Japan Economy Forum

[Jlaw]

Too soft. US would have fined them in the billions.

 

[Aepsilons]

Siegel+Gale, Japanese Branding Firm Gramco Announce Strategic Partnership


Global strategic branding firm Siegel+Gale and Gramco Company, the largest branding firm in Japan, Tuesday announced a strategic partnership that builds upon both firms' commitment to their domestic and global clients as well as their shared interests in China.
Siegel+Gale is part of the DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. ( OMC ).

Gramco's reputation in Japan is built on more than 27 years of experience. This, combined with its methodological and creative approach to brand experience, adds to Siegel+Gale's focused development in the Asia Pacific region, the companies said.

Similarly, with over 45 years of experience in building world-class brands, Siegel+Gale's expertise in creating solutions rooted in elegant simplicity will bolster Gramco's strategic vision.

A Gramco executive will be based in Siegel+Gale's headquarters in New York City.

Both firms have pledged on-the-ground collaboration in China to cultivate opportunities between the two firms as part of the alliance.

Siegel+Gale and Gramco will continue to operate independently, partnering when there are appropriate opportunities.


Read more: Siegel+Gale, Japanese Branding Firm Gramco Announce Strategic Partnership - NASDAQ.com

 

[Aepsilons]

Japan stocks lure investors away from Europe


LONDON (Jiji Press)—Global investors are increasing their Japanese stockholdings and reducing their European portfolios, according to a survey released Tuesday in London.
The Bank of America Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey showed a net 30 percent of investors as being overweight in Japanese stocks in August, the highest reading in seven months.

“We had a summer of growth confidence in Japan, especially from local investors. Global investors are increasing their Japan allocations,” said BofA European investment strategist Manish Kabra.

Japan and emerging markets have been beneficiaries as investors look to reposition themselves away from the European stock markets, the survey showed.

“Japan has probably gained on the back of the European slowdown. Europe has been the soft place where people could easily book profits and move on toward Japanese and emerging market stocks,” Kabra said.

A net 13 percent of fund managers say they are overweight in European equities, a fall of 22 percentage points from July. The 12-month profit outlook in Europe fell dramatically with a net 30 percent of investors believing growth prospects have deteriorated.

There was a strong swing toward global emerging market equities with a net 17 percent of investors being overweight in the region, up from 12 percent in July.

The increasingly volatile geopolitical landscape and concerns about possible interest rate hikes in the United States has led to scaling back investor risk. Equity allocation fell dramatically from 61 percent overweight in July to 44 percent this month. Cash currently makes up an average of 5.1 percent of investor portfolios, up from 4.5 percent in July.

A total of 224 investors controlling about $675 billion of assets took part in the survey.

Japan stocks lure investors away from Europe - The Japan News

 

[Aepsilons]

Taipei, Aug. 22 (CNA) Taiwan will study the possibility of launching cross-border stock trading with Japan in a bid to boost internationalization of the local bourse, Taiwan's top financial regulator said Friday.

Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Tseng Ming-chung said he will instruct the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) and the GreTai Securities Market (GTSM), which operates the local over-the-counter market, to assess the feasibility of such cooperation with Japan.

Tseng said the FSC will push for dual listings of Taiwanese and Japanese companies on the stock exchanges of both countries, and the TWSE and GTSM will try to help achieve this goal as soon as possible.

One of the most important issues in the local financial sector is how to strengthen internationalization of Taiwan's equity market, Tseng said.

In addition to pushing the cross-border trading initiative, Taiwan and Japan are expected to jointly develop new products to boost trading interest, he said at a seminar on cooperation between Taiwan and Japan in the area of capital markets.

The seminar, organized by the TWSE, heard a keynote address by Atsushi Saito, CEO of Japan Exchange Group Inc., on the development of Japan's equity market.

Japan Exchange Group was established in January 2013 after a merger between Tokyo Stock Exchange Group and Osaka Securities Exchange Co.

The TWSE said that through the seminar, Taiwan and Japan seek to forge closer business ties between their financial markets in a bid to help local enterprises obtain alternative funding sources for future development.

In addition, the TWSE said, cooperation with Japan Exchange Group is expected to help diversify the local exchange's product portfolio, which will encourage the public to move their funds from bank deposits into the equity markets.


