On 11 June, the Tokyo Alert, calling for caution regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, was officially lifted by the metropolitan area government. This takes the city from Step 2 to Step 3 on its roadmap to phasing out requests for businesses to refrain from operations.
In step 3, pachinko parlors and game centers, bars, snack bars (small pubs), karaoke bars and internet/manga cafes without personal attendants are free to open. Live music clubs and food and beverage establishments employing personal attendants, which are considered to be high risk, may also reopen from 19 June provided they take measures to prevent infection.
While this roadmap involves easing stages, most pachinko parlors in the Tokyo metropolitan area ignored these steps and had already resumed business. The Toyoukyo (Tokyo Pachinko and Pachislot Cooperative Association), with almost 1,000 affiliated branches in Tokyo, informed its members on 24 April that those ignoring the requests to refrain from operating would be removed from the association.
In response, all stores closed until 30 April, but the number of parlors opening has been increasing since the beginning of May. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government requested the suspension of business based on Article 45 of the Act on Special Measures for Pandemic Influenza and New Infectious Diseases Preparedness and Response, naming and shaming those operations that did not follow the request, although almost all abided by the directions.
In June, the number of locations opening increased further, and Toyoukyo all but lost control of the situation. The association stated, “We will not be able to accept the government’s requests to close once the declaration of a state of emergency has been lifted,” and that the opening of locations was “at the discretion of management of each branch.”
As a result, almost all pachinko parlors in the capital have resumed operation and have not complied with the request.
Toyoukyo cites insufficient compensation and an unclear roadmap as the reasons so many opened early. Meanwhile, the chairman and vice-chairman of the association have decided to resign as they could not fulfil their roles as an authorized organization of the Tokyo metropolis.
Social media provoked criticism through photos of a certain pachinko parlor with 1,000 customers lined up waiting for opening on 6 June. There were also announcements on the parlor’s official account that over 6,000 customers had participated in a mobile phone lottery for admission.
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