How far can you choose a property for a game arcade / amusement facility? (Entertainment Business Act, category 5)

In short: a game arcade / amusement facility is a "category-5 business (amusement arcade)" under Article 2(1)(v) of the Act on Control and Improvement of Amusement Business, etc. (the Entertainment Business Act), and where a property may be placed is narrowed on two levels: (1) whether the building-standard zoning allows an amusement arcade, and (2) whether it clears the business-restricted areas that a prefectural ordinance sets under Article 4(2) of the Act (distance from protected facilities; exclusion of residential zones). The preliminary check of the property (zoning, distance, area) is handled by our company (Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd.) as information; the category-5 licence application itself is handled by Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office, and fire-service equipment by the fire station and equipment contractors. These are independent business entities, and you engage each directly.

When you set out to open a shop lined with crane games or amusement machines on a suburban roadside or near a station, the most painful failure is renting the property and only then learning "no licence will be granted here." This article is for operators who want to open a category-5 shop and for the agents who introduce their properties: it sets out, from the Entertainment Business Act and related laws, the zoning, distance, area and business-hours points you can check from the property side before signing. The final judgment on feasibility rests with the police station with jurisdiction and qualified professionals; we handle the arrangement of materials and information.

Which category of the Entertainment Business Act is a game arcade, and in which zones can you place a property?

A game arcade falls under Article 2(1)(v) of the Entertainment Business Act. That item covers "a business that lets customers play games at a shop or similar demarcated facility equipped with slot machines, video game machines or other gaming equipment that can be used for a purpose other than their intended purpose in a way likely to arouse a speculative spirit (limited to those specified by National Public Safety Commission rules)." In practice it is called a "category-5 business." A shop that lets customers play with crane games (UFO catchers) or medal games generally falls under this category 5.

The place where you can put a property has to pass through two nets, both of them.

Net	Basis	What to look at
Building-standard zoning	Building Standards Act Art. 48, Appended Table 2	Whether an amusement arcade can be built in that use zone
Entertainment-business restricted area	Entertainment Business Act Art. 4(2), prefectural ordinance	Whether it is outside the areas (residential) that should preserve a good customs environment

The prefectural ordinance under Article 4(2) in practice limits the areas where you may operate to commercial zones, neighbourhood commercial zones, quasi-industrial zones, industrial zones, unzoned areas and the like, and as a rule grants no licence in residential use zones. It is not rare that a property can be built under the Building Standards Act yet cannot be operated under the entertainment-business ordinance. At the stage of narrowing down properties, the stricter ordinance restriction is effectively the dividing line. For how to find commercial properties see investment / commercial real estate; if you also run food service, choosing a skeleton property to open a restaurant also helps. For property enquiries see office / shop properties.

How does the distance restriction from protected facilities (schools, hospitals, libraries) bear on choosing a property?

Article 4(2)(ii) of the Entertainment Business Act, to preserve a good customs environment, delegates to prefectural ordinances the power to restrict operation within a set range around "protected facilities" such as schools, libraries, child welfare facilities, hospitals and clinics with beds. Because the distance figures and the scope of covered facilities differ by ordinance, once the address of a candidate property is fixed, checking the distance to nearby protected facilities against the ordinance is central to choosing the property.

• The restriction attaches not only by "use zone" but also by "whether a protected facility is nearby"
• Even in the same commercial zone, a licence may not be granted if a hospital or school is next door
• Distance is generally measured as a straight line from the site boundary, but the way of measuring, too, depends on the ordinance

Distance from protected facilities cannot be judged from a map and a zoning map alone. It is safest to confirm, through a prior consultation with the police station with jurisdiction (community safety division), that the address does not fall within a business-restricted area before proceeding to a contract. Measuring the distance, preparing drawings and readying the licence application are handled by an administrative scrivener.

What structural requirements does category 5 place on the property — sightlines, illumination, partitioning?

Article 4(3) of the Entertainment Business Act provides that a licence will not be granted where the structure and equipment of the premises do not conform to the technical standards set by National Public Safety Commission rules. The main property-related structural requirements for a category-5 business (amusement arcade) are as follows.

