Young people “running out into the roadway” to take “good-looking pictures”… Nuisances abound at the illumination in Roppongi.

Why is this dangerous behavior taking place at illuminated spots?

Keyakizaka Illumination in Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, decorates the streets with beautiful illuminations every year. Roppongi Hills will be illuminated for 400 meters from November 7 to December 25, 2012.

The illuminated Keyakizaka slope is very photogenic and has become a famous spot where many people come to take pictures. However, there have been many cases of people running out onto the roadway to take pictures of the illumination, disregarding traffic signals, and other dangerous behavior.

When we went to the site to find out more about this, we found many more dangerous acts than we had expected. Why are these dangerous acts left unchecked? Upon investigation, I found out something surprising.

What I saw as soon as I arrived at Keyakizaka was a crowd of people trying to take pictures of the illumination, and security guards loudly asking people taking pictures not to push or stand still.

In particular, there was a huge line at the pedestrian crossing, where people were told they could take good pictures, and it was impossible to walk straight.

When we interviewed a couple of college girls wearing a pair of white coats who were actually taking pictures, they said it was a pity that they could not take pictures at the crosswalk, and continued, “It’s a pity that the people in that area are not foreigners.

‘Are there a lot of foreign tourists in that area?　They are big and I am afraid of getting pushed or shoved and getting hurt, so I decided to take pictures at a distance. I’ve been coming here for several years, but this year there are so many more foreign tourists.”

When we asked the three women who had run to the center of the traffic light and were filming for TikTok, they were not offended by the risky behavior they were engaged in.

They were not offended by the risky behavior they were engaged in, but said, “That’s just the way it is. We often come here to shoot, and there are crowds of people every day. I run the moment the light turns green and shoot from a good position in the center of the road. It’s fashionable to make half of a heart with one hand and take a picture together.”

A building manager and a police official describe the current situation!

Cab drivers who are annoyed by people running out into the street to take pictures or disregard traffic signals say, “There are a lot of them around this time of year.

‘Every year during the illumination season we get quite a lot of people coming in. Now that there are security guards standing at the crosswalks, it’s somewhat better, but there are still people who run out into the street to take pictures, so we can’t let up.

When we asked Roppongi Hills, which is in charge of the illumination event, about the current situation of people engaging in dangerous acts in order to take “good-looking” photos, they replied, “We are aware of the dangerous acts, and we have dispatched security guards to deal with them.

This year, many people have come to enjoy the illumination earlier than usual. These situations are something we have to deal with, so we have increased the number of security guards and are working hard to ensure that people can enjoy the illumination safely.

As a result of our response, the number of dangerous acts has decreased. However, as more people will be visiting for the upcoming Christmas season, we are still considering how to deal with the situation in the future. We plan to implement a plan that takes maximum safety into consideration,” said Mori Building Town Management Division.

What do the police officers who have jurisdiction over this area and are familiar with the situation think about this dangerous behavior?

The police officers in charge of this area are aware of it. They are increasing their patrols and alerting people to the danger. As a result, the number of people doing visibly dangerous things has decreased, but they will continue to patrol the area because it is still a place visited by many people.

Although many people visit this tourist spot every year, the illumination could be discontinued due to nuisance behavior. We can only hope that the …… will not happen to a famous spot in Tokyo that will be eliminated due to nuisance behavior.