Taiwan mulling cross-border stock trading with Japan | Economics | FOCUS TAIWAN - CNA ENGLISH NEWS

 

[Viet]

AUG 22, 2014

(map from 2010)

Oil distributors Idemitsu Kosan Co., JX Holdings Inc. and Inpex Corp. said Thursday they have discovered gas and crude oil condensate in exploration mining blocks 300 km southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, in southern Vietnam.

The three companies found similar accumulations in the blocks last year. They plan to carry out a detailed reservoir evaluation.

Idemitsu Oil & Gas Co., a unit of Idemitsu Kosan, and JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corp., a unit of JX Holdings, have a 35 percent stake each in the blocks, while Teikoku Oil Co., a unit of Inpex, holds the remaining 30 percent.

In October 2004, the three entered into a production sharing contract with state-run Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, also known as Petrovietnam, and were awarded an investment license by the Vietnamese government.

Japanese firms discover gas, oil condensate off southern Vietnam | The Japan Times


WOW...hopefully that is worth billions of dollar gold treasury
@Nihonjin1051

 

[BuddhaPalm]

Thanks. We will take over from here.

 

[Viet]

Thanks. We will take over from here.

no, you can buy our oil and gas at market price. no longer with friendship discount.

 

[Aepsilons]

Indonesia revokes beef import ban on Japan to diversify supply


JAKARTA: Indonesia has revoked a four-year ban on beef and cattle imports from Japan, in a move to reduce dependence on Australian shipments and diversify its supply sources, an official in the Southeast Asian nation's agriculture ministry said on Friday.

The move follows the announcement this week of talks that will allow the resumption of Indonesian poultry exports to Japan, and after the Japanese foreign minister visited Jakarta last week. Indonesia banned Japanese beef imports in early 2010 following concerns over foot and mouth disease.

Southeast Asia's biggest economy has loosened its rules on beef and cattle shipments after a beef shortage and corruption scandal last year, and has been looking at alternative importers after a diplomatic spat with its main supplier Australia.

Indonesia revokes beef import ban on Japan to diversify supply - The Times of India

 

[kalu_miah]

Move to Woo Investors | Japan to get exclusive zone

Move to Woo Investors
Japan to get exclusive zone
Staff Correspondent

With Japanese investors going for new investment destinations, Bangladesh has decided to set up an economic zone exclusively for the entrepreneurs of the world's third largest economic power.

“We have a plan to set up eight new economic zones across the country. We may allow the zone at Mirsarai in Chittagong for Japanese investors,” said Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday.

“The decision to allow a separate economic zone for the Japanese investors has already been made,” Tofail told reporters after a meeting with Norihiko Inshiguro, vice-minister of economy, trade and industry of Japan, at the Secretariat.

“We may finalise the allocation of the economic zone during the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe next month,” he said, adding that the government had acquired 8,000 acres of land in Mirsarai.

The Japanese investors have been moving their investment from China to other countries since 2008, when Japan adopted the “China Plus One” policy to reduce overdependence on Beijing.

Since then, countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Bangladesh have turned into lucrative destinations for Japanese investment.

Tofail said, “During the meeting, we also discussed the country's largest ever power plant project in Matarbari.”

Japan has given Bangladesh $1.18 billion in loans for the Matarbari coal-fired power plant and four other projects as the Asian economic giant seeks to deepen its ties with Bangladesh.

Of the amount, $406 million will be spent only on building the power plant, part of a $4.4 billion project on Matarbari Island in Cox's Bazar.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency will lend Bangladesh over $3 billion in phases for the mega project.

“We also have a plan to offer a separate economic zone for Chinese investors as they are coming to Bangladesh,” the minister said.

He said Bangladesh had been enjoying zero duty benefit in Japanese market. As a result, Bangladesh has been grabbing a substantial share of the $35 billion annual Japanese apparel market.

During her visit to Japan in May this year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina offered 40 industrial plots in export processing zones to Japanese entrepreneurs.

Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (Bepza) will reserve industrial plots at the Ishwardi, Mongla and Uttara EPZs for the Japanese investors.

Bepza will also allocate factory buildings for the Japanese investors in the Adamjee and Comilla EPZs, where there are no vacant plots now, according to a Bepza statement.

