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© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020 lOsaka to name and shame more pachinko parlors defying closure request
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Dr Tyrell
Good for them.
gokai_wo_maneku
As I have suggested, this does not shame. It just lets pachinko players know where they can go to play.
PerformingMonkey
Indeed, given their unsophisticated clientele, naming the offending establishments merely amounts to free advertising.
Bugle Boy of Company B
Just pass a law that each pachinko ball must be wiped will alcohol every 2 hours.
or close.
Laguna
They're not all unsophisticated. It's an addiction, like smoking or alcohol. A friend of mine, a former school teacher, has recently given up the habit - and it was not easy for him. He now does カルタ.
Toshihiro
toothless measures like this won't get any good results. how about the national government stepping in and ordering all pachinko shops throughout the country to close and those that will defy will be heavily fined and condemned if they choose to still defy.
BertieWooster
When people are dying, isn't "name and shame" a bit patty-cake?
Mirai Hayashi
Free advertisement...should really close and hose!
shogun36
I say make them Pachinko Black Hole Hotels. Anyone can go to the Pachinko Parlor at anytime, but they can't get out. They can smoke, drink or talk to their little friends all they want. Enjoy!
However the kicker is, they have to stay in there until this pandemic is over.
Problem solved!
TARA TAN KITAOKA
WHY NOW ???.They knew abt it a long time ago.
Alexandre T. Ishii
I isn't only shame. It should be criminalize if some of them will be infected or the route of infection is from those pachinko parlors. If there's no law, a special ordinance from Osaka-fu governor might be executed.
socrateos
Well it did work: Of the 6 pachinko Parlors, whose names were published in the first round, 3 decided to close. So let us see how many will still keep their stores open this time.
There will be the third stage of pressures for any of those who keep their stores open - Gubernatorial Order to Close.
rgcivilian1
Why doesn't the media show their faces afterall its public.
englisc aspyrgend
Sound positively revolting places.
As the article states they are constrained by the constitution (disadvantage of a written constitution, very inflexible in time of need) so are limited in the tools available to them in dealing with the current crisis and it is difficult to change quickly. Perhaps some lateral thinking can find a law that could be applied?
Vince Black
The media really needs to show the names and faces of those who refuse to close their shops and the names and faces of their families if possible.
Go all out and make them suffer or do nothing at all
OssanAmerica
Japan needs to amend it's Constitution to allow for the enforcement of laws designed to protect the people in times of emergency. After all those godzilla movies I guess I always assumed they had this.,,lol
These pachinko parlors are a joke, they prey upon the addicted and get around anti-gambling laws by trading chocolates and other crap, Which these junkies quickly convert to money.
Hope none of the posters crying about the pathetic lack of enforcement ability of the Japanese government aren't the same ones going on and on about right-wing and how Abe wants to go back to pre-WWII days.
noriahojanen
Aside from the ongoing crisis, it's a good time to reconsider and push for reform on "dubious" if not illicit pachinko industry.
cleo
Gambling is supposed to be illegal n Japan, so I'm sure the thinking wouldn't need to be excessively lateral for the police to suddenly 'realise' or at least 'suspect' that these joints are operating illegally, and shut them down. Maybe give their owners/managers a bit of personal isolation on the public purse.
Shutting down a few premises, and naming-and-shaming (=publicising) the ones that are open will simply mean the addicts will gather in greater numbers there, making the spread of infection more likely. Either shut them all down, or adopt shogun36's idea.
Yesterday we went to our local home centre to buy pet supplies, to find a guard man at the entrance to the car park and a notice saying they were closed over the weekend because of the coronavirus. Fine, they don't want to have lots of people milling around, I can understand that.... so we went to the other local home centre, where there were twice as many customers as usual, buying up the gardening supplies before GW.
Invalid CSRF
Kobe White Bar Owner
Sure the Yaks and North Koreans who run them really don’t care.
gogogo
They don't care and neither do the people that go to them. What they do care about is money, start FINING THEM!
kurisupisu
Maybe we should also fine train operators that allow overcrowded trains as the virus sweeps Japan?
kurisupisu
Or supermarkets that allow too many customers in at one time?
The list is endless, isn’t it?
Fiddlers
As they are technically illegal it should be easy to close them or punish them. Just more BS from JP politicians who take donations from this industry to allow them to operate. Good opportunity to finally get rid of them.
talaraedokko
I’m surprised Koike hasn’t beaten them to the punch.
talaraedokko
OssanAmerica, If Dear Leader is intent of tinkering ww the constitution, rather than article 9, he could do what you’re suggesting. He could get a bit of achievement after his 7 years.
otherworldly
Russian roulette.
rainyday
Maybe if they just closed all the loopholes in the gaming laws that allow pachinko to exist in the first place? Seems it would be win-win since we’d also be rid of the stupid places after the pandemic is over.
Kumagaijin
I'm just curious, but have there been any clusters linked to Pachinko parlours? I haven't heard of any. Maybe, just maybe, these places are so unsanitary and filthy to begin with, that regulars already have been exposed to Covid-19 or have a natural immunity to the disease. If you think about how crowded these places are, and how many people touch the same machines etc, you would think that parlours would be cluster centers, but they haven't been. Still a gamble I suppose (-¦
tmarie
While I understand the frustration, packed trains and packed offices. Why is pachinko the be all and end all? Soaplands and hostess clubs still open, daycares are full of kids, life as usual for many because Japan still can’t figure out how to work from home. Ask pachinko patrons to sign a contract stating they won’t seek medical support if they get sick. I’m guessing more than half would stop going if smoking was banned.
smithinjapan
"A lot of places have closed down after we named the six last week."
