Changes after Operation Cleanup: Shinjuku Kabukicho after 2003

Changes after Operation Cleanup: Shinjuku Kabukicho after 2003

In December 2003, Governor Shintaro Ishihara made a secret inspection of Kabukicho himself, triggering the "Kabukicho Purification Operation" in earnest. In the background were a series of gang wars from the late 1990s to the early 2000s, the advance of the Chinese and Korean mafias, and the expansion of foreign adult entertainment establishments and illegal businesses. At the time, Kabukicho was a complex intertwining of Asian crime groups and Japanese gangsters, and security concerns had become so apparent that it was called a "stateless city.

In this cleanup operation, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Shinjuku Police Department jointly stepped up their efforts to uncover and shut down Korean delicatessens, okiya (brothels), and other buildings that had become home to illegal residents. In particular, the Korean-affiliated adult entertainment businesses located in the Koma Theater area and in the buildings behind Shokuhan Dori were devastated, and the city became "cleaner" on the surface. Kabukicho has changed.

However, the subsequent changes were not straightforward. While the number of Korean and Chinese brothels declined, from the mid to late 2000s, the number of black touts, mainly African-Americans, especially Nigerians, increased rapidly. They stood on Kabukicho Ichibangai and Kuyakusho Dori to fill the void left by "street hawkers" and lead customers to taverns, bars, and brothels. Touting is illegal and sometimes leads to trouble and fraud, and has become a new source of public anxiety for residents and visitors to the city.

This is due to Japan's immigration control policy and the progress of internationalization: in the 2000s, the number of foreign students and short-term visitors from Africa increased, and those without work visas often turned to the water business and touting. In addition, the recession that followed the bursting of the bubble economy reduced land prices and rents in Kabukicho, creating a business environment that made it easier for foreigners to enter the market.

In other words, although the cleansing operation temporarily reduced "visible crime," it ultimately failed to solve Kabukicho's structural problems - its multinationalization and dependence on the nighttime economy. The public safety problem was destined to "continue in different forms," as black touts increased after the Korean-affiliated sex industry disappeared, and later Southeast Asian workers and newcomers infiltrated the town.

This process shows that Kabukicho, as a "miniature city," is a place that constantly attracts new social problems. The cohabitation of superficial cleanliness and underlying chaos--this was the historical background that characterized Kabukicho after 2003.