Reports just in are that the government of Japan has put in place new policies that discourage communication between the gaming operators and government officials in the country. The new policies state that any government official who wants to meet with any of the gaming operators should first make his intentions known by posting a notice of the meeting on the website of the government body he is representing.
Details on the notice should include the date and reason for the meeting. However, small details on the meeting such as greetings and short interactions should be excluded. Besides, the policies do not elaborate on what exactly short interactions are.
The sudden move by the government of Japan is in an effort to save face and to protect itself from any further embarrassment and try to restore its trust. Already, it has undergone plenty of criticism following the recent bribery scandal linking some Japanese politicians and 500.com, a Chinese gaming operator.
The scandal has not only ruined the reputation of Osaka and the country as a whole, but it has also impeded the growth of the gaming industry in the country. The growth that has been seen coming for a long time. Though it is suspected, as in not confirmed yet, rumors indicate that several legislators were involved in the scandal.
What is funny, however, is only one legislator who seems to be receiving all the heat and it is Tsukasa Akimoto. To be specific Akimoto is being currently faulted for receiving bribes of up to $34,000 from the Chinese gaming operator, 500.com. But even so, it’s hard to defy the logic he was alone in the whole scandal.
The company was seeking to be put ahead of its competitors in Japan’s Integrated Resort (IR) industry. Since Akimoto has been part of the team implementing the Integrated Resort development plans by the parliament, the Chinese hoped he would favor them and probably allocate them a chunk of the development plans.
Akimoto was first arrested last year on Christmas day and later released under unclear circumstances. According to a news piece appearing in calvinayre.com, is that last week on Tuesday, he was arrested a second time. This time he was facing two charges; accepting bribery from the police and suspicious activity some years back.
The government of Japan has not been the only one losing sleep over the scandal. Ichiro Matsui, the mayor of the City of Osaka, has been worrying day and night over the issue. He fears the scandal might spill over to his city which already has tried its best to build a good reputation for itself.
Osaka has been on the frontline of adopting the new IR development plans. So far, it has hosted one of the first three IRs in Japan.
Earlier in the month, Matsui stated that any meeting that could have consequences should be avoided at all costs. He further explained that even politicians had to take responsibility for their own actions whenever they erred.
