Japan Pachinko Executives Face Vote Buying Probe as Industry Struggles

Cash promises and ballot photos at the center of the case

Six executives at Derupara Group, a Tokyo operator of pachinko parlors, were arrested on August 26 on suspicion of arranging cash rewards for employees who voted for Yasuhisa Abe in Japan's July House of Councillors election. Police say workers were promised 3,000 to 4,000 yen, roughly $20 to $27, for supporting the Liberal Democratic Party candidate.

Investigators say employees were also told to photograph their voting slips inside polling booths to show they had complied. The alleged demand for proof puts the secrecy of individual votes at the center of a case involving workplace authority, political organizing and Japan's Public Offices Election Act.

Abe, who chairs a national association representing pachinko parlor operators, failed to win a seat despite receiving more than 88,000 votes. He finished 20th among 31 candidates on the LDP's proportional representation list.

The arrests have brought fresh scrutiny to an industry already dealing with fewer customers, stricter machine rules, expensive equipment replacements and financial pressure. Operators had hoped an industry representative in parliament could press for policies that would ease some of those burdens.

As of September 2, 2025, the investigation extends beyond Tokyo to other prefectures where Derupara operates. Police are examining whether instructions passed from senior executives through parlor managers to employees, turning a company's support for a candidate into an organized offer of money for votes.

Who was arrested and how far the inquiry reaches

Derupara president Lee Chang-beom, who also uses the name Masanori Yamamoto, was detained with five senior colleagues. Those arrested included sales chief Kazuyuki Yuasa and a management division head identified as Konishi.

The group operates 31 venues across eight prefectures, including Kagoshima. That network gives the investigation a reach well beyond the company's Tokyo base, with authorities checking whether the same instructions circulated among staff in several regions.

Police believe the suspected offer initially reached at least 60 employees. They are examining evidence suggesting that the outreach extended to more than 250 people. Investigators are looking at whether company leaders briefed parlor managers through online meetings and urged those managers to relay the instructions to frontline staff.

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have not publicly disclosed whether the suspects admit the allegations. Derupara has not issued a detailed public defense of the executives. The inquiry remains ongoing, with the alleged promises, the chain of instructions and the extent of employee involvement under examination.

How the alleged rewards were tied to individual votes

Employees were allegedly told that they could receive cash after presenting evidence that they had voted for Abe on the LDP national list. According to police sources, the proposed proof included photographs taken inside voting booths.

A promise of 3,000 to 4,000 yen may look modest compared with the sums associated with major political campaigns. Under the Public Offices Election Act, however, the central issue is whether money or another benefit was offered to influence a vote. A small promised payment can still fall within the prohibition.

The alleged arrangement also involved the relationship between managers and their staff. An instruction from an employer carries a different kind of pressure from a request by an ordinary campaign volunteer. Investigators are examining a suspected effort to use that workplace structure to secure ballots for a particular candidate.

The proposed photographs would have given managers a way to check how employees voted. Japan's rules prohibit photographing or recording a marked ballot inside the voting booth because such images can be used to enforce vote buying or coercion. Ballot secrecy protects a voter from having to prove a political choice to an employer or anyone else.

Why Abe became the industry's candidate

Abe's position as the chair of a national association of pachinko parlor operators made his candidacy a chance for the sector to seek a direct advocate in the upper house. Supporters hoped he could push for relief from regulatory pressure and help revive a business that had been contracting for years.

His route was the LDP's proportional representation list. In this part of a House of Councillors election, voters write either a party's name or the name of a candidate on its list. Votes determine how many seats a party receives, and individual candidate totals determine the order in which those seats are assigned.

That arrangement gives trade groups and labor unions a reason to rally members behind a particular candidate. A vote bearing the candidate's name helps that person compete within the party list while contributing to the party's total. Organizational support can therefore matter both to the party and to the person seeking a seat.

Abe received more than 88,000 votes but finished 20th among the LDP's 31 list candidates, outside the winning group. His result shows the limits of the industry's mobilization in a national contest, where candidates also compete against better known party figures and where voter recognition and party strategy affect the distribution of support.

The Liberal Democratic Party has not been accused of wrongdoing in this case. There is no indication that Abe or party leaders knew of the alleged payments. The arrests nevertheless put pressure on the party to examine how candidates supported by organizations are promoted and on industry groups to review their political activities.

The dates behind the investigation

The case connects a July election campaign with arrests the following month. The main events are:

• July 2025: Yasuhisa Abe ran for the House of Councillors on the LDP proportional representation list. He received more than 88,000 votes, finished 20th among 31 LDP list candidates and did not win a seat.
• August 26, 2025: Police arrested six Derupara Group executives on suspicion of organizing vote buying through promised employee rewards.
• September 2, 2025: The investigation remained ongoing, including checks on whether the alleged outreach reached more than 250 employees across several regions.

The sequence places the suspected workplace campaign before an unsuccessful election result, followed by a police inquiry into how support was sought. The investigation now reaches prefectures where Derupara runs parlors, with messages and management instructions potentially helping authorities trace how widely the alleged offer circulated.

