Promising to address public concerns about the social ills associated with gambling, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe kicked off the inaugural meeting Tuesday of a government task force that will make recommendations on licensing and operating integrated resorts (IR) with casinos.

¡°The world¡¯s highest standards of casino regulations will be introduced, and policies to deal with issues like gambling addiction will be addressed,¡± Abe said during the meeting. ¡°This will create clean, Japanese-style integrated resorts.¡±

In the coming months, the task force will bring together lawyers, accountants, economists and political analysts to discuss licensing and operating issues, as well as financial and tax issues.