Police 'guide' over 40 'Toyoko Kids' in Kabukicho, mostly high school girls

Oct 16, 2023 | News On Japan

TOKYO - Tokyo police have conducted a mass guidance operation targeting junior high and high school students out late at night in Kabukicho, with the number of cases increasing sevenfold compared to before the pandemic.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police operation ran for three consecutive weeks in and around the Tohoko area of Kabukicho, Tokyo's red light district, where they guided 42 students aged 13 to 18 who were out after 11 PM.

Out of these, 40 were girls, including high school girls who had come from Niigata Prefecture.

The number of guidance cases in the Tohoko area has increased by approximately sevenfold compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, as of the end of September 2023.

Over the last several years, 'Toyoko Kids' have been gathering in greater numbers in the backstreets of Kabukicho.

"Toyoko Square", which is located next to the Shinjuku Toho Building, has become a popular gathering place.

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