When Shibuya Mayor Ken Hasebe goes on his daily morning run through Yoyogi Park, his thoughts focus on how he can transform his young, frenzied hometown into something more mature and sophisticated — akin to London, Paris or New York.
Hasebe found himself in the spotlight earlier this year when he urged Halloween revelers not to come to Tokyo's bustling entertainment district, citing the crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon last year that killed over 150 people in a narrow alleyway.
Beyond his request, however, lies a deeper concern — the future of Shibuya itself.