Investment proposals from Japan worth $1.2 billion are pending with the Board of Investment in Bangladesh for a long time, according to an official of Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

Many Japanese investors of automobiles, garments and fabrics, electronics and fast moving consumer goods sectors have been showing interest in Bangladesh, the official said.

At least 181 Japanese companies have operations in Bangladesh, the official said in May.

In fiscal year 2012-13, Bangladesh exported goods worth $750.27 million to Japan, compared to $600.52 million the previous year, data from the Export Promotion Bureau says.

In 2012-13, Bangladesh imported goods worth $1.19 billion from Japan, compared to $1.45 billion the previous year, according to Bangladesh Bank.

There are 35 Japanese enterprises with an investment of $291.05 million in the EPZs alone. Twenty-five of them are operational and 10 are being set up, a Bepza statement said.

A total of 11,203 Bangladeshis, 78 Japanese and 55 from other countries are working in these enterprises.

ECONOMIC DIALOGUE

The first Bangladesh-Japan Public-Private Economic Dialogue was held in the city yesterday giving emphasis on more engagements between the two countries based on mutual trust, respect, interests and equitable sharing of benefits, reports BSS.

The Bangladesh government convened the dialogue. Both sides at the dialogue reflected on deepening economic and commercial cooperation and overall economic scenario prevailing in the respective countries, an official release said.

Both sides exchanged views on wide-ranging areas of mutual economic interest, including current investment climate, development of infrastructure and industrial base, and development of special economic zones.

Japan will convene the second round of the dialogue next year.

The Bangladesh delegation was led by Abul Kalam Azad, senior secretary at the Prime Minister's Office.

Published: 12:02 am Friday, August 22, 2014
Last modified: 9:39 pm Friday, August 22, 2014
TAGS: Japan Japanese investors exclusive zone economic zone

 

[Aepsilons]

Move to Woo Investors | Japan to get exclusive zone

Move to Woo Investors
Japan to get exclusive zone
Staff Correspondent

With Japanese investors going for new investment destinations, Bangladesh has decided to set up an economic zone exclusively for the entrepreneurs of the world's third largest economic power.

“We have a plan to set up eight new economic zones across the country. We may allow the zone at Mirsarai in Chittagong for Japanese investors,” said Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday.

“The decision to allow a separate economic zone for the Japanese investors has already been made,” Tofail told reporters after a meeting with Norihiko Inshiguro, vice-minister of economy, trade and industry of Japan, at the Secretariat.

“We may finalise the allocation of the economic zone during the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe next month,” he said, adding that the government had acquired 8,000 acres of land in Mirsarai.

The Japanese investors have been moving their investment from China to other countries since 2008, when Japan adopted the “China Plus One” policy to reduce overdependence on Beijing.

Since then, countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Bangladesh have turned into lucrative destinations for Japanese investment.

Tofail said, “During the meeting, we also discussed the country's largest ever power plant project in Matarbari.”

Japan has given Bangladesh $1.18 billion in loans for the Matarbari coal-fired power plant and four other projects as the Asian economic giant seeks to deepen its ties with Bangladesh.

Of the amount, $406 million will be spent only on building the power plant, part of a $4.4 billion project on Matarbari Island in Cox's Bazar.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency will lend Bangladesh over $3 billion in phases for the mega project.

“We also have a plan to offer a separate economic zone for Chinese investors as they are coming to Bangladesh,” the minister said.

He said Bangladesh had been enjoying zero duty benefit in Japanese market. As a result, Bangladesh has been grabbing a substantial share of the $35 billion annual Japanese apparel market.

During her visit to Japan in May this year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina offered 40 industrial plots in export processing zones to Japanese entrepreneurs.

Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (Bepza) will reserve industrial plots at the Ishwardi, Mongla and Uttara EPZs for the Japanese investors.

Bepza will also allocate factory buildings for the Japanese investors in the Adamjee and Comilla EPZs, where there are no vacant plots now, according to a Bepza statement.

Investment proposals from Japan worth $1.2 billion are pending with the Board of Investment in Bangladesh for a long time, according to an official of Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

Many Japanese investors of automobiles, garments and fabrics, electronics and fast moving consumer goods sectors have been showing interest in Bangladesh, the official said.

