A year-round ban on street drinking at night has taken effect near Tokyo’s Shibuya Station.
Drinking in streets and public places including parks is prohibited from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next morning.
The no-drinking zone includes an area around the Shibuya Ward Office and Miyashita Park. The rule carries no penalties.
Ten security guards commissioned by Shibuya Ward began patrolling the area as soon as the ban was launched on Tuesday.
Ward safety official Higashiura Sachio says Shibuya has continued to signal that it will not tolerate street drinkers, and intends to send an even stronger message now that the revised ordinance has taken effect.
Street drinking by young people and foreign nationals became widespread in the area since the Japanese government downgraded COVID-19 to the same legal status as seasonal influenza last year.
This led to complaints about alcohol-related problems, public littering and empty cans on the streets.
Shibuya Ward adopted an ordinance in 2019 to ban street drinking for the Halloween period as well as year-end and New Year holidays. Faced with growing problems, the ward revised the ordinance in June so that it would apply throughout the year.