A man who spent his entire 10 million JPY retirement package on pachinko

My name is "Tatsuro Yoneyama", I'm 66 years old.

I retired a year ago from a food manufacturer and now live alone in a run-down apartment.

I was married with children, but we divorced ten years ago. The reason was because I was addicted to gambling, even going into debt for it.

Seeing this, my wife reached her limit and left with the children.

"I can't believe you'd borrow money to gamble! I'm taking the children and going back to my parents' house!"

"Wait a second!"

Looking back, I can't blame her. At the time, I was into horse racing, bicycle racing, pachinko, and mahjong, you name it.

I couldn't stop because of the exhilarating feeling I got when I won.

So, what about now?

Well, I've reflected quite a bit and now I only play pachinko.

But I go almost every day.

A lot of people don't know what to do with their free time after retirement, but I'm not like that. Since I don't have to work, I can play pachinko to my heart's content.

I may look like a good-for-nothing loafer, living in a run-down apartment, wearing a ratty T-shirt and sweatpants, and spending my days at the pachinko parlor, but that's not the truth.

"Well, tomorrow I'll be back at the pachinko parlor bright and early! I'll turn in a little early tonight!"

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The next morning...

While waiting in line at the pachinko parlor, a familiar face, Kouji Baba, called out to me.

"Oh, Mr. Tatsuro! I thought you'd be here today too!"

"Oh, it's you, Kouji. Are you lining up too...?"

"Yes..."

"But, are you really okay coming to a place like this so early in the morning when you're only in your 30s?"

"Yes, I'm fine... But are you sure you're okay, Mr. Tatsuro?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, your pension is only about 130,000 JPY, right? Can you really keep playing pachinko every day and still make ends meet?"

"Don't worry, I have a 10 million JPY retirement package to fall back on..."

"10 million JPY? That's amazing..."

"Yeah, so even though my pension is only 130,000 JPY, I can still live comfortably."

"I, I see..."

"Hahaha!"

Thanks to my savings, I can play my beloved pachinko every day. The feeling of despair when I lose money and the excitement when I think I might win it back are unparalleled.

Of course, none of it means anything if I don't win, though...

I step into the pachinko parlor and start playing right away.

"Ahh~, damn it! I'm not hitting anything!"

Today was a bad day, I lost 100,000 JPY...

Oh well, I still have plenty of money. A measly 100,000 JPY loss is nothing...

I may only drink cheap liquor at home, but when I go out, I frequent snack bars and cabarets as I please. This is the luxury of having savings. My current standard of living is probably much higher than when I was a salaryman.

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Those who aim to be professional pachinko players might study and research efficient playing methods, but I'm just a pachinko enthusiast, so I'm not willing to put in that much effort.

Reunion with a colleague from my salaryman days

One evening...

I happened to run into "Shiro Sonoda", a colleague from my salaryman days.

"Hey, isn't that Yoneyama?"

"Oh, Sonoda..."

"Long time no see! I think the last time we met was when we both retired, right?"

"Yeah, but... What are you doing here?"

"I recently moved very close by, so I was just taking a walk and exploring the neighborhood."

"I see..."

"So, are you here for your usual pachinko session? You look like you're having a tough time."

"W, what are you talking about? I'm just wearing these clothes because everything else is in the wash..."

"Is that so... I thought you might have gotten into debt in the past year."

"Don't be ridiculous..."

"Sorry, sorry. Well, since we've run into each other, let's go for a drink. My treat, by way of apology. We have a lot to catch up on, anyway..."

"D, drinking...?"

"Yeah, of course, I'll pay. Come on."

And so, we headed to a nearby izakaya.

"So, Yoneyama, how have you been lately?"

"Well, I've been... let's just say I've been able to live comfortably."

"That's good to hear. Me, on the other hand, I don't have much financial leeway in my retirement. I have to be careful with my spending every day..."

"That's too bad. I still have my retirement package to rely on..."

"Just your retirement package? What about your savings?"

"I haven't saved anything, just the 10 million JPY retirement package."

"Huh? Isn't that a little bit?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, 10 million JPY won't be enough for the rest of your life, will it?"

"What do you mean? It's 10 million JPY!?"

"How long do you think you'll live? If you spend 50,000 JPY a month, that's 600,000 JPY a year. In 20 years, that's 1.2 million JPY. And you'd only be 86 years old then. In this era where people live to be 100, 10 million JPY won't be enough, will it?"

"U, urr..."

"If you keep spending it all on pachinko, it'll be gone before you know it. Take it from me, you should start saving from tomorrow onwards..."

