A growing number of restaurants nationwide are illegally expanding their dining areas onto public streets, creating tensions between businesses, residents and local authorities.

While outdoor seating has proven to be popular with customers, authorities have raised concerns about safety hazards and disruptions to pedestrian traffic.

Some believe that the trend gained momentum following government policies that encouraged outdoor dining during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the risk of indoor transmissions. 

“They’re putting tables and chairs on the street again,” said an officer from the Atago police station, who was patrolling Shinbashi Nishiguchi-dori street near JR Shinbashi Station in Tokyo around 8 p.m. on a mid-July evening.

The restaurant had extended a wooden platform onto the public road, creating a space approximately 1.5 meters deep and nearly the full width of the storefront. On top of this platform were tables and chairs for six people.

“I told you before that this is a public road, so you need to remove the platform and the tables and chairs,” the officer warned the waiters.

They apologized, cleared away the tables and chairs, and promised to remove the platform at a later time, claiming it was too large to dismantle immediately.

On that night alone, officers issued warnings to 15 establishments for violating the Road Traffic Law. Most of these businesses had been warned multiple times before. There are even more violations on weekends, according to the police station.

The Metropolitan Police Department has issued 760 warnings and guidance notices over the past two and a half years to restaurants in Shinbashi for similar violations.

Local residents have been lodging complaints, citing issues such as blocked roads, difficulties in evacuating during disasters and negative impact on the local scenery.

Officers have been patrolling the bustling district about four times a week, issuing warnings to violators and requesting them to sign a pledge.

However, authorities lack the power to enforce these warnings, and the tables and chairs often reappear the next day.

Minato Ward has allocated approximately 33 million yen ($226,000) in its current annual budget to establish a dedicated task force to crack down on street dining, a rare initiative nationwide.

Kentaro Otsuka, the vice chairman of the local neighborhood association and a coffee shop owner, said, “We need to take more decisive action.”

NEIGHBORHOOD CULTURE

However, some restaurant owners argue that outdoor dining has become a part of the local culture and is essential for their businesses.

A restaurant manager in his 20s has been placing tables and chairs for eight people on the street in front of his shop for about eight years. He said outdoor seating is popular with customers and often fills up first.

The manager began receiving warnings two years ago and temporarily stopped offering outdoor dining.

However, he resumed the practice after noticing that his competitors were ignoring the police warnings and drawing customers, causing his sales to drop by 1 million to 2 million yen per month.

He justified his actions by claiming that he could quickly clear the area in the event of an emergency.

The manager of another restaurant in his 30s said that outdoor dining is a common practice in other areas as well. While he admits to occupying one-third of the street, he said he has not received any complaints from pedestrians.

He accused the local authorities of overreacting to complaints from only a small minority of people.

“The authorities come back almost every night and won’t leave until I clear the tables,” he said. “They’re interfering with my business.”

Frustrated with repeated violations, local police are considering taking legal action in the future.

“To protect the safety and security of residents, it may be necessary to issue mandatory orders,” said Mitsumasa Okubo, the chief of the ward’s urban development team.

PANDEMIC PLAYED ROLE

According to police, only a few restaurants in Shinbashi were offering street dining before the pandemic. However, around 2022, some establishments began occupying nearly half of the road with tables and chairs.

Back then, the government relaxed regulations in select areas to allow outdoor dining as a measure to curb novel coronavirus infections.

Shinbashi, with its narrow streets, was not included in these designated areas. However, ward officials believe that business owners there may have misinterpreted the government’s intentions and began setting up tables on the street.

The capital’s Taito Ward is facing a similar problem, with the streets of its bustling Ueno and Asakusa districts crowded with diners spilling over from restaurants and pubs.

Despite patrols and warnings from authorities, violations persist. In Asakusa’s popular pub area known as Hoppy-dori street, virtually all establishments place tables on the street, making regular patrols seem ineffective.

Authorities report similar situations across the country, including Osaka’s popular Uratenman district and the bustling streets of Naha, Okinawa Prefecture.

While such illegal street dining practices are unfair to compliant businesses and pose safety and accessibility concerns, experts argue that a balanced and flexible approach is needed to address the issue.

“Street dining is part of the country’s attractive food culture,” said Yoshinori Terauchi, a professor at Tokyo’s Kokushikan University specializing in urban design and transportation engineering.

“By improving roads and establishing customized local regulations, it is essential to find ways to preserve the unique local neighborhood culture while securing safety and fairness,” said Terauchi.