不能光靠中國人爆買 日本打算解禁博彩業
TOKYO — Japan is set to deal itself into the multibillion-dollar casino industry.
東京——日本打算進入數以十億美元計的博彩行業。
Lawmakers in the country this week cleared the way for the removal of a longstanding prohibition against gambling on blackjack, roulette and other casino games.
本週，該國立法者爲取消對21點和輪盤賭等賭博遊戲的長期禁令掃清了道路。
The legislation was passed by a crucial panel on Tuesday and was expected to be approved as early as Wednesday.
週二，這項立法得到一個重要審議小組的通過，預計將在週三早些時候獲得批准。
If enacted, as widely expected, it would complete an effort to make Japan attractive to gamblers.
如果它能像廣泛預期的那樣得以實施，將實現讓日本吸引賭博者的目標。
For years, Japanese businesses and the tax authorities have watched enviously as vast sums have poured into jurisdictions like Macau and Singapore, which have built sparkling casino resorts catering to international gamblers, especially those from China.
多年來，日本的商業和稅收當局羨慕地看着大量金錢流入澳門和新加坡等地區，那裏修建了絢麗的賭場度假區，迎合國際賭博者的需求，尤其是中國的賭博者。
Japan is experiencing its own boom in Chinese tourism, and it sees casinos as an added way to cash in.
日本正從中國旅遊業中實現自己的繁榮，它把賭場視爲增加收入的新方法。
Estimates of the potential size of the industry have ranged as high as $40 billion a year.
對該行業潛在規模的估計有的甚至高達每年400億美元。
International casino operators see a chance to profit, too.
國際賭場運營者也看到了商機。
The last time Japanese legislators took up the issue, in 2014, Sheldon G.
日本立法者上次在2014年提出這項議案時，拉斯維加斯金沙集團(Las Vegas Sands)的首席執行官、億萬富翁謝爾登•G•埃德森(Sheldon G.
Adelson, the billionaire chief executive of Las Vegas Sands, said his company would be willing to invest as much as $10 billion to develop a casino resort in the country.
Adelson)表示，他的公司願意在該國投資高達100億美元，開發一個賭場度假村。
For the investment community, Japan is seen as the crown jewel of Asian gaming development outside of Macau, said Grant Govertsen, a research analyst at Union Gaming,
在投資界，日本被視爲澳門之外亞洲博彩業發展皇冠上的明珠， 聯合博彩集團(Union Gaming)分析師格蘭特• 戈弗森(Grant Govertsen)說。
an investment bank focused on gambling.
聯合博彩集團是一家專做博彩業的投資銀行。
The most recent major market in Asia to legalize casinos was Singapore, which approved the introduction of two casino hotels a decade ago.
在亞洲，最近一個讓賭場合法化的主要市場是新加坡，它在10年前批准設立了兩家賭場酒店。
With casino revenue of about $3.5 billion last year,
去年，新加坡的賭場收入約爲35億美元。
Singapore, a Southeast Asian city-state, ranks as the second-biggest market in Asia behind Macau.
在亞洲，這個東南亞城市國家是僅次於澳門的第二大博彩市場。
The Japanese market, with its large and affluent local population, could be even bigger.
日本市場可能更大，因爲這裏人口更多，更爲富有。
It would be shocking if Japan doesn’t become the No.
戈弗森說，一旦這些大型賭場度假村開業， 如果日本沒有在一夜之間成爲亞洲第二大市場，我會非常意外。
2 market in Asia on an overnight basis once big resorts open, Mr Govertsen said, adding that the exact size of the market is difficult to gauge until regulatory elements, like the number and location of licenses, are known.
他還說，在相關的監管規定出臺之前——比如審批的數量和地點——很難估量該市場的具體規模。
Uncertainties remain, even if the law passes.
即使法案得以通過，此事也仍存不確定性。
The first casinos would take years to license and build, and competition is already stiffening.
第一批賭場將需要花費數年時間獲得審批和修建，而競爭本身已經非常激烈。
Newer industry players like South Korea and the Philippines, chasing the same Chinese cash, are building big resorts of their own.
韓國和菲律賓等該行業新生力量也在追逐中國的金錢，修建他們自己的大型度假村。
China itself is under a cloud, as its breakneck pace of economic growth slows and as the authorities in Beijing seek to tighten control over outflows of money from the country.
中國本身則處境艱難，因爲它快速的經濟發展開始放緩，而且北京當局試圖加緊對資金外流的控制。
The scheduled vote comes as Japan looks for new sources of economic growth.
在該立法即將得到表決之時，日本正在尋求新的經濟增長點。
Tourism is emerging as a newly powerful force in the country, where the economy has traditionally been geared more toward exporting cars and other manufactured goods than importing pleasure-seeking visitors.
