Japanese governors are turning to an old-fashioned weapon in a bid to get the country's pachinko gambling parlours to close during the coronavirus pandemic: naming and shaming.
The country is under a month-long state of emergency and officials have asked non-essential businesses to shut their doors.
But Japanese law does not allow the government to force closures, or punish those who stay open, leaving officials turning to a bit of public shaming in the hopes of obtaining compliance.
Spearheading the effort is Osaka governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, who has fended off critics who accuse him of unfairly pressuring businesses.
"It is very possible that infections spread at these places," he told reporters Tuesday.
"I am not doing this to make examples out of them or to apply pressure. This is being done to ask Osaka residents not to go there."
Pachinko is an enormously popular form of gambling in Japan, involving a variety of machines that range from pinball types to some similar to slot machines.
Across the nation, roughly 10,000 establishments operate rows of colourful gaming machines often in large, windowless halls that blare loud music and electronic beeps with players given just enough space to sit next to one another to play.