TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police this week conducted patrols in the entertainment area surrounding Machida City due to a rise in malicious soliciting and scouting, reports the Tokyo Shimbun (Dec. 12).
On Wednesday night, about 50 members of the Tokyo police and members of the local crime prevention association conducted a patrol near Machida Station. “We are taking cleanup measures!” they shouted.
They also urged people to immediately call police if they witness illegal soliciting or scouting.
Shinji Igarashi, the chief of the Machida Police Station, said in at the opening of the event, “We will implement joint public-private measures to eradicate illegal soliciting and other such activities, which we have heard about from local residents.”
In years past, there have been an increase in reports of malicious soliciting and scouting toward the end of the year.
One common complaint is persons conducting street solicitation for businesses that carry out the practice known as bottakuri, or bill padding.
Masahiro Handa, chief of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Security Division, also participated in the patrol. He commented, “We implemented cleanup measures toward the end of the year. We will continue to crack down on malicious illegal activities and illegal adult entertainment establishments in entertainment districts throughout Tokyo, including the Machida area.”
