A revised version of the soccer lottery bill was approved March 17 by an Upper House panel, bringing the lucrative but controversial sports promotion legislation one step closer to enactment.
In the vote by the Upper House Committee on Education and Science, a majority of the panel members supported the bill. Members from Komei and the Japanese Communist Party opposed it.
The revised bill, which is expected to be approved by the full chamber March 20 during a plenary session, will then be immediately returned to the Lower House for the revisions to be approved.