The mayors of Tokyo’s Shibuya and Shinjuku wards have urged people to refrain from drinking on the street during the Halloween period.
Shibuya Mayor Hasebe Ken and Shinjuku Mayor Yoshizumi Kenichi announced joint measures at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan on Monday.
Street drinking will be prohibited in areas around Shinjuku’s Kabukicho entertainment district. People in areas near Shibuya Station are already banned from drinking on streets and public places from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next morning throughout the year.
The wards will also ask shops in the restricted areas not to sell alcohol beverages.
Revelers fill the streets near Shibuya Station around the October 31 event each year, raising the risks of trouble and crowd crushes.
Last year, Shibuya Ward asked people to refrain from coming to the town, but that led many people to move to Kabukicho.
Hasebe renewed his call for people not to come to Shibuya during the Halloween period. He added that they must not cause trouble by drinking on the street and must follow the rules.
Yoshizumi urged people who want to drink to do so at bars and restaurants.
The two wards plan to patrol the restricted areas during the period.