Shimada’s appointment comes at a critical time for the gambling industry in Japan, as the country has been tightening its regulations regarding the gambling sector
Japan’s Casino Regulatory Commission has appointed Toshiyuki Shimada as its new Secretary General, effective from July 1. He will succeed Takuya Sakaguchi, who has held the position since July 2023.
Shimada previously served as the regulator’s Deputy Secretary General and also has experience in Japan’s Ministry of Finance. Under Japan’s legal framework, five key members of the commission’s senior executive team, including the Secretary General, must be appointed by Parliament. Typically, these members serve staggered five-year terms.
Since January 7, the commission has been led by Takafumi Sato, the former superintendent prosecutor of the Takamatsu High Public Prosecutors’ Office. Another recent addition to the commission is Junichi Kakimizu, who previously headed the National Tax College under the National Tax Agency. The remaining three current members are Michiko Watari, a psychiatrist; Hirofumi Kitamura, a former director of the National Police Agency’s Traffic Bureau; and Keiko Ishikawa, an economics professor at Nihon University. Both Kitamura and Ishikawa are currently serving ongoing terms.
