Millions of yen were allegedly transferred to Japan without a customs declaration by the Japanese arm of a Chinese company that wanted to enter the integrated resort, or IR, business here (See below), The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
According to informed sources, a former director of the arm and others are suspected to have brought in the money from overseas without declaring it to customs.
In connection with this alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law, the special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office searched the homes of former secretaries of Tsukasa Akimoto, 48, a Liberal Democratic Party member of the House of Representatives and a former Cabinet Office state minister responsible for IR issues.
The special investigation squad is investigating the case with an eye on the possibility of money having been illegally transferred in relation to the IR business.
According to the sources and other reporting, the company is headquartered in the Chinese city of Shenzhen and operates businesses such as providing online games and a sports lottery. The company's Japanese arm was established in Tokyo in July 2017 as an Internet-related company.
Around that time, the arm's former director and others allegedly brought millions of yen from overseas into Japan without declaring the money to customs, even though the amount exceeded 1 million yen, the maximum that can be imported at one time without declaration under the foreign exchange law.
The special investigation squad is looking into the case. Official registries list the former director as resigning from the arm this September.
In Japan, a law allowing casino gambling to promote IRs was established in December 2016, and full-scale moves toward introducing IRs subsequently began. The leader of the Chinese company participated in an IR-related symposium in Naha in August 2017, one month after the Japanese arm was established, to deliver a keynote speech and conduct other activities, demonstrating the company's enthusiasm to enter the IR business in Japan.
In January 2018, the leader, the former director and others visited the village of Rusutsu, Hokkaido, which aimed to host an IR. There, they met with people such as the village mayor and senior officials of a tourism company that operates a resort facility in the village.
On Dec. 7 and 8, the special investigation squad searched the homes of Akimoto's former state-funded secretary and former privately hired secretary, as well as other places in connection with the suspected violation of the foreign exchange law. The former secretaries responded to questions on a voluntary basis.
In addition, since Dec. 10, the investigation squad has received IR-related materials from the Hokkaido government and questioned senior officials of the village and others.
Akimoto served as a Cabinet Office state minister from August 2017 to September this year and was involved with IR-related and other issues. Akimoto talked about IR-related issues such as relevant laws and regulations and future prospects in a keynote speech at the Naha symposium.
The IR implementation law established in July last year allows casino resorts only in three sites in Japan. As of September this year, eight sites across the country expressed willingness or interest in hosting casino resorts. However, Hokkaido announced in November it would withdraw its bid.
The Yomiuri Shimbun sent a written request to Akimoto for an interview to ask about his relationship with the Chinese company's Japanese arm and other issues, but no answer had been received as of Monday night.
--Integrated resort
An integrated resort is a complex facility that includes casinos, hotels, shopping malls and international conference halls. IRs are positioned as a pillar of the government's growth strategy after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, and the first domestic IR will open in the latter half of the 2020s. Many overseas IR operators in the United States, Hong Kong and other countries have expressed their desire to do business in Japan.
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