Less than a decade ago, finding any sort of Halloween celebration in Tokyo would have been tough. Then, suddenly, October revelry was everywhere you looked in the capital. And in 2018, the spookiest event of the year has evolved once again in Japan: It’s now being held up as an example of hedonism by those arguing that society is in terminal decline.
Well, not really Halloween per se. Most people still love creative costumes, children dressed up as just about anything and animals getting into the spirit of the event. We’re talking about Halloween celebrations in Shibuya, which exploded online last week after a steady stream of pictures and videos landed on social media highlighting debauchery in the neighborhood. Like many viral stories online, the internet reaction wasn’t only focused on a pop-up party gone wrong with a case of vehicular destruction thrown into the mix.
Japanese netizens have always had an uneasy relationship with these types of large unofficial gatherings leading up to and including Oct. 31. There’s a general annoyance at what happens when thousands of people come together to stand around and drink (and inevitably leave a bunch of trash in the streets). Footage from a TV show about then-nascent Halloween happenings remains a meme online, primarily an interview with a guy who thinks it’s all pretty stupid.