The true feelings of “Toyoko Kids,” preyed upon by adults and deprived of their place in society

Kabukicho, Shinjuku, after 9 p.m. on December 6. The street next to the TOHO Cinemas, which until just a week ago had been overflowing with minors known as “Toyoko Kids,” was deserted. Two days earlier, 120 plainclothes police officers had rounded up all the minors hanging out in this area.

On October 26, a 21-year-old man who frequents the area was arrested for child prostitution, and on November 27, a group of six people, including a juvenile, lynched and killed a homeless man. On November 27, a group of six people, including a boy, lynched and killed a homeless man. In response to this situation, the police began to seriously crack down before the year-end and New Year holidays.

There is also the background of the emergence of a “semi-greek” organization that is trying to make money by forcing Toyoko Kids girls to engage in controlled prostitution, and the fact that a tertiary organization affiliated with the “Sumiyoshi-kai,” a designated gang headquartered in Kabukicho, has moved to eliminate the “semi-greek” organization, saying, “They are destroying our territory. We have asked the staff of the child guidance center and private security companies to protect the minors,” said an official of the Metropolitan Police Department.

Most of the Toyoko kids had no place at home, and they gathered in Kabukicho as if they were looking for friends. Ironically, by grouping together, they are being spotted by adults and are losing their place in the world.

The group of Toyoko Kids, who were thought to have left Kabukicho, reappeared around the time the date changed, and the FRIDAY reporter spoke to a girl who identified herself as Mizuki (17), who had been arrested by the police just a week earlier.

I was taken to the Shinjuku police station for counseling,” she said. I was taken to the Shinjuku police station under the guise of counseling,” she said. “They asked me, ‘Who is the leader of Toyoko? Do you have a fake ID? They looked at my followers on my social media accounts and asked me, “Do you know this person? They looked at my followers on social media accounts, showed me over 50 mug shots, and locked me in a room for hours. I lied about everything because it had nothing to do with me and I didn’t want the police to use me. They were persistent, so I pretended to panic and let them off the hook.

The police are now monitoring the social networking sites of the Toyoko Kids and have started to compile a list of young people who frequent the Around Shinjuku Toho Building Area. Mina (pseudonym, 17), who was in the same group, was indignant.

Since I heard that I was being monitored, I’ve been keeping a low profile on social media. But to be honest, it’s hard because social networking is my reason for living. It’s not like everyone here is a prostitute or a daddy’s boy, and the adults who target these girls are wrong. We’re the victims here. To be honest, Toyoko is already a wasteland. I’ll leave when I’ve saved up enough money.

Now that the Toyoko kids have lost their place, do they have a place to go? Sasaki Chihuahua, a writer who knows a lot about Around Shinjuku Toho Building, says.

It started out as a meeting place for kids who liked to post selfies on social networking sites when they had offline parties. It’s not that I’m attached to the place itself. The kids moved to hangouts similar to Around Shinjuku Toho Building (commonly known as
“Toyoko”), such as under the “Dotonbori Glico Sign” in Osaka (commonly known as “Gurishita”) and the corridor next to the entrance to Yokohama Bible in Kanagawa (commonly known as “Bib Yoko”). Some of them even lie about their age and get hired at bars to save money for their migration.

As long as we don’t solve the fundamental problems in society and families, new neighborhoods will be born again somewhere.

From the December 24, 2021 issue of FRIDAY.