TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Wednesday initiated a patrol through the Kabukicho red-light district of Shinjuku Ward as a part of preparations for the Olympic Games next year, reports Jiji Press (Mar. 27).
About 80 police officers, government officials and merchants paraded past restaurants and bars in Kabukicho to raise awareness about troublesome street touts, who often aggressively lure pedestrians into disreputable establishments.
“Please be on the look out for street touts!” some of the participants shouted. One officer carried a bullhorn.
In January, Masaru Abe, a member of the Sumiyoshi-kai, gunned down a former member of the same gang inside a karaoke parlor in Kabukicho. Police are still seeking the whereabouts of Abe.
Since that incident, police have made several arrests of unruly street touts as a part of increased patrols in the area.
“In preparation for 2020, we would like to carry out a purification drive,” one representative of the police was quoted.
