Why did the touts at Mencon and Men Underground move to Shinjuku when we thought they had disappeared from Shibuya?

Touts have disappeared from in front of Shibuya Station.

In front of Shibuya station, many people of all ages and both men and women pass by. Especially in the area around Hachiko-mae, flyers and solicitation are frequently carried out, and one is approached by quite a few people just by walking for a while. Especially common were touts for men’s underground idols and men’s con cafes. However, it is said that the number of such people has dramatically decreased in recent months.

According to what we have heard, they have moved to the area in front of Shinjuku Station. This is due to a revision of the Shibuya Ward ordinance, but there is another reason as well.

According to the “Shibuya Ward Ordinance on Prevention of Touting in Public Places,” which was revised and enforced in April 2013, scouts and touts will be subject to a fine of 50,000 yen and the name of the scout or tout, as well as the name of the business. When we asked about the ordinance at the Shibuya Ward Safety Countermeasures Section, they told us that the ordinance had been quite effective in the area around the station.

According to the ward’s ordinance, handing out leaflets is not a problem, but you have to get a road use permit from the police. We were aware that there had been some aggressive solicitation in front of Shibuya Station. Due to the revision of the ordinance, there are no more nuisance activities in the area in front of the station, and no one has been caught so far. As for the flow of nuisance touts from Shibuya City to Shinjuku City, there has been no such flow at this point in time, even in discussions among the ward offices,” said a member of the Shibuya City Safety Countermeasures Section.

Are touts actually moving from Shibuya to Shinjuku? When we went to Shinjuku’s East Exit, we found that from evening to night, people were handing out flyers and soliciting people for men-con and men-underground events, saying things like, “We have an event like this, wouldn’t you be interested? When we talked to one of them, who is active as a men’s underground idol group, he told us the truth about their withdrawal from Shibuya.

He told us the truth about their withdrawal from Shibuya: “Shibuya’s ordinances became stricter last year, so we don’t distribute flyers anymore. We are active three to four days a week, but we can’t advertise in Shibuya, so we have made Shinjuku our base of operations. And nowadays, more young women stop to listen to us in Shinjuku than in Shibuya. Shibuya is more of an adult town, with a higher age group. In fact, the number of customers has been better since we moved to the new location.

It is true that they moved to Shibuya because of stricter regulations, but touting in Shinjuku seems to be working out better. Another leaflet distributor, a young man who works in a men’s underground shop, also says that it is easier to attract customers in Shinjuku.

I can’t say it’s all that illegal.”

I’m mainly talking to students,” he said. Adult women have been to host clubs before, and they have also been to other men’s clubs and men’s clubs, so they know whether a place is good or bad. If they think, ‘That place is not good,’ it won’t lead to the next one.

In comparison, high school students are not allowed to join host clubs, and they do not have much experience in men-con or men-underground clubs. It is easier to approach women who are interested in nightclubs but lack the courage to go, so we are able to recruit them more successfully than in Shibuya. What’s more, we are able to solicit them by blending in with scouts and other men-underground touts, so we don’t stand out as a bad influence.”

Another recent method is to register on social networking services on the spot.

We have a LINE registration on the flyers we hand out. If they register for this, even if we can’t solicit them on the spot, we can contact them in bulk later. Even people who don’t accept flyers because they are garbage can easily register on social networking sites. We believe that it is only a violation to take people from the street to the store, but if we exchange contact information and negotiate from there, it is not considered touting.”

It appears they do not have a permit to use the street. On this point, they said, “It is a hassle to get a permit” and “everyone does it without a permit,” and as for soliciting high school students as targets, they said, “Menkon and Men Underground also do not serve alcohol to minors, so there should be no problem.

When contacted by the Shinjuku City Crisis Management Division, they said, “Since it is not a violation, we cannot prohibit it.

As far as Shinjuku City ordinances are concerned, it is a violation of course if you engage in touting activities such as soliciting customers or negotiating prices in a restaurant under the guise of handing out leaflets. However, it does not prohibit the distribution of leaflets and tissues, so it cannot be said that it is generally illegal.

In the case of solicitation on the streets from Shibuya to Shinjuku, some touts still follow the customers for several meters or block their way. Many touts avoid aggressive solicitation for fear of a crackdown, but if they cause too much trouble, they may be chased out of Shinjuku.

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