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452
30/08/2022 (Hardback)
6 x 9 (Hardback)
9781925608465

A History of the Pachinko Industry

From a Peripheral Economy to a Huge Market
Japanese society series
Pachinko parlors offer a form of gambling unique to Japan located near train stations, in the suburbs and in other everyday living spaces. Before World War II, pachinko was born as a game for both children and adults to enjoy at outdoor festivals. From its humble origins, it has grown...

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Pachinko parlors offer a form of gambling unique to Japan located near train stations, in the suburbs and in other everyday living spaces. Before World War II, pachinko was born as a game for both children and adults to enjoy at outdoor festivals. From its humble origins, it has grown dramatically to become a huge industry with a market size of 30 trillion yen per year.

However, the trajectory of this growth has been marked by a series of difficulties: the short-lived popularity of pachinko machines superseded by new, more exciting models; the intense competition between parlors for customers; the regulations imposed by authorities trying to curb machines’ speculative element; issues related to patent infringements; and organized crime that at times loomed over the money exchange system.  

How did the stakeholders in the pachinko business adapt to the regulations and face challenges as they sought the stability and sustainability of their industry? How did pachinko develop from a peripheral economy to become a major industry? Ethnic minority Koreans in Japan, who arrived during the Korean colonial era, are deeply involved in the economic activities of the pachinko industry – how should we understand their involvement in the growth of this huge market?

Drawing on a vast amount of primary and secondary resources from the 1950s to the 1990s, this book sheds new light on the circumstances behind the emergence of the pachinko industry as a huge market force in Japan.

About Editors and Authors

Jaehyang Han, PhD (Economics), is currently Professor of Hosei University. She received the Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities for this book, originally published in Japanese in 2018. 

Table of contents


List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Photographs
Acknowledgements
Glossary
JPY-USD exchange rate
Map of Japan

Introduction: A Struggle for Survival

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List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Photographs
Acknowledgements
Glossary
JPY-USD exchange rate
Map of Japan

Introduction: A Struggle for Survival

1. Inception of the Pachinko Industry:
Commercialization of Traditional Festival-day Entertainment

2. Organization of the Pachinko Industry:
Why Did a Patent Pool Evolve?

3. Competitive Structure of the Pachinko Machine Market:
Promotion of Development-based Competition

4. Development of the Pachinko Industry into an Enormous Market

5. Emergence of Large-scale Operations at Pachinko Parlor Businesses

Essay: Pachinko and Ethnic Minority Koreans in Japan

Conclusion: The Black-box Industry

Appendix 1: Effectiveness of Renewal Reopenings

Appendix 2: Did the Introduction of Fībā-type Machines
Increase Parlor Sales Variance?

Appendix 3: Effects of Chain Development by Maruhan
around the Early 1990s

Notes
Afterword
Primary Sources
Bibliography
Index

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