TOKYO (TR) – Police on Wednesday initiated a patrol through the Kabukicho red-light district prior to a revision to a metropolitan ordinance that will restrict interactions between shopkeepers and criminal syndicates, reports TBS News (Sept. 11).
Officers, including superintendent general Masamitsu Miura, government officials and comedian Sunshine Ikezaki, paraded past restaurants and bars in Kabukicho to raise awareness about the revision to the Tokyo Metropolitan Ordinance for Eradicating Criminal Syndicates.
Starting on October 1, bars, restaurants and other shops in the capital will face penalties over payment of mikajimeryo — or “protection money” — to members of criminal syndicates.
“Next year, many foreigners will arrive for the Olympic Games,” said Shinya Kimura, a manager in an anti-organized crime division of the police. “We want to create a favorable atmosphere.”
