TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police announced on Tuesday the raid of a pachinko parlor operating illegally in Bunkyo Ward, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Oct. 1).
On September 29, police took Toru Kurihara, 64, the manager of Heiyo Hall, located in Sekiguchi area, his eldest son Hirokazu, 33, and one other suspect into custody for allowing customers to convert coins or prizes won through pachisuro (pachinko slot) machines into cash on the premises of the establishment in June and July.
According to the Law Regulating Adult Entertainment Businesses, such conversions are prohibited. Customers must utilize a separate venue in order for the parlor to be in compliance with the law.
Kurihara has reportedly admitted to the allegations. “I did this reluctantly as a means of making money,” the suspect is quoted by police.
In July of last year, Kurihara stopped using a separate shop for the transactions in order to eliminate commission fees. On June 6, he is alleged to have converted 276 coins into 4,500 yen in cash, according to the Mainichi Shimbun (Oct. 2).
