Even the girl who jumped onto “Godzilla Road”… Where will the Tōyoko Kids go now that they’ve been kicked out of Hygeia?

A Girl Who Jumped onto “Godzilla Road”

“The kids gathered here are those who don’t feel they belong at home or at school. They might be far more sensitive to interpersonal relationships than the average person. Even a minor argument with a friend can make them feel as though they’ve been rejected; some turn to self-harm before they can recover. There’s no end to the suicide attempts, and just recently, a friend of mine died after jumping to her death.”

These are the words of A-ko, a young woman who frequents the To-Yoko area. The “friend” she refers to is the woman who took her own life on July 1.

On the night of July 1, a tragic incident occurred in Shinjuku’s Kabukicho “To-Yoko” district when a woman who frequented the area jumped from a building and died. The location was Central Road—also known as “Godzilla Road”—a busy thoroughfare with many passersby.Police tape was strung across the scene, and a pool of blood had formed at the point of impact. “We were still filming TikTok videos together until recently, so it still doesn’t feel real,” A-ko said, expressing her grief.

According to another friend, Ms. B, the deceased woman “had gotten into a fight with her boyfriend the day before.”

“I knew about that because she mentioned it during a livestream. He told her, ‘Die!’ and it seems they got into a fight where she said, ‘Fine, I’ll die then!’ and he retorted, ‘Go ahead and die!’ At the time, her boyfriend appeared to be in the throes of an overdose, but the deceased girl may have taken his words literally.

It seemed like they were constantly fighting; she’d often say things like, ‘He hit me just a little while ago.’ I remember being worried when she mentioned on her livestream that her boyfriend had threatened her with a kitchen knife. That video was her last before she took her own life,” said Ms. B.

It’s said that something unusual is currently happening in the To-Yoko area. With organized crime groups coming and going and illegal drugs circulating, the situation is reportedly quite dangerous. When I asked the kids hanging out there, they all said in unison, “There are a lot of kids hinting at suicide.” Ms. A, who shared the story at the beginning, was one of them.

These changes are likely linked to the fact that “To-Yoko”—the area where these kids used to gather—is gradually disappearing. Originally, the To-Yoko kids gathered in the area centered around Cine City Plaza, but when the plaza was fenced off around December 2023, they began gathering in front of a nearby 7-Eleven.However, starting around March of this year, the ward began a pilot program allowing food trucks to operate in this area, and the hangout spot known as “To-Yoko Kids” has now disappeared.

New “Hangout Spots” Are Quickly Shut Down

In the area around the former Tokyo Yokocho, commotion used to unfold day and night. You could observe behavior that seemed hard to believe was taking place in the middle of a bustling downtown area—people playing music through speakers, drinking alcohol while sitting on outdoor folding chairs (who knows where they got them from), and others spreading out cardboard and sleeping as if they owned the place.

In recent years, reports of overdoses from over-the-counter medications and minors getting caught up in crime have led to the area becoming known as a dangerous place. To dispel negative perceptions such as “dangerous” and “intimidating,” the local government has been working to attract food trucks and other businesses, in an effort to prevent the area from becoming a gathering spot.

Around the end of May, they began gathering behind the Kabukichō police box, on the grounds of the “Tokyo Metropolitan Health Plaza Hygeia” (commonly known as Hygeia). The scene on the stairs of the plaza in one corner of the grounds looked exactly like the former “in front of the 7-Eleven” had simply been moved there. The distance between the two locations is less than 100 meters.

However, on June 29, a fence was erected around this area as well, effectively sealing it off. From Hygeia’s perspective, it is likely unacceptable for its grounds to become a gathering spot. This can be considered a reasonable decision. Now that they have nowhere to go, where will they head next?

Drugs and honeytraps are rampant

The person who spoke to us was Ms. C, who says she’s been at To-Yoko for over three years. Among the “To-Yoko Kids”—a group known for its high turnover, with members changing every three months or so—she’s considered quite a veteran. According to her , “There are more weirdos these days,” and “quite a few people are getting caught up in crime.”

“There have always been plenty of strange or eccentric people here, but I get the impression that the number of dangerous individuals has increased even more. They’re probably not law-abiding citizens, and they approach people with offers like, ‘You can make good money with a honey trap—why don’t you give it a try?’ or ‘Can you sell this drug for me?’ They don’t care that minors have a hard time distinguishing right from wrong, so it’s quite dangerous.”

Cases of minors getting caught up in crime are also on the rise. Given this situation, the government can’t afford to turn a blind eye. What are her thoughts on the fact that the area is increasingly being shunned?

“Right now, groups hanging out in front of the 7-Eleven and those gathering in the love hotel district are still hanging around just like they always have. They’ve always been under constant surveillance by security guards hired by the local government, but I feel like the monitoring has gotten stricter than before,” says Ms. C.

It’s said that the groups gathering around the love hotels in Kabukichō are loitering in the open spaces in front of the hotels and on the streets. And there are reportedly problems with the groups gathering in the love hotel district.

“They’re a bit different from the ordinary kids who gather here because they don’t have a place to belong at home or school; if anything, they’re a violent group. They get into fistfights, engage in honey traps, and deal drugs. I’ve heard that some of those drugs are illegal. It’s a pretty dangerous situation because newcomers sometimes unwittingly get involved with them and get dragged into crime,” she added.

The current “Tōyoko Kids” are scattered around areas such as in front of the 7-Eleven, the love hotel district, and in front of the Lawson next to TOHO Cinemas . “Because regulations have tightened, quite a few people have disappeared,” says Ms. C, noting that many have moved on from the area.The groups currently gathering each have their own distinct characteristics, and new groups are reportedly forming as well.

The environment surrounding the “To-Yoko Kids” has changed dramatically. While their behavior is by no means exemplary, rather than simply excluding these young people who have nowhere else to go, isn’t it necessary to connect them with some form of support?

・Japan Lifeline Federation
Phone: 0570-783-556 (10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.)

Home Page

・Yorisoi Hotline (General Incorporated Association Social Inclusion Support Center)
Phone: 0120-279-338 (24-hour service. For calls from Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures, dial 226 at the end)

Yorisoi Hotline

・Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare “Unified Mental Health Consultation Hotline” and Social Media Counseling
Phone: 0570-064-556 (Hours vary by municipality)
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/hukushi_kaigo/seikatsuhogo/jisatsu/soudan_info.html
・List of Life-Support Counseling Services (List of counseling services by prefecture and government-designated city)
https://jscp.or.jp/soudan/index.html