Photo/Illutration The Metropolitan Police Department’s headquarters in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Six executives of a pachinko parlor operating company were arrested on suspicion of ordering employees to vote for an industry-related candidate in the Upper House election in July.

Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department and seven other prefectural police departments jointly made the Aug. 26 announcement of the arrests.

The six executives of Derupara, based in Tokyo’s Minato Ward, are accused of violating the Public Offices Election Law.

They allegedly conspired with managers of Derupara-operated pachinko parlors to order and promise to pay employees to vote for Yasuhisa Abe, 66, a candidate endorsed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the proportional representation race in the Upper House election.

The joint investigation headquarters estimates that about 250 employees cast their ballots for Abe on the instructions of their managers.

Abe, 66, is chairman of a nationwide pachinko company unions’ federation named Zen Nihon Yugijigyo Kyodokumiai Rengo Kai (All Japan amusement business cooperative federation).

His campaign expressed support for the pachinko industry, which has seen declining revenues.

Abe gained around 88,000 votes but ranked 20th among the LDP’s 31 proportional representation candidates and failed to win a seat.

The suspects include Masanori Yamamoto, 50, the Derupara president and South Korean national whose real name is Lee Chang-pom.

Kazuyuki Yuasa, a 46-year-old executive sales director who lives in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, and Tomoyuki Konishi, a 44-year-old director responsible for controller department who lives in Yonago, Tottori Prefecture, were also arrested.

According to the joint investigation headquarters’ announcement, Yamamoto and other suspects conspired with managers of Derupara-operated pachinko parlors from early to mid-July to promise cash rewards of 3,000 yen to 4,000 yen ($20 to $27) to 60 employees if they voted for Abe.

Yuasa and Konishi also instructed managers during online meetings on July 2 and 3 to tell employees to vote for Abe, according to investigative sources.

In response, parlor managers told employees to photograph their ballots with Abe’s name written on them, the sources said, and the managers reported the situation to the company’s headquarters.

There has been no confirmation that any employees actually received payment for their votes.

Still, those who complied with the instructions could face charges under the Public Offices Election Law.

The sources said the total number of suspects in the investigation could reach around 280, likely the most in a vote-buying case in a national election since the start of the Heisei Era (1989-2019).

Investigators are also examining the relationship between the pachinko company and Abe’s campaign. They intend to uncover developments that led to the executives’ decision to solicit votes from employees.

Derupara was established in 2007 and operates 31 pachinko parlors in Tokyo, Ibaraki, Saitama, Kanagawa, Tottori, Okayama, Yamaguchi and Kagoshima prefectures, according to private research firms.

Before acquiring Morinaga, a pachinko operating company based in Kagoshima, in January this year, Derupara reported around 69.48 billion yen in revenue for the fiscal year ending in July 2024.