TOKYO'S SHIBUYA, SHINJUKU JOIN HANDS TO TACKLE HALLOWEEN CROWDS - TOKYO JAPAN

TOKYO'S SHIBUYA, SHINJUKU JOIN HANDS TO TACKLE HALLOWEEN CROWDS - TOKYO JAPAN 

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

TOKYO

The mayors of Tokyo's Shibuya and Shinjuku wards said Monday they will work together to curb street drinking and rowdiness over this year's Halloween period amid a rise in overseas tourists.

"Drinking on the street has led to environmental damage including loud noise and littering," Shibuya Mayor Ken Hasebe told a press conference in Tokyo, while Kenichi Yoshizumi, mayor of adjacent Shinjuku Ward, said, "Accidents and fights occur when people gather on the street and drink."

Shibuya has been a highly popular destination for Halloween revelers to mark the celebration on and around Oct. 31. But Hasebe said he recognized the need to collaborate with Shinjuku as measures his ward took last year to dissuade partygoers "had an impact on Shinjuku, our neighbor."

During last year's Halloween, when Shibuya Ward made repeated calls to stay away amid fears of overcrowding, the number of visitors around Shibuya Station totaled around 15,000 people, way down from the initially estimated 60,000, according to Hasebe.

Shinjuku, for its part, saw a large number of visitors flow into the "tight space" of the Kabukicho entertainment and red light district during the same period, making "really troublesome crowds," Yoshizumi said at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.

"We thought, if we let this go, people are going to say, 'Okay, it's not allowed in Shibuya, but we can do it in Shinjuku.' So for that not to happen we have decided to do this, this year," he said, referring to a newly introduced ban on alcohol consumption during this Halloween in and around the Kabukicho area.

Shibuya Ward has, since 2019, banned alcohol consumption on certain streets during specific periods, such as Halloween and the New Year holiday. But a revised ordinance that took effect earlier this month has extended the ban year-round and covers a wider area in a bid to curb worsening littering and noise from large crowds.

The ban is in effect daily from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. in areas surrounding JR and Keio Shibuya stations.

The alcohol consumption ban in Shinjuku will be effective for 12 hours starting at 5 p.m. on Oct. 31.

Both measures do not carry penalties.

The two municipalities also said they would call on the central and Tokyo metropolitan governments for stricter measures such as imposing a legal ban on street drinking, with Hasebe adding that such laws were already commonplace overseas.

Overcrowding and rowdy behavior have been in greater focus in recent years, especially since coronavirus restrictions were removed.

Over 150 people were killed in a crowd crush that occurred on Oct. 29, 2022, in Seoul's Itaewon entertainment district after tens of thousands gathered to take part in Halloween festivities for the first time since COVID-19 restrictions were eased in South Korea.

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@Jr_Paku Midin Channel