＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
The “IR Bill” (also known as the Casino Bill) was passed in July 2018, ensuring the establishment of casinos in Japan.
1. What is the IR Act?
The IR Act is the Act on the Development of Specified Integrated Resort Areas, which provides for the development of integrated resorts that include casinos.
This means that up to three casinos, similar to those in Hong Kong, Macau, and Las Vegas, could be established in Japan.
Possible locations include Osaka, Hokkaido, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Nagasaki, Miyazaki, and Okinawa.
2. Advantages and Disadvantages of IRs (Problems)
(1) Advantages
① Economic benefits from an increase in foreign tourists
② Economic benefits from job creation
(2) Disadvantages (Problems)
① Increase in gambling addiction
② Worsening public safety
③ Money laundering concerns
④ Gambling addiction is already widespread
3. Prohibition of public gambling, etc.
(1) Public gambling
Currently, Japan’s “public gambling” programs are horse racing, bicycle racing, boat racing, and auto racing.
(2) Lottery
Lottery is also highly speculative and therefore categorized as public gambling.
(3) Pachinko/Slot Machines
However, I believe that pachinko/slot machines are the biggest cause of gambling addiction.
According to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 3.6% of people “have become suspected of having a gambling addiction in their lifetime.” Applying this to census data, this figure rises to approximately 3.2 million people.
Located throughout Japan’s urban areas, they are a major breeding ground for gambling addiction, thanks to their low cost and easy accessibility.
Another problem is that the majority of the pachinko/slot machine industry is run by South Korean or North Korean companies, and some of their funds may flow to organized crime groups and to South and North Korea, potentially funding North Korea’s missile development.
Pachinko was banned in South Korea by law in 2006.
(4) Online Casinos
Online casinos are said to offer the same excitement as a real casino on a smartphone or computer, and this type of gambling may become more prevalent in the future.
Public gambling is exempt from illegality under special laws, as a portion of its profits is used for public purposes such as social welfare, contributing to the welfare of the people and making financial contributions to national and local governments.
Even if casinos are recognized as facilities that encourage foreign tourists to spend money, I believe that now is the time to consider banning public gambling, in order to restore healthy, hardworking lives to the Japanese people.
However, some have expressed the view that banning public gambling could lead to rampant illegal gambling, just as the decline of large and mid-sized consumer finance companies due to the suppression of high interest rates led to the rise of illegal lending.