ハロウィーン自粛ムード　コロナ禍の中、仮装まばら―東京・渋谷

　ハロウィーン本番の３１日夜、例年多くの若者らが集まる東京・渋谷のスクランブル交差点付近は、自粛ムードに包まれた。新型コロナウイルスの感染が広がる中、週末で大勢の人が訪れたが、仮装姿はまばらで、大きな混乱は見られなかった。
　兵庫県姫路市から訪れ、人気アニメ「ポケットモンスター」のキャラクターの仮装をした男子高校生（１７）は「コロナは怖いけど、意外と人がいてよかった」と笑顔を見せつつ、「仮装している人が少ないのは残念」と複雑な心境を明かした。
　映画「ミニオンズ」のキャラクターに扮（ふん）した千葉県の会社員男性（２３）は、仮装姿で初めて来訪。「テレビで見るより人が少ない印象。楽しもうと思う」と興奮気味に話した。
　宮崎駿監督の映画「千と千尋の神隠し」に登場する「カオナシ」の仮装をした千葉県船橋市の３０代男性は「４年前から毎年参加しているが、仮装した人は例年の３分の１ぐらい。道路も汚れていないし、より健全になったのでは」と語った。
　スクランブル交差点やセンター街では、警戒に当たった警視庁の警察官らが、メガホンを使って「密にならないように」「立ち止まらないで」などと呼び掛けた。（2020/10/31-21:39）

This year's Halloween festivities were subdued compared with previous years at the iconic scramble crossing near Shibuya Station in Tokyo amid the novel coronavirus epidemic, with fewer people dressing up in their favorite costumes for the celebrations.
   On Saturday night, crowds of people flooded the crossing area popular among young generations, but no major confusion was seen.
   "I'm scared of the coronavirus, but I'm happy to see an unexpectedly large number of people here," said a 17-year-old high school student from the city of Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, who was wearing a costume of a character from the popular Pocket Monster, or Pokemon, anime series. Still, he said, "It's regrettable to see not many people in Halloween clothes."
   A 23-year-old male corporate employee from Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, visited the site in a Halloween costume for the first time. "I think the number of visitors to the crossing is smaller than I saw on television, but I'm ready to enjoy myself," the man, who dressed up as a character from a Minions movie, said excitedly.
   "The number of people in Halloween costumes is around one-third of the usual levels," said a man in his 30s from the city of Funabashi in Chiba, who started visiting the place four years ago. "The streets are clean, and it's now normal," he said. He made himself up as Kaonashi (No-Face), a character from Spirited Away, a popular anime movie directed by Hayao Miyazaki, a renowned Japanese film director.