Tokyo's Shibuya and Shinjuku wards are ramping up measures to curb disruptive behavior amid an expected surge of foreign tourists on Halloween, Friday, October 31. The Metropolitan Police Department will deploy hundreds of riot police around Shibuya Station to manage crowds. Drawing from past incidents of public drinking violations and accidents, authorities aim to ensure public safety.
On Thursday, October 30, the area around the Hachiko statue in front of Shibuya Station was cordoned off around 7 a.m., with a banner reading 'Stop troublesome Halloweens' displayed. This is to prevent foreign tourists from engaging in disruptive behavior like street drinking due to unawareness of ward ordinances. Shibuya Ward enacted an anti-disruptive behavior ordinance in 2019 following a 2018 incident where a crowd flipped a truck, and strengthened it in 2024 with a year-round ban on street drinking.
By 10 p.m. on October 31 last year, about 18,000 people crowded around Shibuya Station, with Shibuya Ward Mayor Ken Hasebe estimating 80%-90% were foreign tourists in costumes. Foreign visitors to Japan hit a record 36.87 million in 2024, rising 17.7% year-on-year to 31.655 million from January to September this year. Shibuya Ward has boosted outreach this year with announcements in English, Chinese, and Korean in Center-gai, plus posters urging no drinking or smoking on streets. Over 100 security personnel will patrol on Friday.
In late September, Mayor Hasebe addressed 15 media outlets from the U.S., South Korea, Singapore, and elsewhere, highlighting efforts against overtourism during Halloween and year-end holidays, and calling for restraint. Shinjuku Ward, which banned street drinking in areas like Kabukicho last year, approached 311 people for violations on Halloween, half foreigners. This year, it printed 500 English flyers and 50 posters, and streams videos on eight large screens ward-wide. It added 35 staff and security personnel for Friday patrols.
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) will deploy hundreds of riot police around JR Shibuya Station on Friday to prevent accidents or trouble in crowds. Anticipating international visitors, it plans loudspeaker warnings in English, Chinese, and other languages. Some intersections will close to vehicles, and 'DJ police' will use microphones for witty announcements to guide pedestrians, urging left-side walking in Shibuya Center-gai based on congestion. In a trial, officers will wear small cameras to record scenes, sending footage to MPD headquarters for accurate crowd flow and congestion assessment. Vigilance will strengthen in Shinjuku's Kabukicho.
'Since the pandemic began, crowd prediction has been difficult. We will take every possible measure to ensure crowd accidents do not occur,' an MPD executive said. A Shinjuku Ward official added, 'We want to be completely ready for anything, so the event can end safely without incident.' Tatsuji Suzuki, 61, chairman of the Shibuya Center-gai shopping district association, said, 'Every year around Halloween, the crowds are so large that we can’t let our guard down. We want an environment where everyone, regardless of nationality, can enjoy eating, drinking and shopping.' Post-pandemic, public drinking by foreigners has risen, influenced by social media posts portraying Shibuya as an open drinking area.