The Days of Stolen Silence of the Night - Crisis in the Nocturnal Occupation World due to the Corona Disaster (2020)

The Days of Stolen Silence of the Night - Crisis in the Nocturnal Occupation World due to the Corona Disaster (2020)

In 2020, the nightlife industry in Tokyo's Kabukicho district faced unprecedented headwinds as a new strain of coronavirus infection swept the world. Host clubs and cabarets in the entertainment district became a target of infection risk and social criticism due to their overlapping structure of three "densely" crowded, close, and close quarters. In the midst of this situation, the Cabinet Secretariat's Office of Countermeasures to Combat Infectious Diseases hosted a meeting in which then Minister of Economic Revitalization Yasutoshi Nishimura and Shinjuku City Mayor Kenichi Yoshizumi discussed the introduction of PCR testing at host clubs in Kabukicho and measures to restore their image, as the public and private sectors sought a response.

In the same district, the Shinjuku City Liaison Committee for Measures Against New Coronas in the Downtown Area was established on June 18, 2020. An unusual move was reported, in which stores with food, beverage, and entertainment establishments jointly took measures to prevent infection. In addition, an unannounced on-site survey of approximately 300 establishments was conducted, revealing awareness and actual conditions regarding infection prevention in host clubs and cabarets.

Such public intervention demonstrated that the nightlife district is not merely an entertainment space, but a field closely linked to the city's economic, cultural, and social structure. However, the structure surrounding the nightlife industry changed drastically as requests for closure and shortened business hours led to tight cash flow, employee layoffs, intra-industry mobility, and even new inflows of funds such as "papa katsu".

During this period, Kabukicho was transformed from a symbol of "nighttime liberation" to a place where "nighttime stoppage" was forced. This was the moment when the place where loneliness and approval intersected, which had been illuminated by the bustle of the night, was exposed by the silence.