Many of the owners of Japan’s 11,000 pachinko halls are from the Korean Peninsula, and some with relations to North Korea have sent substantial sums of money back home for many years. Such “contributors” to the wellbeing of the North Korean economy are recognized by the regime in Pyongyang according to the extent of their support, and are given awards and sometimes publicly recognized as patriots. And on national days, such as the birthday of North Korea’s founder, Kim Il-sung, these expats are almost forced to contribute; indeed, they can be assigned to raise sums big enough to cover the cost of food distributed to North Koreans on such occasions.
