Tokyo’s Shibuya district raises alarm against unruly Halloween, even caging landmark statue

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — The busy Shibuya shopping, business and entertainment district of Tokyo is trying hard to keep visitors at bay during Halloween weekend. Banners across town say no drinking and no Halloween events on the street. Town officials are cordoning off a landmark statue of faithful dog Hachi behind protective walls. “Shibuya streets are not party venues for Halloween,” Mayor Ken Hasebe said in an interview Friday with The Associated Press. About 40,000 people gathered in the area in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. The number has decreased during the pandemic, but city authorities fear this year’s turnout could be higher. They fear a disaster similar to last year’s fatal crowd crush in South Korea’s capital, Seoul.