Atlantic City vol.2

When I heard "Casino (Lift casino ban) Law" that Japanese government is promoting, I remember the story of Atlantic City. Thanks for making me recall the good old memory.
But for me, a casino sounds like a relic of the 20th Century. Now is the days million Dollars are trading on the Internet and people are gathering into the virtual reality instead of actual place, actual part and actual situation.
Under the bad habit of Japan's construction priority politics, the government wants to make a big project as handing in glove with major construction companies.
The government expects foreign investors and tourists. Meanwhile, they'll plan to set 60 Dollar entrance fee for Japanese to take a measure for gambling addiction. Quite masochistic law for Japanese taxpayer. So this casino law is for whom, by whose money?

Setting the bar of casino higher for Japanese must not for preventing gambling addiction in the politician's mind, but for removing the bad image against the law from people's mind.
In exact, the law called "Integrated Resort Promotion Law". After all, the lift casino ban is just tip of the law. More important part is behind it. It's a construction priority politics. The next big construction after the Olympic games might be Osaka Expo. Japan's government party want to get a freehand for all the construction under the law.

So it's better for the government party letting the people misunderstand that it is a law about casino. Because once they declare they will perfectly follow the gambling addiction issue, the objection must be weaken.
But think about it. If they seriously care about the issue, they must check Japan's current regal gambling, horse race, moto race, pachinko- slot machine ...etc.before all. There are much more patients of gambling addiction in Japan than most of the countries in the world. I don't know countries where you can play slot machine in downtown like Japan. But they don't mention it. I'm sure they'll never settled entrance fee of Tokyo race course in 60 Dollars. Japanese media doesn't mentioned it neither. Because for both of them the regal gambles are major sponsors.

Let's change the subject slightly. Recently I had chances to talk to the people who visited Japan. Some of them were repeater, came to Japan 3 times or 4.
The latest encounter was a young woman next to me on the flight from Narita. She had travel around for a week from Mt. Fuji area to the west, Kobe. Had plan to come to Japan just in full-blooming cherry blossom season. But she was little bit later. "Gotenba""Mishima" She pronounced some local city's name perfectly and showed me smartphone photos. Her figure in kimono on the photo. Then her snap eating takoyaki in the next shot. It's followed by table photo of beef stake in Kobe. What I impressed was she pre-researched the things more Japanesness. (Although it depends on personal taste what is more Japanesess. A guy whom I met in Europe said wanna hit the drums and dance in game center in Shibuya)
Another woman who attracted by Japanese culture is now frequent visitor for attending Japanese language class in Tokyo. Foreign skier and snowboarder knows Japanese snow condition much more than me.

Few years ago, the word "Baku-gai(means explosively huge shopping by foreign tourists,esp. Chinese )" become very popular among Japanese. Although Japan intense the country of hospitality, the word sounds quite unsophisticated. Anyway, if the government think the foreign tourists come to Japan just for spending money forever, it's a big misread.
They are much more matured than the government easily image. They are more core fan of Japanese culture and long existing cultural base of this country.

Someday when a weed grows on abandoned casino city in Tokyo bay, a free bus may runs from a corner of Yokohama Chinatown. I'm looking forward to take it. For the casino? No, for a seaside walking, of course.