Item	Content
Illumination	Keep the illumination of the area where customers play at or above the standard set by ordinance/rule (10 lux in Tokyo). Unlike low-light restaurants, the rule is "do not make it too dark"
Sightlines	Do not install equipment that blocks a view through the interior of the premises (tall partitions, private rooms)
Decoration	Do not install photographs or advertising likely to harm good morals
Noise / vibration	Do not exceed the figures set by ordinance (relations with neighbours)

Note the direction of the 10-lux rule. Category-1 (entertaining food and drink) and category-2 (low-light restaurants) are regulated for "darkness," whereas an amusement arcade (category 5) is conversely regulated to keep a certain brightness. At the property-selection stage, you check with design/equipment contractors whether the ceiling height, lighting plan and layout can meet the standard, and how far you can touch the interior. Fire-service equipment (whether automatic fire-alarm systems, guide lights, sprinklers, etc. are required) is the domain of the Fire Service Act, handled by the fire station and equipment contractors.

How do the business-hours restriction (in principle to midnight) and the local ordinance affect the property's revenue plan?

Article 13(1) of the Entertainment Business Act provides that, as a rule, an entertainment-business operator may not operate during the hours from midnight to 6 a.m. A game arcade runs to midnight in principle, with room to extend to 1 a.m. in areas designated as "hour-extension permitted areas" by prefectural ordinance (as in Tokyo).

• A revenue plan counting on late-night sales has its premise change depending on whether the property is in an hour-extension permitted area
• Even within the same municipality, midnight or 1 a.m. differs by area
• There are also separate restrictions on entry by customers under 18 and on time bands, affecting the assumed customer base

A "24-hour game arcade" is in principle not possible as a category-5 business. A plan for rent burden and investment recovery that factors in late-night footfall must be built after confirming the property location's business-hours classification against the ordinance. We can present the property's revenue simulation; the final confirmation of the hours classification goes to the police station with jurisdiction and the administrative scrivener.

How do you avoid the risk of signing a lease before the licence is granted (condition precedent, special clause)?

A category-5 licence presupposes that the property meets the zoning, distance and structure requirements. If you sign a lease without confirming whether a licence will be granted, and only after rent starts learn "it was a property for which no licence issues," you are left with no choice but to restore the premises and withdraw.

Situation	Risk-avoidance measure
Before a prospect of a licence	Confirm the prospect through prior consultation with the police station and area research by an administrative scrivener
When signing the lease	Negotiate with the lessor over inserting a condition precedent / special clause that "the contract is void if no category-5 licence is granted"
Interior / equipment	Confirm with design/equipment contractors, before starting work, whether an interior meeting the structural requirements is physically possible

Have a question about your situation?

Tell us about your property search or plans to sell.

Chat on LINEContact us

Contract after confirming the prospect of a licence, or insert a special clause making the contract conditional on the licence — unless you take one of these, one-sided risk remains with the party who rented the property. Whether such a clause is possible, and its wording, depend on negotiation with the lessor; checking the contract terms is handled by us, and the licence application and dealings with the authority by an administrative scrivener.

Property, licence and fire service — who do you split the work to, safely (separate engagement)?

Opening a game arcade overlaps three domains: real estate, licence and fire service. Dividing the roles:

What to do	Who
Preliminary check of zoning, distance and area; introducing the property and checking the lease	Licensed real estate agent (Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd.)
Category-5 licence application, area research, dealings with the authority	Administrative scrivener (Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office)
Installation of fire-service equipment, compliance with the Fire Service Act, fire-object notification	Fire station / fire-equipment contractors
Interior design and construction for structure, illumination, layout	Design office / interior contractors

These are independent business entities. You engage each directly. We neither pay nor accept referral fees or introduction commissions. The property goes to a licensed real estate agent, the Entertainment Business Act licence application to an administrative scrivener, and the fire service to the fire station and equipment contractors — each engaged by you directly. The final judgment on feasibility is made by the police station and fire station with jurisdiction.

Who should you consult?

The preliminary check of the property's zoning, distance from protected facilities and area, the introduction of the property, and checking the lease terms are handled by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent, Tokyo Governor (1) No. 113304). The category-5 (amusement arcade) licence application, research of business-restricted areas and preparation of the licence application are handled by Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office. Fire-service equipment and fire-object notification go to the fire station and fire-equipment contractors; interior design and construction for structure, illumination and layout go to a design office and interior contractors.

