THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
October 31, 2022 at 16:24 JST
Police officers urge pedestrians not to stop near Shibuya Station in Tokyo on Oct. 30. (Wataru Sekita)
Police in major cities around Japan have beefed up security and crowd-control measures for Halloween night in response to the deadly stampede in Seoul.
The National Police Agency has instructed prefectural police departments to work with municipal governments to control traffic and prevent crowd crushes like the one in Seoul, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a news conference on Oct. 31.
In Tokyo’s Shibuya district, where large Halloween crowds annually gather, Matsuno said the Metropolitan Police Department will work with Shibuya Ward officials from the evening of Oct. 31 until the early hours of Nov. 1 to prevent crowding problems.
“When I learned about the accident in South Korea, I was shaken” at the thought of a similar stampede occurring in Shibuya, a ward official said. “We need to brace ourselves and be prepared.”
The ward office has announced a ban on drinking on the streets near Shibuya Station at night based on an ordinance, and it has asked stores in the area to refrain from selling liquor on Oct. 31.
Osaka prefectural police had already deployed up to 200 officers in the prefectural capital’s Minami district since Oct. 29.
But following the disaster in Seoul, police have decided to further enhance security by dispatching riot police squads.
At least one person jumped into the Dotonborigawa river, which runs through the district, in the early hours of Oct. 31, police said.
It was unclear if the jump was connected to Halloween.
Prefectural police said officers will urge crowds not to stop on the Ebisubashi bridge that crosses the river or on the slope leading to the bridge.
In Fukuoka, city officials said citizens have requested advice on measures to prevent crowd crushes in the usually busy Tenjin district.
Fukuoka prefectural police have set up a security headquarters at the Chuo Police Station in the city and dispatched riot police squads.
Police said they have not confirmed any worrisome events but said crowds could spontaneously form.
They added they will dispatch officers to patrol stairs at train stations and at major crossings in the city.
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