A banner outside Shibuya Station, seen on Oct. 16, 2025, warns people to not cause trouble while celebrating Halloween in the entertainment district. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
TOKYO — The mayor of Shibuya ward is urging people to not cause trouble in his district’s popular nightlife area on Halloween night.
Shibuya — known for its iconic scramble crosswalk and a statue of Hachiko the faithful dog near the train station — is a major shopping and entertainment hub for locals and tourists. Its narrow side streets, lined with retailers, bars and restaurants, have in recent years drawn large crowds of costumed revelers celebrating Halloween.
After a crowd crush killed 159 people in South Korea’s capital in late October 2022, Shibuya Mayor Ken Hasebe strongly discouraged gatherings in his ward, citing safety concerns.
Public drinking and littering have become major problems as thousands of people gathered near the station on Halloween night. Fights broke out and property damage was reported. In 2018, four people were arrested on suspicion of overturning a truck on a narrow street near the scramble crossing, according to a report that December by the Mainichi newspaper.
A banner above Shibuya's Center Gai, seen on Oct. 16, 2025, warns people to not cause trouble while celebrating Halloween in the entertainment district. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
This year, Shibuya adopted the slogan “stop troublesome Halloweens” to further dissuade people from congregating, a ward official said by phone Monday.
“We ban actions that causes trouble for others during Halloween,” the official said. In Japan, some government officials are required to speak to the media anonymously.
The ward has put up signs in various languages, including Japanese, English and Chinese. About 125 security guards will be stationed near Shibuya Crossing from 7 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Saturday, the official said.
Roughly 90 ward staff will also patrol the streets Thursday and Friday to promote good manners and enforce bans on public drinking and smoking, street vending and littering.
Public drinking will be prohibited from 6 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Saturday in areas around the station. About 58 businesses have been asked not to sell alcohol during that period.
The Hachiko statue will be covered from 6 a.m. Thursday to 5 p.m. Saturday to deter people from gathering there.
Similar restrictions were in place last year. Around 18,000 people gathered near the station on Halloween night without major incidents, according to the ward.