At least 181 Japanese companies have operations in Bangladesh, the official said in May.

In fiscal year 2012-13, Bangladesh exported goods worth $750.27 million to Japan, compared to $600.52 million the previous year, data from the Export Promotion Bureau says.

In 2012-13, Bangladesh imported goods worth $1.19 billion from Japan, compared to $1.45 billion the previous year, according to Bangladesh Bank.

There are 35 Japanese enterprises with an investment of $291.05 million in the EPZs alone. Twenty-five of them are operational and 10 are being set up, a Bepza statement said.

A total of 11,203 Bangladeshis, 78 Japanese and 55 from other countries are working in these enterprises.

ECONOMIC DIALOGUE

The first Bangladesh-Japan Public-Private Economic Dialogue was held in the city yesterday giving emphasis on more engagements between the two countries based on mutual trust, respect, interests and equitable sharing of benefits, reports BSS.

The Bangladesh government convened the dialogue. Both sides at the dialogue reflected on deepening economic and commercial cooperation and overall economic scenario prevailing in the respective countries, an official release said.

Both sides exchanged views on wide-ranging areas of mutual economic interest, including current investment climate, development of infrastructure and industrial base, and development of special economic zones.

Japan will convene the second round of the dialogue next year.

The Bangladesh delegation was led by Abul Kalam Azad, senior secretary at the Prime Minister's Office.

Published: 12:02 am Friday, August 22, 2014
Last modified: 9:39 pm Friday, August 22, 2014
TAGS: Japan Japanese investors exclusive zone economic zone

Excellent news. Thanks for the updated @kalu_miah !

 

[Aepsilons]

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries reports strong Q1 growth

Japan's biggest defence manufacturer, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), has registered strong growth in the first quarter of 2014, despite a drop in orders for military equipment.

The group said on 31 July that sales during the quarter, which ended 30 June, reached JPY859.7 billion (USD8.3 billion), a 15% increase against the corresponding period in 2013. Net income jumped 65% to JPY22.5 billion.

The strong growth was largely attributable to its Machinery, Equipment & Infrastructure division, which posted a 46% increase in sales to JPY349 billion. MHI's Integrated Defense & Space Systems business unit posted sales of JPY82.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 1%.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries reports strong Q1 growth - IHS Jane's 360

 

[Aepsilons]

To Draw in New Crowds, an Industry Bets on Itself

NAGOYA, Japan — Part pinball and part roulette, with the lure of quick cash winnings and little silver balls ricocheting off pins and bumpers, the Japanese game of pachinko once seemed a permanent feature of the nation’s postwar landscape, its arcade-style sounds and lights providing a blinking, cacophonous backdrop to life in Japan during the boom years.

In recent years, though, one pachinko hall after another has shut its doors as legions of loyal fans aged and passed away, the industry was tainted by mob ties and — perhaps the biggest turnoff for Japanese youth — the game acquired the musty scent of an artifact of their parents’ generation.

Now, like Japan itself, pachinko is attempting a comeback.

With new halls that are bigger, cleaner, more luxurious and friendlier than ever, the pachinko industry is trying to reinvent itself by appealing to new customers, mainly younger Japanese who grew up playing video and computer games, and by cleaning up its image, much as casino operators made Las Vegas more family friendly by driving out the mob.

Photo

Pachinko players at Zent Nagoya Kita, in Nagoya, Japan, last month. Credit Ko Sasaki for The New York Times
The most ambitious of these new stores opened in April here in the central industrial city of Nagoya: the $100 million Zent Nagoya Kita, billed as the biggest pachinko parlor in Japan with more than 1,200 machines.

On a recent weekday afternoon, a deafening roar filled the cavernous parlor as mostly middle-aged and older men sat smoking cigarettes and shooting the little silver balls, machine gun-style, through thickets of metal pins in what looked like vertical pinball machines without flippers. They used dials to adjust the balls’ trajectories and drop them into strategically positioned holes; the more balls go in, the bigger the prize.

Pachinko machines were originally simple mechanical affairs, but now they are fitted with flashy, sometimes outlandish electronics to appeal to the digital-gaming generation. Those in Zent Nagoya Kita have liquid-crystal displays that show images from Hollywood movies, animated chorus lines of dancing sea turtles and smiling whales or clips of one of Japan’s teenage starlets disrobing into a bikini.

