Japanese prosecutors have indicted a 35-year-old Okinawa police lieutenant for habitual gambling on unlicensed online horse racing betting sites, an illegal activity in Japan where only official Japan Racing Association (JRA) channels are permitted for betting. Between April 2024 and April 2025, the officer placed numerous bets totaling over 9.75 million yen (about $62,000), including during working hours, and took out excessive loans to fund his addiction. After being suspended for six months, he resigned voluntarily. This case follows a similar incident last year involving another police sergeant disciplined for online casino gambling.
The Okinawa Prefectural Police Chief expressed regret over the repeated breaches of conduct and pledged to enhance ethics training to restore public trust. This incident is part of a broader trend of gambling addiction issues among Japanese police officers, highlighted by a recent case in Saitama where an officer sold rare trading cards from evidence storage to finance his horse racing bets. These developments underscore growing concerns about gambling addiction within law enforcement ranks in Japan.
