Shibuya Bans Public Drinking And Warns Tourists Ahead Of Halloween
Tokyo’s Shibuya ward is telling Halloween visitors to stay home or celebrate in their local neighborhoods rather than party in the popular tourist district, deploying hundreds of guards and city officials to enforce bans on public drinking and littering ahead of the weekend.
Shibuya Ward Enforces Strict Bans and Deploys Security Guards
Shibuya Mayor Ken Hasebe introduced the “Goodbye Bad Halloween” slogan to curb nuisance behavior in the district, where hundreds of thousands of people cross the Shibuya Scramble intersection daily. The ward is positioning about 60 security guards from 7 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Saturday, followed by roughly 125 guards patrolling from 7 p.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Sunday.
City officials are also joining the enforcement effort. Roughly 70 municipal workers will patrol the area from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and from 7 p.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Sunday to promote good manners and enforce bans on public drinking, smoking, and touting. The city is also encouraging more than 60 local shops to halt alcohol sales over the weekend.
Foreign Tourists Comprise Eighty Percent of Costumed Revelers
Hasebe noted that 80 percent of costumed visitors gathering in Shibuya for Halloween are foreign nationals who may not know the local rules and bans. Previous municipal measures have already driven down infractions. The ward imposed a littering fine in June and enacted a ban on public drinking between 6 p.m. and 5 a.m. near Shibuya Station.
Past incidents highlight the volatility of large unorganized gatherings in the narrow streets near the train station. In 2018, four people were arrested on suspicion of overturning a truck on a narrow street. The fatal crowd crush that killed 159 people in Seoul, South Korea, on Oct. 29, 2022, prompted Hasebe to discourage similar dense gatherings in Shibuya out of persistent safety concerns.
Community Venues and Organized Local Events Replace Street Parties
Rather than flooding the commercial district for costumed photoshoots that obstruct traffic, city leaders are pushing residents and visitors toward regulated alternatives. “I hope that people will enjoy Halloween by participating in organized events within their local communities or at specific venues, while keeping good manners,” Hasebe said in a September news conference video posted by Abema.