A staff of deeply bowing young women dressed like flight attendants work the floor, greeting patrons and handing out prizes. Another feature less visible to visitors: cameras at every entrance that use face-recognition software to spot known gangsters, who are then asked to leave.

“The only way for pachinko to survive is to step out of the shadows and become a respectable member of society,” said Tetsuya Makino, a former pachinko hall worker who is now director of the Pachinko Museum in suburban Tokyo.

But to appeal to Japan’s shrinking population of young people, many say the industry must do more to shed its reputation as a haven for yakuza gangsters and North Korean sympathizers, and modernize the game itself to attract tech-savvy youth who prefer online alternatives. And they say pachinko must do this quickly, before the arrival of casino and resort-operating companies that may soon enter Japan if full-fledged gambling is legalized.

Continue reading the main story Continue reading the main story
Continue reading the main story
But just as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has vowed to restore growth in Japan, there are many who see hope for a revival of pachinko, which first took off after Japan’s defeat in World War II using ball bearings from destroyed armament plants. The game offered a rare source of entertainment for a prostrated nation, and then during the heady decades of postwar economic rebirth, it flourished as a socially tolerated form of gambling for Japan’s hard-toiling office and factory workers.

Photo

A worker, center, monitored pachinko players at Zent Nagoya Kita. Credit Ko Sasaki for The New York Times
Still, according to Mr. Makino and others, pachinko has long been seen as operating on the social margins because most of the original hall operators were Koreans who had immigrated after Japan colonized their homeland in the early 20th century. With most doors shut by discrimination, pachinko provided one of the few avenues for economic advancement for the ethnic minority. Even today, about three-quarters of pachinko hall owners are ethnic Koreans.

The game also acquired an outlaw image from the yakuza, Japan’s large organized crime syndicates, which were drawn to the industry by a legal subterfuge that permitted pachinko to thrive despite laws prohibiting gambling. The police turned a blind eye as patrons received prizes like cigarette cartons or tiny pieces of gold, which they could take to a small window in a nearby building and exchange for money. Pachinko hall owners were legally barred from operating the cash windows, which often fell under the control of organized crime.

The game’s image also suffered because some of the hall owners sent their earnings back to families in what is now North Korea, turning pachinko into a source of hard currency for that isolated nation. During pachinko’s peak in the 1990s, hundreds of millions of dollars may have flowed into North Korea every year, though the industry says recent economic sanctions have largely cut off that financing.

Despite the image problems, pachinko remains a huge business, with $180 billion in sales last year. Japan’s 12,000 pachinko halls are ubiquitous, found in front of most train stations and even in the most remote rural villages, where the glow of their lights can be seen for miles at night. But the industry is also clearly in crisis. From a peak of 30 million in the early 1990s, the number of people who report having played pachinko at least once during the preceding year fell to barely more than 10 million last year, according to the Japan Productivity Center, a market research company based in Tokyo.

To combat the decline, Yoshio Tsuzuki, the president of Zent Company, which owns Zent Nagoya Kita, borrowed an idea from Mr. Abe’s growth policies by saying the industry must do more to appeal to women, which Mr. Tsuzuki called the largest untapped pool of potential new customers.

To lure more women, the parlor features a smoke-free, women-only lounge, and luxurious bathrooms with tall mirrors, designer wallpaper and chandeliers. Besides the game hall, there is a miniature shopping mall, with a convenience store, ramen noodle restaurant, coffee shop, laundromat, flower shop, children’s day care center, wine cellar and even a small art gallery.

“We are hoping that people who have never done pachinko before might come here to do their laundry, use the day care for their children, eat a bowl of ramen, admire a painting — and maybe also stay to give pachinko a try,” said Mr. Tsuzuki, 40, whose father founded Zent Company.

He said about a fifth of the store’s patrons were women, about twice the industry average. However, on a recent night, only a few young women could be seen. One of them, Rina Motoi, 26, who had come with a friend after getting off her job at a bank, said that while she felt comfortable in this store, pachinko as a whole still seemed shady.

