Amid a din of slot machines and air thick with cigarette smoke, it is hard to believe that the grim-faced punters in the pa-chinko parlours of Ono are enjoying themselves. But this small city in south-central Japan wants to take no risks. In April it enacted a law that orders citizens to inform on anyone found squandering welfare money on pachinko. Trips to hostess bars are also among the pastimes now forbidden for those on so-called "livelihood assistance". The city admits that to its knowledge none of its claimants is guilty of such sprees. But the new law goes down well with taxpayers.
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