The National Police Agency has proposed lowering the standard fees that amusement-business operators pay to have gaming machines approved by prefectural public safety commissions. The draft cabinet order would take effect on 1 April 2027, and the agency is taking public comment from 6 November to 5 December 2026.
What the fees would be
The draft amends the enforcement order of the law regulating amusement businesses. It touches two fee provisions, Article 14 and Article 29.
Under Article 14, an operator seeking approval for a machine of a type that has already passed the commission's type testing pays a standard ¥4,340 today. The draft sets it at ¥3,030. Machines that have taken the approval-related test at a designated testing body are excluded from that category. For further machines of the same type approved at the same time in the same prefecture, the fee falls to ¥30 from ¥40.
Under Article 29, an operator that adds, replaces or otherwise changes machines needs a separate commission approval. Where the machines include unapproved ones of a type-tested model, the standard is ¥5,200 plus ¥40 per unapproved machine. The draft sets it at ¥3,900 plus ¥30 per unapproved machine.
| Fee item | Current | Proposed |
|---|---|---|
| Approval of a type-tested machine (Article 14) | ¥4,340 | ¥3,030 |
| Each further machine of the same type, same time and prefecture | ¥40 | ¥30 |
| Change approval with unapproved machines: base amount (Article 29) | ¥5,200 | ¥3,900 |
| Change approval: add-on per unapproved machine | ¥40 | ¥30 |
The stated reason
The agency says the cuts reflect the actual cost of processing approvals. It plans to revisit how on-site inspections are carried out and to make them more appropriate and efficient. It expects lower labour and material costs as a result. The draft's rationale statement repeats that fees need resetting to match processing costs.
The draft does not estimate how many approvals are filed in a year or how much fee income would change. It also does not describe the revised inspection procedure in detail.
How to comment
Comments must be in Japanese and reach the agency between 6 November and 5 December 2026. They can be sent through the e-Gov public comment form, by email or by post to the agency's Public Security Division in the Community Safety Bureau. The agency asks submitters to say which part of the annex a comment concerns. It will not reply to comments individually, and it may publish the content of comments other than addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.