Up until the 1980s, all pachinko machines were mechanical devices with minimal electric features except maybe for a light to indicate the player had run out of pellets. They were all closed down during World War II, but re-emerged in post-war and have remained a staple of Japanese culture ever since. It quickly became a highly popular adult past time in the 1930s, an overnight sensation, and pachinko parlours began spreading across Japan. Pachinko machines first appeared in the 1920s, likely based on a western billiards-derived indoor table game from the 18th century. Despite the industry’s questionable backdoor policies, Pachinko parlours are very much a part of Japan’s urban landscape.

In fact, retired officers often move onto the pachinko parlour industry, keeping out organised crime, but also giving pachinko parlours a strong position to influence the police. And while pachinko parlours are still getting around Japan’s gambling laws with their prize exchange schemes, the police tolerate it and are even active in regulating it.

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