Why pachinko operators are looking for political support

Pachinko combines elements of entertainment and gambling. Players feed small steel balls into machines and can win more balls through chance and skill. They exchange those balls for prizes, which are often swapped for cash at a nearby shop.

That process has three steps: playing for balls, exchanging balls for prizes and exchanging prizes for money. It allows pachinko to operate outside Japan's laws against gambling while providing a reward that can ultimately become cash. The arrangement places the business in a gray area between amusement and gambling.

Pachinko has been part of Japanese leisure culture since the postwar years. At its peak, the industry employed hundreds of thousands of people and attracted millions of regular players. Its current difficulties follow years of contraction rather than a sudden setback caused by this investigation.

Machine rules have become stricter to address addiction and limit extreme payouts. Operators also faced a public smoking ban and the pandemic, both of which hurt visits to parlors. Many companies spent heavily replacing older machines to meet new standards while casual customers moved toward smartphones and other forms of entertainment.

Thousands of parlors have closed over the past decade, and industry data show a sharp fall in regular players from earlier highs. For businesses carrying the cost of new equipment while serving fewer customers, even technical changes to machine regulations can have substantial commercial importance.

Sector leaders have sought government and police support for changes that could permit a wider range of machine designs or relax certain restrictions. Abe's candidacy appealed to operators who wanted someone in parliament familiar with those pressures. The suspected cash offers have brought that effort for political influence into an election law investigation.

Where election law draws the boundary

Japan's Public Offices Election Act forbids offering money or valuables to influence a person's vote. The prohibition covers both giving a benefit and promising one. Its purpose is to protect voters' freedom to choose and prevent a ballot from becoming something that can be bought.

Trade groups and unions commonly organize support for candidates associated with their members or industry. Such campaigning crosses the legal boundary when it uses inducements or threats. In the Derupara case, police are examining whether promised cash was explicitly tied to votes for Abe.

The alleged request for photographs adds another element. A secret vote allows a person to make a choice without being required to reveal it afterward. Recording a marked ballot creates a means of checking that choice, which is why the prohibition on such recording matters in cases involving rewards or pressure.

Prosecutors seeking convictions would need to show that the suspects intentionally promised or gave benefits to influence specific votes. Possible evidence includes meeting records, chat logs, screenshots and testimony from employees who received instructions or payments.

If confirmed, a request for photographs from inside voting booths would indicate an effort to verify individual ballots. Courts view that kind of interference as aggravating because it damages the principle of a secret vote. The inquiry therefore concerns both the alleged financial inducement and the mechanism supposedly used to check compliance.

Legal and business risks for Derupara

Individuals found guilty of offering money for votes can face prison terms or fines and the loss of civil rights for a period. Election cases have different outcomes depending on the conduct and evidence established in court.

Companies can face raids, seizures and scrutiny from the regulators responsible for licensing and overseeing their businesses. For Derupara, the investigation also brings reputational damage at a time when many pachinko operators are already under financial strain.

Small promised payments can become the starting point for a much wider inquiry. Amounts of this size can be easy to conceal within operating budgets, while messages and instructions may allow investigators to follow the suspected arrangement across multiple workplaces and prefectures.

The arrests could also prompt calls for stronger internal compliance programs across pachinko chains. A central issue for such programs would be making clear that employee political support must be voluntary and free from rewards or pressure. Managers would need to keep company authority separate from an employee's private choice at the ballot box.

How regulation shapes the industry's lobbying

Pachinko businesses operate under laws governing entertainment establishments. The National Police Agency and local public safety commissions play central roles in oversight, while administrative guidance shapes matters including machine performance, the size and unpredictability of payouts, and operating hours.

This structure has encouraged quiet lobbying over technical rules rather than open political confrontation. A lawmaker who understands the business could help operators seek changes to detailed machine requirements or argue against new restrictions. For companies whose income depends on the machines they are allowed to install, those details matter directly.

Integrated resort casino projects, approved under a separate law, have also drawn political attention and energy in recent years. Some pachinko operators fear losing customers to new casino resorts while facing tighter measures against addiction that affect their existing business model.

Those pressures help explain why operators wanted a sympathetic voice in parliament. The Derupara investigation now centers on whether that pursuit of representation involved cash rewards and pressure tied to individual ballots. Its legal outcome will depend on the evidence concerning the executives' instructions, their intent and what employees were promised.

At a Glance

• Six Derupara Group executives were arrested on August 26 on suspicion of organizing vote buying in the July House of Councillors election.
• Police say employees were promised 3,000 to 4,000 yen, roughly $20 to $27, for voting for LDP candidate Yasuhisa Abe.
• Employees were allegedly instructed to photograph their ballots as proof of support.
• Derupara operates 31 parlors across eight prefectures, including Kagoshima.
• Police initially identified at least 60 employees reached by the suspected offer and are checking evidence of outreach to more than 250.
• Abe received more than 88,000 votes, ranked 20th among 31 LDP list candidates and did not win a seat.
• The LDP has not been accused of wrongdoing, and there is no indication that Abe or party leaders knew of the alleged payments.
• The investigation remained ongoing on September 2, 2025, against a backdrop of declining pachinko participation, tighter rules and thousands of parlor closures.