ハロウィーン、来訪自粛を　外国メディア通じ呼び掛け―渋谷区長

　今月末のハロウィーンを控え、東京都渋谷区の長谷部健区長は５日、都内の日本外国特派員協会で記者会見し、「海外客も渋谷への来訪は考え直してほしい」と述べ、自粛を呼び掛けた。長谷部氏は昨年１０月、ハロウィーンを前に韓国・ソウルの繁華街で多くの人が死傷した雑踏事故に関し「渋谷でも同様の事故が起きる可能性がある」と危機感を表明した。
　渋谷駅周辺では例年、ハロウィーンの時期に若者や外国人らが多く集まり、迷惑行為が発生している。区は外国メディアを通じ、訪日客に訴えることにした。長谷部氏はこの時期の渋谷の混雑について「人命に関わる事故の危険がある。各地で問題になっているオーバーツーリズム（観光公害）より深刻だ」と強調した。（2023/10/05-12:40）

Ken Hasebe, mayor of Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, spoke to foreign media on Thursday and asked tourists not to visit Shibuya to celebrate Halloween.
   Speaking at a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo, Hasebe called on foreign tourists to "reconsider" their plans if they are thinking about visiting Shibuya for Halloween on Oct. 31 and during several days before.
   Citing last year's deadly crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon district just ahead of Halloween, Hasebe warned that an accident like that "can happen anytime" also in Shibuya.
   Every Halloween, areas around Shibuya Station become a destination for crowds of nighttime revelers and partiers from Japan and abroad, some of whom cause a nuisance.
   "The situation that Shibuya is facing during Halloween is much more serious than overtourism. We are talking about illegal dumping of massive amounts of trash, arrests for molestation, sneak photography or voyeurism, property destruction and the future possibility of fatal accidents triggered by crowds," he said.