旅遊業正成爲該國的一股強大的新力量，儘管其經濟在過去主要依靠出口汽車等製造產品，而非吸引玩樂的遊客。
More than 20 million foreign tourists have made trips to Japan this year, triple the number from a decade ago, many from China’s swelling middle class.
今年， 日本接待了2000多萬外國遊客——這個數字是10年前的三倍——其中很多是中國不斷壯大的中產階級。
The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hopes the boom will ignite broader economic growth and make up for dwindling competitiveness in other industries — some of which, like consumer electronics, are now dominated by China.
安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)首相的政府希望該行業的繁榮會促進更廣泛的經濟增長，彌補該國在其他行業中逐漸減弱的競爭力——其中一些行業，比如消費電子產品，現在由中國主導。
An end of the prohibition on casinos would not mean that anyone could build the next Caesars Palace in Japan.
賭場禁令的取消並不會意味着，任何人都能在日本修建下一個凱撒宮(Caesars Palace)。
At first, licenses would be granted to two or three so-called integrated resorts — which combine casinos with hotels, conference halls and shopping centers — in major cities.
一開始只會在大城市批准兩三個所謂的綜合度假村——它們將賭場與酒店、會議廳和購物中心結合起來。
Rules governing the bidding and licensing process, as well as the regulation of the casinos themselves, would be detailed in a separate law next year.
競標和審批過程的規則以及賭場本身的管理規定將於明年在另一部法律中詳細說明。
Actual gambling is unlikely to begin before 2023, several analysts said.
幾位分析人士稱， 2023年之前，賭場運營不大可能真正開始。
Takashi Kiso, chief executive of the International Casino Institute, a consultancy that has been advising would-be entrants into the Japanese market,
國際博彩研究所(International Casino Institute)首席執行官木曾隆(Takashi Kiso)表示，賭場的所有權形式很可能會是國際博彩集團和日本公司組成的合資企業。
said ownership would probably take the form of joint ventures between international gambling groups and Japanese companies.
該諮詢公司已經在爲打算進入日本市場的幾家公司提供諮詢。
MGM Resorts, Wynn Resorts and other large operators have also expressed interest, in addition to Las Vegas Sands.
除了拉斯維加斯金沙集團，美高梅國際酒店集團(MGM Resorts)和永利度假村(Wynn Resorts)等大型博彩公司也表示有興趣參與。
Looking at the debate in Parliament, there’s a lot of resistance to the idea of 100 percent foreign-owned casinos, so that is probably off the table, Mr Kiso said.
從國會的辯論可以看到，很多人反對設立全外資賭場，所以那很可能不在考慮範圍之內，木曾說。
Some forms of gambling are already legal in Japan.
在日本，博彩業的某些形式已經是合法的。
The country allows betting on horse, bicycle and boat racing, and it has a publicly run national lottery.
該國允許對賽馬、自行車和賽艇比賽下注，還有一個公開發行的全國性彩票。
Pachinko, a derivative of pinball played at thousands of noisy parlors around the country, has a gambling element that is technically illegal but is universally tolerated by politicians and law enforcement.
日本各地成千上萬家嘈雜遊樂廳裏玩的日式彈珠遊戲含有賭博成分，從嚴格意義上講，它是違法的，但是得到了政治人士和執法者的普遍容忍。
Japan has been debating whether to legalize casinos since at least 1999.
日本至少從1999年開始討論是否應該讓賭場合法化。
A bill similar to the one passed on Wednesday made progress in Parliament two years ago but never made it to a vote.
兩年前，一個與週三通過的法案類似的法案在國會取得進展，但最終未能投票。
Some lawmakers balked at the potential social problems caused by casinos.
有些議員擔心賭場可能會造成一些社會問題。
Among those opposed was Komeito, a Buddhist political party that is a junior partner in the governing coalition.
反對者包括佛教政黨公明黨(Komeito)，該黨是目前的執政聯盟中的小黨。
Multiple opinion surveys have shown that more Japanese voters oppose legalizing casinos than support the idea.
多項民意調查顯示，日本選民中反對賭場合法化的人更多。
Since 2014, Mr Abe’s party, the Liberal Democrats, has strengthened its hold on Parliament.
從2014年起，安倍的自民黨(Liberal Democratic Party)加強了對國會的控制。
It is now less reliant on Komeito and has found a new ally on the casino issue in Nippon Ishin no Kai, a small, right-leaning party with a support base in the western city of Osaka.
它現在對公明黨的依賴程度降低了，並在賭場問題上找到了一個新盟友——
Nippon Ishin no Kai has been lobbying for one of the first casinos to be built there.
右傾的小黨日本維新會(Nippon Ishin no Kai)，該黨的大本營在西部城市大阪，曾經遊說要將那裏列爲首批賭場的地點之一。
