I seldom translate Kumanichi articles, preferring just to introduce the main points; I also seldom venture downtown anymore now that my kids are gone. But they used to visit a juku in an area next to the “entertainment zone,” and I was never worried about them moving about that area unattended. That is the most positive aspect about Kumamoto: You can let your children free with zero worries.

I’ve heard rumors, though, of increasing disreputable activity in the area and a resulting crackdown. Good - drive these rats out of town. Kumanichi has an exposé on the situation, and for once, I decided to translate the article whole. Let’s keep Kumamoto safe and clean. - William

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Disreputable Solicitors, Clip Joints Increase - Complaints up 2.5 Times from Previous Year - Shopkeepers Demand New Regulations

With the reconstruction from the Kumamoto earthquake and the return of customers to the downtown shopping streets, “bottakuri” 「ぼったくり」, in which shopkeepers demand malicious charges from customers, is increasing. “Let’s restore a safe and friendly downtown area,” say local merchants as they work together with prefectural police to aim for the “purification” of urban areas and the establishment of city regulations to crack down on malicious shops.

　”We have beautiful girls!” “30 thousand yen, all inclusive!” ring the calls from the arcade on the weekend. Young men with blond-dyed hair dressed in black suits gather and busily talk with tourists and tipsy office workers.

A male employee (26) who frequently goes downtown with his colleagues confides, “I was annoyed by being so frequently called at while just walking. I have three friends who, having followed a tout and drank just a little, ended up paying 48,000 yen.”

Local food and drink establishments are also bothered by the resurgence of these malicious shops. A man in his 60s sighed, “The bustle finally returned after the earthquake, but with it suddenly came dealers from outside the prefecture who contracted to set up these food and drink joints. Bad guys are on the rise.”

A male manager of a food and drink establishment on Shinshigai (36) listened to voices regarding damage from about 20 local shops: “They come to the edge of my premises to steal customers”; “They dress as workers affiliated with our store and take away our guests”. The manager says with a scowl, “For shops sincerely managed, having one’s customers stolen is a serious situation.”

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Touting is banned by the Entertainment Business Act as well as by prefectural nuisance prevention ordinances. According to prefectural police, reports of complaints regarding touting numbered 149 in 2016, when the earthquakes occurred, but increased rapidly to 537 in 2017. Between January to April in 2018, such complaints amounted to 399, an increase of 2.5 times that of the previous year, and nine people were arrested.

In early May, Kumamoto Police announced a crackdown on touting and malicious practices focused on about 800 establishments registered as “entertainment businesses” in the downtown area.

What led to this was the case in which a male manager (29) of a food and drink establishment located in a multi-use building downtown was found dead and a total of six people were arrested for causing his injuries. The incident seems to have been sparked by trouble over charges. Investigative officials emphasized prevention of similar incidents in their drive to aggressively uncover similar establishments.

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People downtown have stood up to stop the deterioration of public order and to maintain its image. As such, the Shopping Arcade Organization and the Crime Prevention Association established on 14th this month the “Committee for Countermeasures against Touting in the Central Area of Kumamoto City.” Plans are to submit a request to the city requesting establishment of a new ordinance that can regulate acts such as “waiting for customers” within the arcade, which are not currently regulated.

　Kiyosaki Hiroshi (60) - chairman of the city’s crime prevention model district promotion committee - renews his determination to “create strict regulations to ensure we pass down a safe city to the next generation.”

（This article was written by Horie Toshimasa and Maeda Kōji of the Kumanichi Shinbun.）