I'm not sure THREE equals "a lot", although I have to admit it's three more than I expected. Everyone I talked to said if anything it would make the places more people and inform people who like Pachinko where they can go to play. Here's the more important question, what are they going to do about the MANY (the other three) that did NOT close? And why do they think this will force others, still open, to close as well?
Richard Burgan
If naming and shaming doesn't work, publish their financial statements and a list of owners. As long as they stay open the gambling addicts will fill them.
Yubaru
You've really no idea what you are suggesting here.
carpslidy
Agree with you on the first point.
From April smoking has been banned in pachinko. Doesn't seem to had much of an effect though.
raincloud
Rather than naming the pachinko parlors that stay open they should post photos of the addicts they feed off of.
Hervé L'Eisa
I personally can't stand those places, but my question is : Have any people gotten infected at a pachinko hall? The lockdown, even soft such as it is, is counterproductive to society building herd immunity.
https://www.zerohedge.com/health/2-whisteblowing-cali-er-doctors-urge-open-society-now-because-lockdowns-are-weakening-our
Hervé L'Eisa
It'd be better to reopen the country so that people can get back to living.
Concerned Citizen
@Hervé L'Eisa
The video link you posted is spot on. Exactly what we need to hear.
https://www.zerohedge.com/health/2-whisteblowing-cali-er-doctors-urge-open-society-now-because-lockdowns-are-weakening-our
Paul Laimal-Convoy
"Even a child should be able to understand that those places are breeding grounds for the virus - crowded, closed in, and with close contact," wrote Twitter user Akashinomadai. "
Except the clientele at pachinko parlours lack even the intelligence of children.
Jack Frost
I've been reading the many posts of people talking about "building herd immunity," "opening the economy," etc, so if they truly believe in that, why are they hiding at home instead of going out without wearing masks, getting exposed themselves to the virus, and start building that "immunity" if they truly believe in what they say??? Talk the talk, and walk the walk...!!! It's easier if others sacrifice themselves for you, huh??? I'm in NYC (Queens), and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have made it here (physically or mentally). Wait until you hear the sound of the sirens of ambulances going non-stop for over two weeks, day or night, and you will be so afraid that you won't go out even to the corner store.
Ah_so
No - the parasite is the problem, not the host.
nandakandamanda
You can't shut them down as they are a flowing source of hard cash for a certain country over the water, as Kobe White Bar Owner says above.
socrateos
kurisupisu:
Transportation and food are essential to maintain human lives. Pachinko Parlors are not.
Strangerland
Well no, the effects on society aren't similar, as the approach has been different.
You're comparing apple-sauce to orange-marmalade, and wondering why they don't taste the same.
therougou
I read it as 3 of the 6 closed, and many others that weren't named also closed in fear of being named. It would be nice if that was clarified, though.
socrateos
therougou:
There are about 700 Pachinko Parlors in Osaka.
As of Today (4/27), three days after the infamous naming of 6 Pachink Parlors, 97% of them are reportedly closed.
Closed: 648
Open: 13
Unknown: 2
https://manmai.club/?p=2866
ZENJI
If they will not comply, Shut Off The Power Supply.
Action speaks Louder than words, or is this a case of the Tail wagging the Dog?
fillmore2
this is really pitiful, oh really name and shame,
do you really think people associated with gambling business care about being shameful .
these people will sell their family off for profit.
only thing they care about is money,
unless government is ready to fine them heavily .
nothing else will work. just don't waste your time.
kurisupisu
No, pachinko parlors are not illegal.
Being located in central positions and large in size suggests that taxation on these places is high-local and central governments receive large amounts of revenue from them.
Who gets to qualify what an essential service is?
Picking, choosing and ‘shaming’ particular businesses is discriminatory-where does it stop?
No laws are being broken if their operations continue.
How are these ‘shamed’ businesses going to pay their staff and bills after closing down?
No posters critical of pachinko suggest anything concerning this - it’s all subjective, isn’t it?
Personally, I find pachinko uninteresting and certainly the noise and smoke extremely unhealthy but they have a right to exist and provide a service attractive for many.
Lukebeston
While what Yoshimura did was controversial, at least he showed strong leadership by naming those parlors himself. Whether you are misguided or not, that’s the way you should lead people. You shouldn’t avoid making enemies.
I can’t wait to see how Koike will handle this tonight at the press conference. Is she going to have a guy seated next to her name those parlors or name them herself?
starpunk
This is not shaming, it's listing which businesses are more concerned about making yen than the overall public health and welfare.
therougou
If you read a few lines info the article, you'd realize it was working already.
therougou
This is just a continuation of what Hashimoto started. The guy is hated on JT, but he was the best leader for Osaka. He made enemies in doing what was best for Osaka at the expense of the old cronies, which is the only reason he lost in the end.
raincloud
They should quarantine the pachinko parlors.
You can go in... but you can't come out for 14 days!
TARA TAN KITAOKA
Did they just know ???.
mmwkdw
Sounds like Free advertising.... would be better to name & shame along with time of visit, the patrons... that may actually cause quite a lot of red faces.
socrateos
As of Today (4/28), most of about 700 Pachinko Parlors in Osaka are now closed, with only one exception. Osaka governor is going to issue a gubernatorial order on 4/30 to close this store - the last resort the government has against those who still refuse to accept the closure-request.
Wellington
Turn off their water and electricity. Hard to attract players in the summer with no AC.