Japan government appoints Toshiyuki Shimada as Secretary-General of National Casino Commission

 Mr Shimada has been serving as a deputy secretary-general of the commission, being previously with the country’s Ministry of Finance. He will replace Takuya Sakaguchi, who had been in the post since July 2023, according to information reviewed by GGRAsia’s Japan correspondent.

Japan’s cabinet has proposed a budget of JPY3.71 billion (US$25.6 million currently) for the Japan Casino Regulatory Commission this year, showed official documents.

The commission consists of five members that need to be approved by the country’s parliament, the Diet.

Since January 7, the commission has been chaired by Takafumi Sato, who previously served as the superintendent prosecutor of the Takamatsu High Public Prosecutors Office.

Another newcomer to the casino commission this year was Junichi Kakimizu, a former head of the National Tax College under the National Tax Agency.

The new appointments were part of a rotation of commission members, who usually serve a term of five years each. The commission was established in January 2020.

The other three current members are: Michiko Watari, a psychiatrist; Hirofumi Kitamura, a former director of the Traffic Bureau at the National Police Agency; and Keiko Ishikawa, a professor of economics at Nihon University. The latter two are partway through their terms.

Earlier this month, Japan’s cabinet affirmed that the casino resort policy remained as a “top-level guiding principle” for the financial-year 2026 budget, with the initiative described as a measure to “promote sustainable tourism”.

To date, only one Japan casino resort – the JPY 1.27-trillion MGM Osaka, at Yumeshima in Osaka – has been approved by the national authorities. Its main promoters, MGM Resorts International – parent of Macau casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd – and Japan’s Orix Corp, are targeting a 2030 launch.

Japan’s legal framework allows for up to three IR licences to be issued.