Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Japan’s major sightseeing and gathering places, Shibuya, Asakusa, and Shinjuku, welcomed the New Year under tightened security that banned a countdown, but nevertheless, popular shrines across the city attracted crowds of people, all there to welcome 2024, the year of the dragon. 

This was the first New Year’s Eve since the Corona virus was reduced to the status of 5, on a par with yearly influenza, and although the countdown was cancelled for the fourth consecutive year, crowds of young people gathered around Shibuya Station, one of the most popular spots in Tokyo for locals and tourists alike.

The Metropolitan Police Department dispatched many security personnel to control the crowds and regulate traffic around Shibuya’s famed scramble intersection. They prevented crowds from gathering by closing off some of the area as well as installing fences at the main crossings of the train station.

Cheers of “Happy New Year” from the crowds as they welcomed the New Year were accompanied by nonstop loud instructions from police officers who forced people to keep moving and not touch each other.

The same scenario occurred at other popular spots all around Tokyo. At Asakusa Temple, another major sightseeing spot, crowds shouted their joy at welcoming the New Year to the background of numerous loudspeakers held by police constantly issuing the same instructions.

The New Year’s Eve celebrations of 2024 went ahead with no troubles or incidents reported.