Okura Holdings, one of Japan’s largest pachinko operators, stated on Wednesday that it has no plans to shutter any of its 17 pachinko halls after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency.
As previously reported by Inside Asian Gaming, Abe issued the declaration on Tuesday covering Tokyo, Kanagawa, Osaka, Saitama, Chiba, Hyogo and Fukuoka. The state of emergency will be in place until 6 May although under Japanese law it serves more as a request than an order with the government having no legal recourse to force businesses to close or citizens to stay home.
Addressing Abe’s state of emergency in a Wednesday filing, Okura noted that five of its pachinko halls are located in affected areas but said it “intends to continue operating all of its pachinko halls across Japan, including the five pachinko halls in the areas under the state of emergency.”
Okura did, however, flag a likely decline in visitation to the five halls in question – located in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Hoyogo and Fukuoka – which may adversely impact the group’s revenue and profit for the year ended 30 June 2020.
“The management of the Group has been closely observing the development of the outbreak of the COVID-19, formulated prevention and control measures to minimize risks of an outbreak at all business operations across Japan and to cope with uncertainties faced by the Group, and will continue to assess the overall impact of the COVID-19 on its financial position and operating results,” the company said.
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