TOKYO (TR) – A group of foreign men who marched through Shibuya’s famous “Scramble Crossing” wearing nothing but brief-style swimsuits on Wednesday has sparked outrage online, with Japanese netizens demanding their arrest for public indecency, reports Josei Seven Prime (Sep. 17).
The bare-chested men have been identified as players from Pro Recco, a prestigious professional Italian water polo club.
According to a sports journalist, the spectacle was a marketing stunt aimed at generating buzz for the sport. “This eccentric performance is part of an athletic promotion, and it seems they have carried out similar campaigns in the United States and Italy,” the journalist said. “The club is focusing on marketing to expand awareness of water polo through visual impact.”
Posted to social media
Pro Recco had traveled to Japan to play a test match against the Japanese national water polo team, Poseidon Japan, at the Chiba International Swimming Center on September 13.
The stunt was treated as a routine promotional success back home, with the Italian news agency ANSA covering the video and Pro Recco proudly posting the footage to their official Instagram account.
However, the aggressive marketing tactic missed the mark entirely with the Japanese public. Footage of the barefoot, muscular men striding through the busy intersection quickly went viral, drawing fierce backlash.
“What are they trying to prove? Exhibitionists. Disgusting,” one user wrote.
“Did they come to Japan just to do this? Too low IQ,” another commented. “This is a disgrace. Did they even get permission? It might be acceptable in Italy, but they need to stop this in Japan.”
Afoul of the law?
The disgust quickly escalated into demands for police intervention, with many viewing the stunt as a mockery of Japanese laws and norms. Comments flooded in reading, “Arrest them. This is sickening,” and “No matter who it is, doing this in a public place should 100% result in an arrest. Don’t underestimate Japan.”
Addressing the legality of the stunt, a legal journalist noted that the men could theoretically run afoul of the law.
“The crime of public indecency is defined as an act that offends the sexual modesty of the general public in a state where it can be seen by an unspecified number of people,” the legal expert explained. “While it might be difficult to strictly categorize this specific case as an ‘obscene act,’ the possibility of punishment cannot be ruled out.”
The expert added that a local citizen would not have been granted the same leeway. “If a Japanese person committed a similar act, they would undoubtedly be reported to the police, stopped for questioning, and forced to prove their identity. It’s no surprise people are pointing out that this is an absolute ‘NG’ (no-go) in Japan.”
Ultimately, what was intended to expand the reach of a niche sport has instead resulted in a wave of negative publicity and accusations of law-breaking in Japan’s capital.
