Tokyo's Shibuya Ward Office has decided to deploy more than 100 security guards to patrol the streets for Halloween festivities on Saturday and on Halloween Day (Oct. 31) in the area around JR Shibuya Station.
The decision comes in reaction to the large-scale disorder by a huge number of young people and others who went on a spree.
The security guards will remind people to behave themselves from stands erected at security cameras as part of efforts to prevent trouble.
The Metropolitan Police Department also will tighten security by mobilizing mainly riot police officers.
Of about 100 million yen of the supplementary budget for these preventive measures, 90 percent will be used for security costs, said Shibuya Ward Mayor Ken Hasebe during a press conference Thursday.
On Saturday, 112 security guards will be deployed, and up to 140 on Oct. 31, with some directing pedestrian movements over a loudspeaker to ease congestion.
Last year, about 310,000 people, mostly the young, visited Shibuya on Halloween, and a total of 27 people were arrested, including the drunken revelers who overturned a light truck.
Shibuya Ward enacted a new ordinance in June to ban public alcohol consumption during the Halloween season in the area around Shibuya Station.
This year, alcohol consumption will be prohibited on streets, in parks and other outer places in the targeted areas from Oct. 25-27, and Oct. 31-Nov. 1.
The ordinance also includes a self-enforced ban on sales of alcoholic beverages. The ward is urging retailers to exercise the voluntary ban on alcohol sales on Saturday and on Oct. 31 -- both from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. the following day.
"I hope Shibuya will be proud to show [a great] Halloween event to the world. We'd like to get rid of the ordinance someday," Hasebe said.
Ward officials in groups of three will also patrol the targeted areas during the period.
When the officials find people drinking in public places or shops selling alcoholic beverages, they will admonish them for their behavior.
On Oct. 31, a total of 60 portable toilets will be placed at four locations in the area.
Meanwhile, the MPD also will deploy uniformed officers in and around the Shibuya Center-gai area as part of efforts to encourage people to behave themselves around passersby.
The MPD also plans to deploy a "DJ police officer" to direct the crowds in a witty and friendly manner.
For a possible large turnout this year again, the MPD is considering placing bollards and other equipment to prevent vehicles from driving into crowds. It also plans to deploy a special squad to target drones flying illegally.
No penal rules
While many people enjoy wearing a costume, there have been a series of vile crimes in Shibuya Ward during the Halloween period. The ordinance set in June is not a penal provision, which adds to the concerns of many people.
Bar Ginza Panorama Shibuya at Dogenzaka in the ward decided to close shop for four days from Monday. In the past two years, it decreased the number of customers to less than 10 per day during the Halloween season.
"As Shibuya is considered a dangerous place during the Halloween period, I decided to close the shop," said Kiyoyuki Enomoto, the shop's 44-year-old owner.
Miscellaneous goods shop Mega Don Quijote Shibuya Honten, which decided to stop selling alcohol during the period, will block its liquor shelves with a metal barrier.
"I hope to have a safe Halloween event in Shibuya," the shop's manager Yohei Hasebe, 38, said.
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