TOKYO - The mayor of Tokyo's busy Shibuya Ward has asked foreign tourists to avoid taking part in Halloween festivities in the streets near Shibuya station. Hasebe Ken said he wants to avoid overcrowding and other raucous activities, after last year's deadly Halloween crowd crush in South Korea.
Hasebe spoke at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan on Thursday.
The mayor stressed, "Shibuya is not going be a Halloween event venue this year. I want to make this message clear to the world."
Drinking in the streets near Shibuya station will be prohibited from October 27 to October 31, between 6pm and 5am. Stores in the area will also be asked to stop selling alcohol between those hours on Saturday, October 28 and Tuesday, October 31. Shibuya will deploy additional security guards and strengthen traffic regulations.
"I can certainly see why he is quite anxious, understand his anxiety," said Leo Lewis, an editor at the Financial Times who attended the press briefing. "Nobody wants a repeat of what happened in Seoul last year."
On October 29, 2022, massive crowds celebrating Halloween poured into the narrow alleyways of Seoul's Itaewon district. A surge led to the deaths of more than 150 people.
This will also be Japan's first Halloween since the country eased COVID-19 restrictions, and as the number of foreign visitors to Shibuya has increased.
On top of reducing crowds, the ward says it also wants to avoid the effects of "overtourism," including property damage, littering, and "altercations with local residents."
