NEWSWORTHY
Okinawa Paradise: A laid-back taste of Ryukyu culture
The earthly delights are numerous and varied in Kabukicho, Shinjuku's notorious, though now mostly scrubbed-up, red-light district. The pleasures offered at Okinawa Paradise, though, are strictly wholesome. As the name proclaims, the focus at this laid-back, old-school izakaya tavern is on the food and drink ...
The 25-year-old woman allegedly gave birth in a manga cafe, killed the baby there and left it in a pay locker in Shinjuku’s Kabukicho district.
The not-so-shady world of Japan's singles bars
On May 22, the Yomiuri Shimbun published a curious article about Kihei Maekawa, a former administrative vice education minister who has said that he is willing to testify under oath about the Kake Gakuen scandal dogging Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The Yomiuri Shimbun published its ...
Bar's disengaged fire alarm may have delayed response to Golden Gai inferno
The fire alarm in a bar on the second floor of a building that caught fire in Tokyo's historic Golden Gai entertainment district failed to function because it was disengaged while the business was under renovation, investigative sources said. The disengaged fire alarm probably delayed ...
Suspect arrested over fire that engulfed Tokyo's historic Golden Gai area
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department on Wednesday arrested a 66-year-old man in connection with a fire in Tokyo's historic Golden Gai entertainment area that left a woman injured. Hiroshi Haruna, described by police as unemployed and having no fixed address, was arrested on suspicion of ...
Fire strikes Tokyo's historic Golden Gai entertainment district
A fire that broke out Tuesday in the Golden Gai entertainment district in the Kabukicho district in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, destroyed four buildings and left at least one person injured. The fire also caused power to be cut to hundreds of businesses and homes. The Tokyo ...
Kabukicho hotel blaze claims female guest; police investigating
A fire broke out Thursday night at a hotel in Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district, killing a female guest in her 60s, according to police and the fire department. The fire started at around 6:30 p.m. at the five-story Hotel Matsuki, and the guest was found ...
Yakuza infighting puts nation on edge
Around the start of this year, the weekly magazines — Shukan Taishu, Asahi Geino and Shukan Jitsuwa in particular — were brimming with articles feting the centennial anniversary of the Yamaguchi-gumi, which had gone from being a small group of tough guys on the ...
Police crackdown curbing extortionist Kabukicho 'bottakuri' bar rip-offs
Cases of bottakuri rip-offs at bars and nightclubs in Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district have been on the decline thanks to a police crackdown that started in May. In a typical bottakuri, a promise of a fun night out with drinks and hostesses for just a ...
Police claim Kabukicho raids end open sale of 'kiken' drugs at stores in Japan
But the number of online and delivery sellers of the substances is on the rise, say Tokyo police, who are also trying to clamp down on such sales.
How one Kabukicho bar allegedly ripped off its drinkers
A promise of a fun night out with drinks and hostesses for just ¥4,000 in Tokyo's Kabukicho district led to a tab totaling ¥2.6 million — and a death threat. Police said Tuesday they had arrested 11 individuals suspected of overcharging at clubs in the ...
'Bottakuri' scams put the squeeze on the unwary
"On any given evening, you can see noisy quarrels between club staff and customers outside the local police box," attorney Katsuyuki Aoshima tells Asahi Geino (May 2), adding, "The police treat these as civil claims between the shop and the customer, and won't get ...
