Six Pachinko Executives Arrested for Vote-Buying Involving 60 Employees, Payments in Support of LDP’s Yasuhisa Abe

Tokyo Metropolitan Police and other prefectural police arrested six executives, including the president of a pachinko parlor operating company, on suspicion of violating Japan's Public Offices Election Law by promising monetary rewards in exchange for votes during the July 20 Upper House election. The suspects allegedly instructed store managers to encourage about 60 employees across 17 stores in Tokyo and six other prefectures to vote for Yasuhisa Abe, a 66-year-old candidate who ran unsuccessfully as a Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) proportional representation candidate and is also the chairman of the All Japan Amusement Business Cooperative Federation. The employees were reportedly promised payments of 3,000 to 4,000 yen each for voting for Abe. The company distributed memos directing employees to vote for Abe and required store managers to report voting status back to higher-ups. Multiple store managers acknowledged following orders despite recognizing the illegality. Abe has denied any involvement in the alleged vote-buying scheme. The pachinko industry, facing a 30-year decline and regulatory pressures, had sought to regain political influence through Abe's candidacy. Investigations revealed a coordinated effort with role assignments among company executives to mobilize votes. The arrests reflect ongoing scrutiny of electoral integrity in Japan amid concerns about organized vote-buying practices.