Japan to deploy riot police near Tokyo’s Shibuya station to keep Halloween crowds safe
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A “DJ police officer” directing the crowds on the streets of Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, in 2022.
PHOTO: THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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TOKYO – Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department will deploy hundreds of riot police and other officers around JR Shibuya station on Oct 31, which is Halloween, to prevent accidents or trouble in the crowd.
Anticipating a large gathering of international visitors, the MPD plans to use loudspeakers to issue warnings in English, Chinese and other languages.
In addition to closing some intersections to vehicles, the MPD plans to deploy “DJ police”, who will use microphones to make witty and friendly public address announcements to guide pedestrians.
Depending on the level of congestion, they will also urge people to walk on the left side of the street in the Shibuya Centre-gai area.
The MPD will also conduct a trial initiative in which officers wear small cameras to record the street scene. The footage will be sent to MPD headquarters and used to accurately determine the flow of people and the degree of congestion.
As young people are also expected to gather around Shinjuku Ward’s Kabukicho district in Tokyo, the police plan to strengthen vigilance in that area as well.
“Since the pandemic began, crowd prediction has been difficult. We will take every possible measure to ensure crowd accidents do not occur,” an MPD executive said. THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
