UPDATE 1 - Many of Japan's pachinko parlours stay open despite state of emergency

Visitors play pachinko, a Japanese form of legal gambling, at a pachinko parlour, after the government announced nationwide state of emergency following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

TOKYO (Reuters) - As stores have closed across Japan during a state of emergency, some pachinko parlours remain defiantly open, sparking concern the noisy gambling halls could undermine the government's fight against the novel coronavirus.

The halls, where players sit back-to-back at long rows of machines amid the jangle of bouncing steel balls and garish flashing lights, are a fixture on many Japanese streets and are popular with young people, the underemployed and hardcore gamblers.