"Shut up! Don't tell me how to live my life!"

"O, okay... I didn't mean to make you so angry..."

"Anyway, I'm going to keep winning at pachinko and living a luxurious life!"

"S, sorry..."

"It's fine, it's fine! Just remember what I said!"

The next day

"Ouch, my head hurts... I'm definitely hungover... I drank too much yesterday... I can't remember much... I think I ran into Sonoda, and he treated me to drinks, and then we parted ways... Oh, that's right, I went to my favorite snack bar alone and drank a lot there... And then... How did I get home?"

Even as I spent money on pachinko, I also spent 50,000 or 60,000 JPY at snack bars and cabarets. I spent money without a second thought, whenever and however much I wanted.

This went on for three years, and my savings dwindled to 3.8 million JPY.

"I've spent over 6 million JPY in three years... Well, I guess that's not too bad considering how much fun I've had... Yeah, it's fine... I can always win it back at pachinko, and if things get a bit tight, I can just save a little from now on..."

And so, I continued my carefree, thoughtless lifestyle, indulging in luxury and playing pachinko from morning to 9 pm every day. When I won, I celebrated with drinks at snack bars and cabarets.

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"Hahaha! This is the best retirement life!"

"Don't overdo it, okay? As you get older, your body can't handle the strain as well..."

"Don't worry, Mama. I've never been sick a day in my life! Besides, they say that illness comes from a negative mindset, and I think that's true... As long as I feel this happy, I won't get sick."

My savings run out

However, two years later, my savings finally ran out.

"What am I going to do now? I need to figure out how to live from now on... There's no way I can survive on just my 130,000 JPY monthly pension... Rent is 40,000 JPY, utilities are 10,000 JPY, and my cell phone bill is 6,000 JPY... It's impossible... Okay, I'll make up the difference by winning at pachinko..."

I went to the pachinko parlor, but instead of my usual 4 JPY machine, I sat down at a 1 JPY machine.

Alright, here we go. Even though it's only 1 JPY, I should be able to get about 20 consecutive wins...

"Come on! Please! Hit! I need to win today to pay my rent!"

(If I miss this chance, my life is basically over, but I know I'll hit something!)

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However, reality was cruel...

"W, why... It's a scam that it didn't hit there..."

I had no choice but to apply for a bank card loan and a consumer finance card loan that even pension recipients could get. I didn't want to bother with small loans, so I decided to borrow the maximum amount right away.

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Apparently, I could borrow up to 80% of my annual pension, so I was able to borrow 1.2 million JPY.

"Alright! Now I can make one last gamble to get it all back! First, I need to pay off my debts!"

And so, the next day, and the day after that, I lined up at the pachinko parlor...

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But three months later...

I suffered a crushing defeat. There were small wins here and there, but overall, I lost a significant amount.

(What am I going to do now? I only have enough money left for rent... Should I get a job? No, it's too late for that now. I've only lived a self-indulgent, pachinko-addicted life up until now... Of course, I can't just start working now. I want to make easy money from pachinko! It's only one month until my next pension payment. How am I going to survive until then...)

Almost got arrested for shoplifting

I sold everything I didn't need at home and tried to stay still as much as possible to avoid getting hungry.

My daily meal was just one slice of bread.

However, after about a week, my head started to feel fuzzy, and I ended up wandering into a nearby supermarket.

I filled my basket with all the things I wanted to eat and tried to leave the store without going through the register.

That's when it happened...

"Excuse me, wait a second!"

"Huh?"

"Don't play innocent. I've never seen anyone try to shoplift so blatantly before. Can I talk to you for a second?"

I was caught by the security guard and taken to the office.

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Fortunately, the store manager was a kind person, and since it was my first offense, I was let off with a strict warning instead of being arrested.

I was lucky.

And finally, pension day arrived!

(I somehow managed to get through this tough month, so something good is bound to happen! I'll definitely win it all back!)

And so, I took my bimonthly pension and started playing pachinko from morning till night.

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However, despite my determination, I couldn't hit anything...

(What's going on here...)

In the end, my 260,000 JPY pension was gone.

I was overwhelmed by a deep sense of despair, wondering how I would survive from now on...

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I don't even want to think about what happened after that...

With no money left, I couldn't pay my rent and was kicked out of my run-down apartment.

I had nowhere to go, so now I'm homeless and living in a park.

Conclusion

We live in an era where people can expect to live to be 100 years old. There's even a term, "longevity risk", to describe the financial hardship that can occur when you outlive your retirement savings. So, it's important to be thoughtful about how you spend your money.