Tokyo's Shibuya Ward closed three municipal parks Friday for more than a week to prevent supporters of the homeless from carrying out traditional year-end soup deliveries, a group cited the ward as saying.
The group estimates that about 200 homeless people live in the district and frequent the parks. Volunteers won't be able to provide soup inside the parks as they are scheduled to remain locked through Jan. 3.
The group has organized this event every year because welfare services provided by the ward office shut down during the holiday season.