<s>
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
riichi	B-Application
mahjong	I-Application
,	O
is	O
a	O
variation	O
of	O
mahjong	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Tokyo	O
,	O
he	O
started	O
a	O
mahjong	B-Application
club	O
,	O
parlor	O
,	O
and	O
school	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mahjong	B-Application
,	O
as	O
of	O
2010	O
,	O
is	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
table	O
game	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
2008	O
,	O
there	O
were	O
approximately	O
7.6	O
million	O
mahjong	B-Application
players	O
and	O
about	O
8,900	O
mahjong	B-Application
parlors	O
in	O
the	O
country	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
several	O
manga	O
and	O
anime	O
devoted	O
to	O
dramatic	O
and	O
comic	O
situations	O
involving	O
mahjong	B-Application
(	O
see	O
Media	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Japanese	O
video	O
arcades	O
have	O
introduced	O
mahjong	B-Application
arcade	I-Application
machines	I-Application
that	O
can	O
be	O
connected	O
to	O
others	O
over	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
also	O
video	O
game	O
versions	O
of	O
strip	O
mahjong	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
no	O
universal	O
authority	O
for	O
riichi	B-Application
mahjong	I-Application
in	O
Japan	O
:	O
professionals	O
cannot	O
dictate	O
how	O
mahjong	B-Application
parlors	O
or	O
amateur	O
organizations	O
and	O
players	O
operate	O
,	O
nor	O
can	O
they	O
regulate	O
each	O
other	O
since	O
everything	O
is	O
left	O
to	O
the	O
free	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Likewise	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
global	O
authority	O
regulating	O
riichi	B-Application
mahjong	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
2018	O
,	O
there	O
exists	O
a	O
league	O
of	O
select	O
professionals	O
(	O
coming	O
from	O
the	O
other	O
professional	O
mahjong	B-Application
organizations	O
)	O
named	O
M.League	O
,	O
sponsored	O
by	O
Daiwa	O
Securities	O
,	O
which	O
takes	O
the	O
game	O
and	O
presents	O
it	O
as	O
a	O
professional	O
sport	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Teams	O
of	O
professionals	O
receive	O
salary	O
as	O
players	O
,	O
compete	O
in	O
ranking	O
and	O
playoffs	O
as	O
teams	O
,	O
and	O
wear	O
team	O
jerseys	O
to	O
enhance	O
the	O
image	O
of	O
mahjong	B-Application
as	O
a	O
sport	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Japanese	B-Application
mahjong	I-Application
is	O
usually	O
played	O
with	O
136	O
tiles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Just	O
like	O
standard	O
mahjong	B-Application
,	O
there	O
are	O
three	O
suits	O
of	O
tiles	O
,	O
pin	O
(	O
circles	O
)	O
,	O
sō	O
(	O
bamboo	O
)	O
and	O
wan	O
(	O
characters	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
unranked	O
honor	O
tiles	O
( 字牌	O
jihai	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
,	O
this	O
was	O
10,000	O
coins	O
made	O
up	O
of	O
100	O
strings	O
of	O
100	O
coins	O
each	O
(	O
see	O
mahjong	B-Application
tiles	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
basic	O
rules	O
of	O
mahjong	B-Application
apply	O
to	O
the	O
Japanese	O
variation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
calls	O
operate	O
exactly	O
the	O
same	O
as	O
any	O
variation	O
of	O
mahjong	B-Application
,	O
except	O
Japanese	O
terminology	O
is	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
basic	O
rules	O
to	O
mahjong	B-Application
apply	O
with	O
the	O
Japanese	O
variation	O
,	O
an	O
additional	O
,	O
distinct	O
set	O
of	O
rules	O
are	O
applied	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
See	O
the	O
rules	O
for	O
Old	O
Hong	O
Kong	O
Mahjong	B-Application
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
said	O
that	O
the	O
name	O
dora	O
stands	O
for	O
"	O
dragon	O
,	O
"	O
although	O
it	O
has	O
nothing	O
to	O
do	O
with	O
dragon	O
tiles	O
in	O
contemporary	O
Japanese	B-Application
mahjong	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
the	O
mahjong	B-Application
variants	O
,	O
the	O
Japanese	O
scoring	O
system	O
is	O
unique	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
many	O
mahjong	B-Application
variants	O
,	O
discards	O
are	O
simply	O
placed	O
in	O
the	O
middle	O
of	O
the	O
table	O
in	O
a	O
disorganized	O
fashion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Japanese	B-Application
mahjong	I-Application
,	O
many	O
rules	O
allow	O
abortive	O
draws	O
to	O
be	O
declared	O
while	O
tiles	O
are	O
still	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Often	O
in	O
mahjong	B-Application
parlors	O
across	O
Japan	O
,	O
an	O
additional	O
bonus	O
payment	O
called	O
shūgi	O
( 祝儀	O
)	O
is	O
given	O
to	O
players	O
who	O
won	O
their	O
hand	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Japanese	B-Application
Mahjong	I-Application
has	O
an	O
extensively	O
developed	O
theory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Japanese	B-Application
Mahjong	I-Application
is	O
reliant	O
on	O
both	O
skill	O
and	O
luck	O
,	O
so	O
strategy	O
focuses	O
on	O
gaining	O
probabilistic	O
and	O
strategical	O
advantages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Japanese	B-Application
Mahjong	I-Application
is	O
a	O
comparative	O
point	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
betting	O
variations	O
of	O
Mahjong	B-Application
,	O
decisions	O
are	O
made	O
compared	O
to	O
other	O
players	O
instead	O
of	O
a	O
strict	O
expected	O
value	O
basis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Japanese	B-Application
Mahjong	I-Application
the	O
first	O
player	O
to	O
complete	O
their	O
hand	O
wins	O
the	O
round	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
Mahjong	B-Application
is	O
a	O
game	O
dependent	O
on	O
psychology	O
and	O
game	O
theory	O
,	O
experienced	O
players	O
often	O
deviate	O
from	O
strict	O
tile	O
acceptance	O
theory	O
,	O
aiming	O
to	O
bluff	O
or	O
mislead	O
opponents	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ability	O
to	O
fold	O
in	O
Japanese	B-Application
Mahjong	I-Application
is	O
aided	O
by	O
the	O
sacred	O
discard	O
rules	O
(	O
furiten	O
)	O
which	O
create	O
guaranteed	O
safe	O
tiles	O
Genbutsu	O
( 現物	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
a	O
four	O
player	O
version	O
called	O
"	O
Clear	O
Mahjong	B-Application
"	O
that	O
was	O
created	O
by	O
Noboyuki	O
Fukomoto	O
for	O
the	O
manga	O
"	O
Ten	O
:	O
Tenhōdōri	O
No	O
Kaidanji	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
a	O
version	O
for	O
two	O
players	O
called	O
"	O
San	O
Hako	O
Mahjong	B-Application
"	O
that	O
keeps	O
all	O
tiles	O
,	O
permits	O
calling	O
"	O
chii	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
utilizes	O
a	O
dummy	O
player	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mahjong	B-Application
Soul	I-Application
is	O
based	O
on	O
this	O
type	O
of	O
mahjong	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
many	O
game	O
consoles	O
port	O
mahjong	B-Application
games	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
various	O
PC	O
and	O
mobile	O
phone	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
