TV Mar 26, 2022
'Pachinko': K-Drama in an American style
by Mike Hale
Min Jin Lee’s best-selling novel about the harsh lives of Koreans living in Japan is turned into a glossy family saga for Apple TV+.
National / Science & Health Apr 28, 2020
Not all pachinko parlors in Tokyo shut; 600 still being investigated
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has clarified Gov. Yuriko Koike's statement that all pachinko parlors in Tokyo have complied with requests to suspend business as of Tuesday morning, after at least four were found to still be operating in the afternoon. "Of the 156 parlors we ...
National Apr 27, 2020
Osaka to keep shaming pachinko parlors defying virus shutdown requests
The continued operation of some noisy gambling halls is a conspicuous reminder of limits on the government's ability to “lock down” cities with requests rather than orders.
National Apr 23, 2020
Defiant pachinko parlors show limits of Japan’s shutdown request
As pachinko parlors continue to operate, disregarding appeals to shutter amid the coronavirus pandemic, local governments look to shame them into cooperation.
National / Science & Health Apr 23, 2020
Japanese asked to hunker down through Golden Week as virus numbers grow
by Satoshi Sugiyama
Officials worry that travel during holiday could create clusters in rural areas where the health care system is relatively fragile.
Books / Reviews | RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN May 25, 2019
'Zainichi Literature' review: What is the nature of exile?
by Nicolas Gattig
A product of postwar Japan and virtually unknown internationally, Zainichi literature often explores the nature of exile and the conflict of identity between homes.
National Apr 2, 2019
Pachinko parlors in western Japan will hold back from installing new machines before G20 in Osaka
About 800 pachinko parlors in western Japan have decided to refrain from replacing their game machines with new ones, a measure typically used to attract customers, ahead of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka in June, an industry group said Tuesday. The decision, made ...
National Mar 8, 2019
The government said Thursday it plans to ask horse race and pachinko parlor operators to consider using facial recognition systems to restrict admission of gambling addicts. The adoption of facial recognition systems is part of a basic plan to combat gambling addiction that the government ...
Business Jul 31, 2018
Already in decline, Japan's pachinko industry now braces for gambling-addiction regulations
by Taiga Uranaka and Ritsuko Ando
Like many pachinko parlors throughout Japan, Naomi Suzuki's establishment on the outskirts of the city of Fukushima was once full of energy, with the din of bouncing steel balls and garish lights flashing to indicate winnings. But business is quieter for her these days as ...
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Dec 2, 2017
Pachinko parlors are losing their balls while Japan considers a cashless economy
by Mark Schreiber
With the Diet's passing of a law last December that will legalize casino gambling, many are wondering how this development will affect the few forms of tightly controlled gambling and gaming that have been permitted up to now — like pachinko (a type of ...
National / Social Issues May 14, 2017
Government crafts way to ban gambling addicts from casinos, pachinko parlors
The government and the ruling parties plan to propose a system that will allow pachinko parlors and other gambling facilities to ban “serious” gambling addicts.
National Apr 26, 2017
Pachinko industry raises money for low-income students, but critics call it a marketing stunt
by Andrew McKirdy
The pachinko industry is urging customers to donate steel balls from their winnings to help put hard-up students through university. But anti-gambling activists have dismissed the campaign as a marketing stunt that does nothing to address problems with gambling addiction. "The aim is to help people ...