For trainee dealer Taichi Yahagi, the odds of making a better living turning cards at a baccarat table in Tokyo are looking up.
The 41-year-old tutor paid about $5,000 for a three-month course at the Japan Casino School, betting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will succeed in his push to allow gaming houses to be built in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Discussions on the bill to legalize casinos started in May, with debate to resume in the Diet's autumn session.
"I probably wouldn't have enrolled in the casino school unless the Olympics were coming," said Yahagi, whose work teaching kids has dwindled given Japan's low birth rate. "We need foreigners to visit for the games and spend money at casinos. Otherwise, Japan's economy won't pick up at all."