Press "Enter" to skip to content

Tokyo cops bust illegal pachinko parlor in Ueno

Mitsuyoshi Hamamatsu
Mitsuyoshi Hamamatsu

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Monday announced the raid of a pachinko parlor operating illegally in Taito Ward, reports Nippon News Network (Oct. 5).

On Thursday, police busted parlor Number One, located in the Ueno district, and took Mitsuyoshi Hamamatsu, the 25-year-old manager, an employee and one other suspect into custody for allowing customers to wager on 36 high-return pachisuro (pachinko slot) machines considered to be in violation of the law.

Hamamatsu admits to the allegations, telling police that he did it to make money.

Officers also arrested eight male and female customers present at the time of the raid.

The basement-level operation did not utilize a signboard. Instead, customers were attracted to the parlor via street touts. An intercom and security camera system was used to identify customers entering the premises.

The operation had collected four million yen in revenue over the past month and a half, according to TV Asahi (Oct. 5).