Crossbow possession banned in Japan after law revision takes effect
Crossbows can now only be owned for purposes such as shooting competitions or animal anesthesia, with owners needing to get a permit from their prefecture.
Poll finds nearly two-thirds oppose passage of casino bill; Cabinet's approval rating falls to 43.4%
Nearly two-thirds of respondents oppose the recently passed bill authorizing the opening of Japan's first casinos, highlighting deep-rooted public concern about gambling addiction and additional crime, a poll shows. The telephone poll conducted by Kyodo News over the weekend found that 64.8 percent of respondents ...
Green light for casinos offers jackpot to Japanese companies
Let the competition begin. Now that Japan has enacted a law outlining a road map for casino resorts, foreign operators from Las Vegas Sands Corp. to MGM Resorts International can start to seek out partners in their bid to tap a gaming market that may ...
Ruling coalition holds back on casino bill ahead of Niigata gubernatorial election
The powerful ruling coalition can simply force the fiercely contested bill through the Lower House panel, but that might have been unwise ahead of Niigata’s gubernatorial election Sunday.
Harsher penalty for rape, sweeping revisions in bill approved by Cabinet
The Cabinet approved a sweeping bill Tuesday that would impose harsher penalties for rape and other sex offenses, including the recognition of male rape victims for the first time. The measure, if passed by the Diet, will raise the minimum sentence for rape to five ...
Nippon Ishin no Kai bill targets gambling woes in bid to move casino policies forward
The opposition party Nippon Ishin no Kai is proposing new legislation to deal with problem gamblers, hoping to speed up the debate after a bill legalizing casinos in Japan was rammed through the Diet in December. The Osaka-centric party, which is close to the ruling ...
Even without casinos, pachinko-related gambling accounts for 4% of Japan's GDP
Even before Shinzo Abe's government opened the door to casinos in Japan, the nation's gamblers wagered ¥23.3 trillion on pachinko and related slot machines in 2015. Even though the market is shrinking as the population ages and finds other forms of entertainment, and the amount ...
Examining a year in the life of the country's Diet
When not trying to get elected, Japan's 700-plus Diet members (475 in the House of Representatives, 242 in the House of Councilors) conduct the weighty business of the nation. With the 193rd session of the national legislature under the current Constitution scheduled to commence ...
A law allowing casino gambling took effect Monday, prompting the government to promote the creation of "integrated resorts" that include hotels and other entertainment facilities. The law, sponsored by a group of lawmakers mainly from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, created controversy due to public ...
Diet group working to secure child visitation rights for divorced couples
It took 3½ years for a 41-year-old mother to be able to meet her 7-year-old daughter on a regular basis after her husband left home with the girl in 2012. Although she filed a complaint with a local family court, her husband stalled the hearings, ...
The Upper House passed a revision to the road transportation law on Friday that allows the fine for safety violations involving chartered buses to be hiked 100-fold to ¥100 million ($875,000). The revision follows a ski bus accident in Nagano Prefecture earlier this year that ...
