Aimed at Something Other Than Tightening Crackdowns… Surprising Intentions Behind Police Commissioner’s Kabukicho Inspection Tour

“We will crack down thoroughly, making full use of all laws and regulations.

Yasuhiro Hiroki, 60, director general of the National Police Agency, told the press after his inspection of Kabukicho in Shinjuku City on the evening of August 27. The top police official finally took action in the midst of the frequent incidents involving “accounts receivable” at host clubs.

Departing from in front of the Kabukicho police box at around 6:30 p.m., Commissioner Hiroki spent about 30 minutes inspecting an area of Kabukicho where host clubs are concentrated, receiving explanations of recently confirmed cases of malicious business practices. After the inspection, Director Hiroki said, “I am aware that the problem of malicious host clubs is extremely serious. We will thoroughly crack down on vile business practices by making full use of all available laws and regulations.

This is the first time in 18 years, since 2005, that the director of the National Police Agency has visited Kabukicho. Although the police are expected to be serious about exposing malicious hosts, crime journalist Taihei Ogawa predicts that there is another intention behind this unusual visit.

I think this visit is meant to be a performance. In July of this year, Chief Hiroki drew criticism for stating that there was no case in the death of the ex-husband of the wife of Seiji Kihara, 53, the deputy secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party. In November, Koichi Iwamoto, 58, a police inspector of the Chugoku-Shikoku Regional Police Bureau, was arrested on suspicion of having had sexual intercourse without consent and being coerced into it. The Kabukicho inspection tour, which set the hosts as easy-to-understand villains, may have been aimed at improving the image of Commissioner Hiroki himself and the police.”

Ogawa says that Chief Hiroki’s visit to Kabukicho was an appeal to the public. When asked about the impact of this visit on the investigation, Ogawa continued.

The police can’t just do nothing now that their top officials have taken action,” he said. In the near future, some of the host clubs will be targeted for on-site inspections. The chief’s visit will also put pressure on the people on the front lines to ‘expose them.

Will the day come when Kabukicho will be cleaned up? One can only hope for a “thorough crackdown.