“Pachinko still has the same bad, old image as horse racing,” Ms. Motoi said. “Most my friends would rather play on the net at home.”




http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/w...he-pachinko-industry-bets-on-itself.html?_r=0

 

[LeveragedBuyout]

To Draw in New Crowds, an Industry Bets on Itself

NAGOYA, Japan — Part pinball and part roulette, with the lure of quick cash winnings and little silver balls ricocheting off pins and bumpers, the Japanese game of pachinko once seemed a permanent feature of the nation’s postwar landscape, its arcade-style sounds and lights providing a blinking, cacophonous backdrop to life in Japan during the boom years.

In recent years, though, one pachinko hall after another has shut its doors as legions of loyal fans aged and passed away, the industry was tainted by mob ties and — perhaps the biggest turnoff for Japanese youth — the game acquired the musty scent of an artifact of their parents’ generation.

Now, like Japan itself, pachinko is attempting a comeback.

With new halls that are bigger, cleaner, more luxurious and friendlier than ever, the pachinko industry is trying to reinvent itself by appealing to new customers, mainly younger Japanese who grew up playing video and computer games, and by cleaning up its image, much as casino operators made Las Vegas more family friendly by driving out the mob.

Photo

Pachinko players at Zent Nagoya Kita, in Nagoya, Japan, last month. Credit Ko Sasaki for The New York Times
The most ambitious of these new stores opened in April here in the central industrial city of Nagoya: the $100 million Zent Nagoya Kita, billed as the biggest pachinko parlor in Japan with more than 1,200 machines.

On a recent weekday afternoon, a deafening roar filled the cavernous parlor as mostly middle-aged and older men sat smoking cigarettes and shooting the little silver balls, machine gun-style, through thickets of metal pins in what looked like vertical pinball machines without flippers. They used dials to adjust the balls’ trajectories and drop them into strategically positioned holes; the more balls go in, the bigger the prize.

Pachinko machines were originally simple mechanical affairs, but now they are fitted with flashy, sometimes outlandish electronics to appeal to the digital-gaming generation. Those in Zent Nagoya Kita have liquid-crystal displays that show images from Hollywood movies, animated chorus lines of dancing sea turtles and smiling whales or clips of one of Japan’s teenage starlets disrobing into a bikini.

A staff of deeply bowing young women dressed like flight attendants work the floor, greeting patrons and handing out prizes. Another feature less visible to visitors: cameras at every entrance that use face-recognition software to spot known gangsters, who are then asked to leave.

“The only way for pachinko to survive is to step out of the shadows and become a respectable member of society,” said Tetsuya Makino, a former pachinko hall worker who is now director of the Pachinko Museum in suburban Tokyo.

But to appeal to Japan’s shrinking population of young people, many say the industry must do more to shed its reputation as a haven for yakuza gangsters and North Korean sympathizers, and modernize the game itself to attract tech-savvy youth who prefer online alternatives. And they say pachinko must do this quickly, before the arrival of casino and resort-operating companies that may soon enter Japan if full-fledged gambling is legalized.

Continue reading the main story Continue reading the main story
Continue reading the main story
But just as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has vowed to restore growth in Japan, there are many who see hope for a revival of pachinko, which first took off after Japan’s defeat in World War II using ball bearings from destroyed armament plants. The game offered a rare source of entertainment for a prostrated nation, and then during the heady decades of postwar economic rebirth, it flourished as a socially tolerated form of gambling for Japan’s hard-toiling office and factory workers.

Photo

A worker, center, monitored pachinko players at Zent Nagoya Kita. Credit Ko Sasaki for The New York Times
Still, according to Mr. Makino and others, pachinko has long been seen as operating on the social margins because most of the original hall operators were Koreans who had immigrated after Japan colonized their homeland in the early 20th century. With most doors shut by discrimination, pachinko provided one of the few avenues for economic advancement for the ethnic minority. Even today, about three-quarters of pachinko hall owners are ethnic Koreans.

The game also acquired an outlaw image from the yakuza, Japan’s large organized crime syndicates, which were drawn to the industry by a legal subterfuge that permitted pachinko to thrive despite laws prohibiting gambling. The police turned a blind eye as patrons received prizes like cigarette cartons or tiny pieces of gold, which they could take to a small window in a nearby building and exchange for money. Pachinko hall owners were legally barred from operating the cash windows, which often fell under the control of organized crime.

