Doubt has been cast over the prospect of Japan legalising casinos this year.

One of the Japanese Diet’s biggest gambling proponents, Sakihito Ozawa, now says odds of passage  this year are just 50 per cent. The problem is that there are just five weeks left in this year’s legislative session and the Diet has been preoccupied by other issues.

If gaming isn’t legalised this year, the proponents will lose some of their impetus, which is to have casinos open in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.