Like any country, Japan sometimes has laws that carve out what, from a distance, may seem like strange exceptions. For instance, “prostitution” is not strictly illegal; what is illegal is vaginal intercourse in exchange for money – which has led to the flourishing of a sex industry that offers every service right up to the line drawn by the law.
Likewise, casino gambling is illegal in Japan. Except for pachinko, the uniquely Japanese game that looks like pinball on steriods. Pachinko is made legal by an intricate system called the santen houshiki (三店方式; three-store system) that technically separates a Pachinko Parlor into three separate stores – a Pachinko Hall that converts pachinko balls into a premium ticket, an Exchange Shop that converts the tickets into money, and a Ticket Wholesaler who buys the tickets and sells them at wholesale prices back to the Hall.
【法律】日本でギャンブルは法律で禁止されているのに、パチンコが合法な理由【カジノ】 – NAVER まとめ
なんとなく知っている方も多いと思いますが、度々日本で「カジノを作ること」の是非が議論されるように、どのような形態であれ、ギャンブルは法律により禁止されています。… Link to Source
Traditional gambling casinos, however, has been forbidden from using this run-around because they’re classified as a type of game center, which is forbidden from using this convoluted exchange system. The reasoning has been that most gambling success is independent of the skill of the gambler, and/or is dependent upon factors outside of the customer’s control (the “house advantage”). Not that this reasoning has actually prevented problem gambling; to the contrary, a 2017 survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare estimated some 3.2 million Japanese citizens, or around 3.6% of the population, have struggled with gambling dependence (JP link) The majority of the afflicted are men, and the overwhelming majority of them spent their moolah on pachinko. Compared to other countries, that number is strikingly high.
The government of Prime Minister Abe Shinzo wants to change that, and is pushing a law that would legalize casino gambling in Japan. It’s hoped that the move would encourage additional tourism, particularly from neighboring Asian countries, and would help pad out the Japanese government’s coffers, and fund its ambitious programs for senior care and an aggressive expansion of the country’s lagging child care system. (I’ve written briefly about Japan’s child care struggles briefly on JM’s Facebook page.)
But, as Asahi Shinbun reports, there’s concern whether Japan’s criminal gangs will attempt to take advantage of this new playground for high rollers. One crime syndicate manager practically bragged to the paper that organizations like his would use methods such as sub-contracting to infiltrate the casino business, and would take advantage of people’s financial plight to offer black-market loans. The unnamed gangster also predicts that organized crime will open its own illegal gambling parlors, and will be able to draw customers into high stakes games and high interest loans by making backroom deals with dealers and staff at legitimate casinos.
For their part, law enforcement is doubtful whether it can adequately enforce the casino law, which stipulates that no one associated with organized crime can work at or with a casino. Outside groups are calling for aggressive action and a massive new mobilization of workers to police the new industry.
Personally, I’m a little saddened to see Japan going in this direction, even if, financially, it’s somewhat inevitable. It’s going to be hard, if not impossible, to keep the tendrils of organized crime out of this business, and the potential that ordinary Japanese will sink further into debt and dependence is high. It’s easy money, to be sure. But easy money always comes with a high hidden cost.
カジノ法案きょう参院委採決 野党、内閣不信任案の構え：朝日新聞デジタル
カジノを含む統合型リゾート（ＩＲ）実施法案について与党は１８日、参院内閣委員会で１９日に可決させる方針を決めた。２０日にも参院本会議で可決、成立させる。立憲民主党や国民民主党など野党は、早ければ１９… Link to Source
