Apr 27 (Japan Times) - Osaka Prefecture said it planned to name and shame more pachinko parlor gambling outlets that are defying coronavirus shutdown requests after three out of six locations it identified on Friday subsequently closed.
“A lot of places have closed down after we named the six last week. We are now conducting a survey of pachinko parlors and will announce the results accordingly,†a spokesman for Osaka Prefecture said.
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 backed up with fines.
Japan has shied away from stronger enforcement steps in part because of memories of civil rights abuses during World War II. Protection of such rights are enshrined in the nation’s U.S.-drafted postwar Constitution.
The government declared a state of emergency in Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures on April 7, later extending it to the rest of the country.
