30
involved infighting amongst rival gangs, only served to further detract from the image of bicycle
racing
28
. Public pressure eventually led to greater policing of gang involvement and the imposition of
strict penalties for race fixing helped to undermine bicycle racing’s reputation for corruption.
Other factors, which contributed to bicycle racing’s enduring dubious reputation, included the
fact that keirin patrons tended to consist mainly of the elderly and the unemployed since they were
among the only sectors of the population which could attend the daytime events. As a form of
gambling, both bicycle racing and motorboat racing gained a reputation for being at the hardcore end
of the spectrum, due in part to a tendency of these activities to attract higher wagers than other forms
of gambling for money. In 2005 for example, the average spent annually per patron on bicycle and
motorboat racing was somewhat more than that wagered on most other forms of gambling (see table 1).
It is only relatively recently that the image of bicycle racing in Japan has begun to improve. The
official inclusion of keirin in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney
29
has helped to redefine bicycle racing in
Japan as a wholesome sport and raise its profile internationally, as has the Olympic success of
Japanese riders Nagatsuka Tomohiro, Fushimi Toshiaki and Inoue Masaki, all of whom were silver
medalists at the 2004 Olympic games in Athens. Domestically, perhaps the most successful Japanese
rider has been Yuichirô Kamigawa, who has won more than 500 career races and more than 1.5 billion
yen ($15 million) in prize money.
Table 1: Participation & Expenditure on various forms of gambling in Japan (2005)
Activity No.
Participants
% Population Avg. No. of
times/year
Avg. spent/
year (yen)
Avg. spent/
time (yen)
Bicycles 1,000,000 0.9 16.8 66,400 3,950
Motorboats 1,200,000 1.1 21 92,400 4,400
Motorcycles 100,000 0.1 3.0 32,500 10,830
Horse racing
Chuô
7,500,000 6.8 15.6 56,300 3,610
Chihô
1,300,000 1.2 10.7 53,600 5,010
Lottery 43,800,000 39.7 9.9 22,300 2,250
Soccer lottery 1,500,000 1.4 13.9 19,300 1,390
Pachinko 17,100,000 15.5 23.6 103,200 4,370
Mahjong 7,600,000 6.9 13.4 18,300 1,370
Source: White Paper on Leisure 2006, published by the Centre for Social and Economic Productivity
28
The Japan Times, 7 April 2002.
29
Japan Times 13 September 2000.