Ruling party’s Tokyo defeat may spell trouble for Japan’s casino push

Building a consensus to move Japan’s casino plans forward faces a new hurdle following the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) recent defeat in Tokyo.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s party lost nearly two-thirds of its seats—from 60 to 23—during Sunday’s election for the prefecture-level parliament of Tokyo. LDP’s coalition partner, Komeito, secured 23 seats, while the Tomin Party became the largest single part with 49 seats.

The loss has largely been viewed as a rebuke to Abe and the LDP, as well as their associated policies, including the push for integrated resort (IR) legalization.

“We believe the Tokyo defeat for the LDP, and by implication a weaker outlook for the LDP nationally, will make it incrementally tougher for PM Abe to push through his agenda, including the very contentious IR issue,” Union Gaming Securities Asia analyst Grant Govertsen said in a note.