<figure id="attachment_466619" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-466619" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ac6a9f1d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/4af42a78dcdbdc54b9b61b1fc2540d5d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-466619" class="wp-caption-text">Is a &#8220;cleansing operation&#8221; underway in Kabukicho?　We covered the scene (images are for reference only)</figcaption></figure>
<h3><span class="strongInContent"> Unreported busts&#8221; are a common occurrence.</span></h3>
<p> In Kabukicho, Shinjuku, the largest shopping district in Japan, scouts and touts are being caught in illegal activities one after another. What is going on behind the scenes in what is being called a &#8220;second cleansing operation&#8221; or even a &#8220;quiet busting&#8221;?</p>
<p> In January, the Metropolitan Police Department established a new special task force against the Kouhei family, which is affiliated with the Sumiyoshi-kai, a designated organized crime group that has been implicated as having ties to the Tokuryu family. Furthermore, on April 1, the head of the task force, who leads investigations, was upgraded from chief of the Criminal Investigation Department to deputy commissioner, thus strengthening the system. By placing a senior official close to the core of the organization at the top, the Metropolitan Police Department aims to further strengthen the crackdown by establishing a system that allows for cross-divisional command of each department.</p>
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<p> According to the Metropolitan Police Department, the involvement of the Kohei family has been pointed out in crimes committed by Tokyu members who have been arrested so far. These include special fraud, investment fraud using SNS, and romance fraud, as well as robbery, theft, distribution of illegal drugs, and even scouting activities for sex establishments.</p>
<p> According to a person familiar with the situation in Kabukicho, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;someone is being caught every day&#8221;</span> in Kabukicho now.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Catch and scouts on the street are being arrested by plainclothes police officers, but it is not reported at all. There is a lot of talk among the catchers and scouts that &#8216;I heard that guy got busted,&#8217; or &#8216;He got busted without knowing it,'&#8221; he said. It is said that &#8220;quiet busting&#8221; is taking place in Kabukicho, as one by one they are disappearing before you know it.</span></p>
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<p> The busts in the downtown area have become even more active since the beginning of April this year. We have <span class="strongInContent">never seen such a large scale of busting before,&#8221;</span> said Mr. A, a man in his thirties who works as a street catcher.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> It&#8217;s been about seven years since I started touting here, but recently two or three people have been arrested every day. I was arrested right in front of me. They are all outside salesmen (catchers and touts) and scouts. There are police everywhere. I thought maybe things got tougher in April with the change of the school year, but it seems different.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" It&#39;s hard to tell the plainclothes cops from the others."></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent">Is the goal to destroy the &#8220;Kohei Family&#8221;?</span></h3>
<p> Several people said that they witnessed the police action, all of which were carried out by plainclothes police officers. The behavior of these plainclothes police officers has changed from the past. Mr. B (a male in his 30s), a member of a certain scout group, testified, &#8220;There was a change in the behavior of these plainclothes police officers.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> We used to share information about the tendencies of plainclothes policemen among the scouts, but the current plainclothes policemen are out of this trend. The standard attire used to be two guys in suits and jackets, but that is no longer the case.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> There are plainclothes policemen who wear sweatshirts on top and sweatshirts on the bottom for ease of movement, or who have blond hair and are indistinguishable from us at a glance. They seem to be doing a lot of research on scouts and catches, and some of them are chatting with scouts and getting information from them.</span></p>
<p> Plainclothes officers also blend in on the streets, looking for opportunities to make arrests.</p>
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<p> Is the increase in the number of busts related to the Metropolitan Police Department&#8217;s &#8220;Kouhei Family Crush,&#8221; a serious effort to destroy the Kouhei family? We were able to speak with Mr. C, a &#8220;money collector&#8221; who collects protection money from scouts and &#8220;catches&#8221; who are doing illegal business on the streets of Kabukicho. According to him, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;We can&#8217;t say it&#8217;s irrelevant</span>.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The scouts and catchers who are getting busted are the ones who have the gangsters on their asses. Nevertheless, there are many anti-gangs and semi-gangs involved behind those who are doing street business in Kabukicho, so it is no surprise that anyone would be arrested. This is just my subjective opinion, but I feel that many people related to the Kohei family have been arrested in the series of busts. Those of us in the backstreet business in Kabukicho are rumoring that the Metropolitan Police Department is quite serious this time.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Our group is charged 50,000 yen a month for the right to do street business, but the Kohei family probably pays a higher fee. It seems that the lower level workers have to pay a lot of money. Perhaps because of this, unreasonable touting is common, and plainclothes police officers catch them and arrest them.</span></p>
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<p> However, according to Mr. C, this kind of detection does not make much sense.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The arrests are made at the end of the line. Even though there have been so many busts, I don&#8217;t think there is a problem at this point. However, if police patrols are strengthened for more than six months, I think the situation will change. If you send a new semi-greaser to an outside sales office and he gets busted right away, you will eventually run out of people. &#8230;&#8230;&#8221;</span></p>
<p> The general public would appreciate a stronger crackdown on antisocial forces engaged in illegal and malicious activities. However, a temporary crackdown will soon lead to a return to the original situation. How serious are the police?</p>

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<figure id="attachment_466622" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-466622" style="width: 781px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b720b29b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/1f650a0d5c9d9c7ff6d99f404e240225.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-466622" class="wp-caption-text"> The scene of the pickup. Four plainclothes officers are holding a man by the wall (far right) for his job.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_466623" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-466623" style="width: 1006px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="bfae3929"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/f808b3a2b7860a9eb85537ffc309b324.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-466623" class="wp-caption-text"> Here, too, four plainclothes officers surround the man in the center and examine his body. Some of the officers have blond hair and are wearing sunglasses, so it is hard to tell who is being searched at first glance.</figcaption></figure>


 Blank green (2nd and 3rd pictures)

 It is said that a "purification operation" is taking place in Shinjuku Kabukicho. Scouts and catches are reportedly being busted daily and disappearing rapidly. We asked what is going on and what is going on behind the scenes.

Operation Purification” again! What is the “quiet picking” that takes place every day in Kabukicho?

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