Why “overdose” has become so popular in the Kabukicho Toyoko neighborhood…

From the night of March 25 to the early morning of March 26, a simultaneous police raid was conducted in the Kabukicho “To Yoko” area. About 100 plainclothes police officers approached underage youths, and 30 boys and girls were taken into custody.

The police are on the lookout for “overdose (OD),” a drug overdose that has recently become popular among Tohyoko kids. Street ODs are rampant in Tor Yoko, and it is common to see boys and girls who have fallen to the ground while blowing bubbles being carried away on stretchers, while others around them laugh and take videos of the scene to post on social networking sites.

Masaki (pseudonym, 20), who frequents Toyoko, said, “Toyoko is pretty bad.

Tohyoko is a pretty bad place. There are a lot of guys who take a lot of over-the-counter cold medicine or psychiatry-prescribed medicine and are in a state of OD (overdose). At first it’s 20-30 pills or so, but when they stop working, they sometimes take 100 pills all at once.”

The reason for the increase in ODs is reportedly the disappearance of the “Kabukicho Manjikai,” a volunteer group that has been protecting “public safety. However, it may be more accurate to say that OD has been active among Kabukicho residents for a long time and is finally being discussed as the tohyoko kids are gaining recognition.

Why do they do OD? Kana (pseudonym, 19), who works at a soapland in Kabukicho, tells the story in a matter-of-fact manner.

I often OD when I have free time during my shift. A private room in a soapland is like a prison. I wait in the room while no customers are waiting, but I am completely shut out from the outside world. I was worried that I wouldn’t make any money if no customers came, and I wondered why I was selling my body in such a place in the first place. I think about all kinds of things when I’m not busy. To stop these thoughts, I take a lot of pills to make me feel lightheaded and distracted.

The pills she takes are prescribed by a psychiatrist. She takes a large amount at a time, and when her anxiety still persists, she has cut her wrist while waiting on standby.

When I’m serving a customer,” she says, “I feel lightheaded and everything doesn’t matter. It’s easier because I don’t have to think too much about the customer in front of me. When I read in a comic book that a sex worker who was addicted to drugs was serving customers in a crispy manner, I thought it was just like me.

Among prostitutes and tohyoko kids, many use the money they earn from selling their bodies to go to host clubs. Kite (pseudonym, 25), a hostess, tells the following shocking story.

When I got into a slight argument with one of the girls, she took a huge amount of pills out of her bag and started chomping down on them. It was scary. …… Some OD addicts mix drugs with the drinks of their designated host. Alcohol and drugs are the worst combination, and they can cause a complete loss of memory. A girl who drugged a host in our store was immediately banned.”

According to Masaki, who frequents Toyoko, it is “still better” to OD on over-the-counter drugs.

According to Masaki, who has been in and out of Toyoko, it is “still better” to OD on over-the-counter drugs. Not only do they do it themselves, but some of them have even become drug dealers.”

I was worried when I received a lot of phone calls and messages late at night, but the next day I received a message saying, “I’m sorry, I was out of it yesterday. I think that immediate restrictions are needed.

Sasaki Chihuahua
Born in Tokyo in 2000. After attending an integrated school in Tokyo from elementary school to high school, he went on to Keio University, where he has been living in Kabukicho since he was 15 years old and has a wide range of personal connections. At university, he is studying the sociology of the downtown area, including Kabukicho. His book, ” Pien” to shakai” (“The Disease of ‘Pien’: Consumption and Approval of the SNS Generation”), is now on sale.

From theApril14, 2023 issue of FRIDAY