Rusutsu will be the fourth. ”However, I have never talked with Hokkaido about the number of IR maintenance areas."

Expert "Fighting battle in a narrow frame"

IR = “International Casino Research Institute” who is familiar with integrated resort facilities Takashi Kiso said, “As major casino operators around the world aim to enter IR in Japan, the start was delayed and casino management experience was small. 500 dot-com was in the "inferior" situation, and we expect that if the number of maintenance areas increases, the possibility of selecting small and medium-sized businesses and local cities will increase the "frame" of IR. "

He said, "At that time, 500dotcom was trying to find a way to expand its business overseas, as its business in China was restricted, and many casino operators are fighting fiercely over narrow boxes. So, you might have tried to rely on a politician in charge of IR. "