Halloween safety in Japan

October 24, 7:59 AMJapan Travel ExaminerJoshua Williams

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Halloween in Japan

(photo / Joshua Williams)

Halloween is almost here in Japan and that means its time for all the foreigners to start running around the cities in scary costumes and strange outfits. While there are few, if any, real carved pumpkins and no door-to-door trick-or-treating, those out to have a good time make up for it with Halloween parties – and with the parties comes both drunken revelry and a warning.

While partying, and even public drinking and drunkenness, are generally accepted in Japan, unruly stupidity is not. The biggest concern Halloween partygoers should have is safety.

Possibly hundreds of small Halloween costume parties are held around Japan by local foreigner residents and their friends looking to have a good time every year.   Those people generally do have a good time and no one complains.

However, over the past few years, there have been some highly publicized cases of supposed problems around Halloween by costumed foreigners. After complaints in 2007 of bothersome drunken behavior and vandalism were received regarding one infamously unorganized annual party reportedly held on Tokyo’s main train line, officials have begun to cracking down on potential troublemakers.

After the so-called “Yamanote Halloween Train” reached a climax the previous year, Japan Railway officials started posting notice around Tokyo stations in 2008 that read in English: 
“Any actions that interfere with or endanger the safety of other passengers, including parties in the station or on trains and any form of violence, are strictly prohibited.”
This year that notice has been posted again.  It has even been posted on the U.S. Consulate – Osaka’s website, where they are asking for cooperation in that city as well..

Due to concerns that arose in 2007, security was increased in 2008 to prevent problems.  Unfortunately, besides the security, there were reports of angry, and potentially xenophobic, Japanese citizen who decided to take it upon themselves to police trains, which resulted in claims of stalking.

There is already a report this year of a call for a potential train party, as well as a resulting online death threat. All in all, as perceptions of the event from both sides strongly disagree, the current resulting situation comes across rather sad (and a bit scary after incidents like the Akihabara Massacre in 2008) .

If you’re planning to attend a Halloween party this year in Japan, no matter where, remember to be safe. Being safe requires responsibility and respect. With those, one can still have a great Halloween time that people of all cultures can enjoy.

As the Japanese say “anshin-daiichi” – Safety First.

Have a safe and spooky Japanese Halloween!

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