The game’s image also suffered because some of the hall owners sent their earnings back to families in what is now North Korea, turning pachinko into a source of hard currency for that isolated nation. During pachinko’s peak in the 1990s, hundreds of millions of dollars may have flowed into North Korea every year, though the industry says recent economic sanctions have largely cut off that financing.

Despite the image problems, pachinko remains a huge business, with $180 billion in sales last year. Japan’s 12,000 pachinko halls are ubiquitous, found in front of most train stations and even in the most remote rural villages, where the glow of their lights can be seen for miles at night. But the industry is also clearly in crisis. From a peak of 30 million in the early 1990s, the number of people who report having played pachinko at least once during the preceding year fell to barely more than 10 million last year, according to the Japan Productivity Center, a market research company based in Tokyo.

To combat the decline, Yoshio Tsuzuki, the president of Zent Company, which owns Zent Nagoya Kita, borrowed an idea from Mr. Abe’s growth policies by saying the industry must do more to appeal to women, which Mr. Tsuzuki called the largest untapped pool of potential new customers.

To lure more women, the parlor features a smoke-free, women-only lounge, and luxurious bathrooms with tall mirrors, designer wallpaper and chandeliers. Besides the game hall, there is a miniature shopping mall, with a convenience store, ramen noodle restaurant, coffee shop, laundromat, flower shop, children’s day care center, wine cellar and even a small art gallery.

“We are hoping that people who have never done pachinko before might come here to do their laundry, use the day care for their children, eat a bowl of ramen, admire a painting — and maybe also stay to give pachinko a try,” said Mr. Tsuzuki, 40, whose father founded Zent Company.

He said about a fifth of the store’s patrons were women, about twice the industry average. However, on a recent night, only a few young women could be seen. One of them, Rina Motoi, 26, who had come with a friend after getting off her job at a bank, said that while she felt comfortable in this store, pachinko as a whole still seemed shady.

“Pachinko still has the same bad, old image as horse racing,” Ms. Motoi said. “Most my friends would rather play on the net at home.”




http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/w...he-pachinko-industry-bets-on-itself.html?_r=0

$180bn in revenue? Holy cow. No wonder why Las Vegas Sands is pushing so hard to build a casino in Japan. Any thoughts on such a prospect, and the likelihood it would generate jobs, tax revenue, and tourism?

 

[Aepsilons]

$180bn in revenue? Holy cow. No wonder why Las Vegas Sands is pushing so hard to build a casino in Japan. Any thoughts on such a prospect, and the likelihood it would generate jobs, tax revenue, and tourism?

For the longest time they've been against it due to fears of 'social ills' on gambling. Too conservative thinking like that fails to see the potential this has. If they proceed with plans, this could mean thousands of new jobs, and billions more worth in revenue. If the Chinese can realize the benefits of casino resorts such as those in Macao, and the Americans in the likes of Las Vegas...i don't know why we shouldn't also.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

For the longest time they've been against it due to fears of 'social ills' on gambling. Too conservative thinking like that fails to see the potential this has. If they proceed with plans, this could mean thousands of new jobs, and billions more worth in revenue. If the Chinese can realize the benefits of casino resorts such as those in Macao, and the Americans in the likes of Las Vegas...i don't know why we shouldn't also.

$180B is a staggering number. Far far far above Las Vegas.

But even with that huge number I'm skeptical about the long term viability of gaming/casinos, There has been lots of trouble in the US with them financially. People are fickle and not very loyal. Once a new place opens they run for it and leave the others behind.

Foxwoods Resort Casino - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"the second largest casino in the United States"
Foxwoods Reports Details Revenue Erosion, Debt Details, Risks Of Increased Competition - Hartford Courant

"Foxwoods completed its plan to reorganize debt on July 1, 2013, when it exchanged $2.2 billion in outstanding debt for new instruments valued at $1.7 billion."


Trump Entertainment files for bankruptcy; Taj Mahal could close in November | NJ.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/n...tys-newest-and-largest-casino-is-closing.html

Nevada casinos post fifth straight fiscal year net loss | Las Vegas Review-Journal