These are independent business entities. You engage each directly. We neither pay nor accept referral fees or introduction commissions. Employment and social insurance go to a certified social insurance labour consultant (Yotsuba Certified Social Insurance Labour Consultant Office) — each engaged by you directly. Consultation is free of charge.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Does a shop that places only crane games still need an Entertainment Business Act licence?
A. A shop equipped with crane games as gaming equipment that lets customers play generally falls under Article 2(1)(v) of the Entertainment Business Act (category-5 amusement arcade) and needs a licence. However, the scope of regulated gaming equipment is set by National Public Safety Commission rules, and the judgment can differ depending on the machines and how they are operated. Confirm the individual case through prior consultation with the police station with jurisdiction. Preparation of the application is undertaken by an administrative scrivener.

Q. There is a vacant shop in a residential use zone. Can I make it a game arcade?
A. It is often difficult. Besides whether an amusement arcade can be built in the building-standard use zone, the prefectural ordinance under Article 4(2) of the Entertainment Business Act treats residential use zones as business-restricted areas and as a rule grants no licence. At the stage of narrowing down properties, commercial zones, neighbourhood commercial zones and quasi-industrial zones are the candidates. Confirming the use zone and the restricted area before signing is safest.

Q. If a hospital or school is nearby, can I still not operate even in a commercial zone?
A. Schools, hospitals, libraries, child welfare facilities and the like are protected facilities under the Entertainment Business Act, and prefectural ordinances restrict operation within a set range around them. Even in the same commercial zone, a licence may not be granted if the distance to a protected facility does not reach the ordinance standard. Because the distance figures and covered facilities differ by ordinance, once the candidate property's address is fixed you confirm through prior consultation with the police station with jurisdiction.

Q. Is it all right to contract for a property before I know whether a licence will be granted?
A. Not recommended. Even for a property for which no licence issues, rent still accrues and restoration costs on withdrawal arise. Confirming the prospect through prior consultation with the police station before contracting, or negotiating with the lessor a condition precedent / special clause that "the contract is void if no category-5 licence is granted," lets you avoid one-sided risk. Whether such a clause is possible depends on negotiation with the lessor.

Sources (primary)

• e-Gov "Act on Control and Improvement of Amusement Business, etc." — Act No. 122 of 1948. Art. 2(1)(v) (definition of an amusement arcade / category-5 business), Art. 3 (licence for the business), Art. 4(1) (personal licence standards — grounds for disqualification), Art. 4(2) (locational standards — business-restricted areas set by ordinance under a Cabinet-order standard, distance from protected facilities), Art. 4(3) (technical standards for structure and equipment), Art. 13(1) (business-hours restriction — in principle midnight to 6 a.m.). Accessed 25 September 2026.
• e-Gov "Building Standards Act" — Act No. 201 of 1950. Art. 48 and Appended Table 2 (restriction on building uses by use zone; whether an amusement arcade can be built). Accessed 25 September 2026.
• Each prefecture's "Ordinance for enforcement of the Act on Control and Improvement of Amusement Business, etc." (specific standards for business-restricted areas, distance from protected facilities, business hours and illumination; confirm the ordinance of the prefecture where the premises are located). Tokyo example: Tokyo enforcement ordinance. Accessed 25 September 2026.
• Guidance on the amusement-business licence (category-5 amusement arcade) from the National Police Agency and the police station with jurisdiction (community safety division). The specific application of restricted areas, distance and structure/equipment is confirmed through prior consultation with the police station with jurisdiction. Accessed 25 September 2026.

Whether the zoning fits, the distance from protected facilities, the standards for structure/illumination/layout, and the specific application of the hours classification vary with the property location, the prefectural ordinance and the content of the machines. This article does not judge the feasibility of a licence for any particular property. The final judgment on feasibility is made by the police station and fire station with jurisdiction. The category-5 licence application and dealings with the authority go to an administrative scrivener (Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office); fire-service equipment to the fire station and fire-equipment contractors — consult each directly.

This article is general information. It does not judge or guarantee the feasibility of a licence for any particular property or its legality. Investigation and brokerage of the property, and the lease, are undertaken by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent); preparation of the Entertainment Business Act licence application and other documents, by Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office — independent business entities, engaged separately and directly. We neither pay nor accept referral fees.

About the author

Joji Uramatsu — licensed real estate transaction specialist (Tokyo Governor registration No. 293544) and administrative scrivener (registration No. 25087022). Representative Director, Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent, Tokyo Governor (1) No. 113304); principal, Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office. Kohinata, Bunkyo, Tokyo, about five minutes' walk from Myogadani station. Property and licensing (sorting the Entertainment Business Act, fire service and zoning) are put on the same table. Full profile: author page.