News Shinjuku to ban public drinking on specific festivities

[thomas]

Shinjuku follows Shibuya's example, aiming to ban public drinking on Halloween, New Year's Eve and other festive occasions. The ban would apply to outdoor drinking around Shinjuku's Kabukicho entertainment quarter. The increase in visitors to the area on 31 October resulted from Shibuya Ward's repeated call for people to avoid gathering and celebrating around the famous Scramble Crossing near the station.

In Shinjuku, officials said the aim of the ban was to prevent excessive crowding and having to clear up mountains of street litter. Shinjuku Mayor Kenichi Yoshizumi revealed the plan during a Feb. 2 news conference. The ward intends to propose the ordinance to the ward assembly in the new fiscal year starting in April. Ward officials noticed a surge in visitors to the already teeming Kabukicho area last Halloween. Shibuya Ward enacted an ordinance in 2019 to prohibit drinking in the streets around Shibuya Station on Halloween. The ward has also sought to suspend sales of alcohol in some areas. Taking this as a reference, Shinjuku Ward plans to discuss the draft ordinance with local shopping districts.

Shinjuku aims to ban Kabukicho street drinking on Halloween | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward ponders street drinking ban in Kabukicho during Halloween - The Mainichi

TOKYO -- The Japanese capital's Shinjuku Ward government is considering a ban on street drinking in the area around the Kabukicho entertainment quarte

mainichi.jp