Incident in Kabukicho involving a French national that put police on alert as Halloween approached

TOKYO (TR) – Earlier this week, a 33-year-old French man was accused of pushing over a man on a street in the Kabukicho red-light district in Shinjuku district, causing him to hit his head. He later died.

Police arriving at the scene arrested Alexandre Laforet, an office worker, on suspicion of assault causing bodily harm. After the victim's death, the charge was later changed to manslaughter.

Laforet, who was drunk at the time of the incident, denied the allegations. “I don’t remember anything,” the suspect told police.

According to Shueisha Online (October 2), the incident is an extreme example of the turmoil faced by foreigners – mainly tourists – in Shinjuku. And since the arrival of Halloween will bring a huge crowd of hard-drinking revelers to Shinjuku, some of whom will of course be foreigners, the police are on alert.

“Assaults, injuries and property damage”

The incident occurred around 1:30 a.m. on September 29, right in front of the Shinjuku District Office.

At that point, Laforet persistently approached a woman who worked at a bar and was with the 67-year-old victim, whom he did not know. When the man tried to intervene, Laforet pushed him away with both hands, causing the man to fall and hit his head hard on the pavement.

He suffered an acute subdural hematoma and was taken to hospital where he was confirmed dead.

“It appears that a police officer responsible for dealing with foreigners was called to work that day after receiving an emergency call,” a person involved in the investigation tells the website. “Although rarely reported, assaults, injuries and property damage by foreign tourists occur almost daily in the Shinjuku area.”

The victim's head then hit the pavement

A street vendor from Kabukicho witnessed the incident.

“I was nearby and only saw the incident halfway through, but it appears the Frenchman called the bar girl as she was leaving with the victim,” the recruiter said. “He said, 'I'm a better man than' [the victim]not true?' and 'Let's hang out.'”

The complaint adds that the suspect appeared to be extremely drunk and the girl was very reserved.

“The victim then attempted to stop him by shouting 'Stop!' and said 'I've had enough of this,'” it continues. “But the Frenchman lost his temper and pushed the victim away with all his strength.”

The victim's head then hit the pavement.

“The sound echoed like nothing I had ever heard before,” says the tout, “and the Frenchman must have thought things were bad, so he ran away.”

Other recruiters saw the situation and chased after him.

“Then they grabbed him and put him in a headlock about 80 yards away in front of a donut shop,” it continues. “Then some Nigerians joined in and surrounded him. The girl who was with him called the police and an ambulance.”

Police cars and ambulances were parked on the side of the road and there was chaos at the scene for a while.

“Works for a reputable company”

Laforet lives alone in a one-room apartment on the second floor of a four-story building in Nakano District. The rent is around 150,000 yen.

The owner of the apartment said: “I received a voicemail from Shinjuku Police Station three or four days ago, but I haven't called them back. I have no contact with [the suspect] because I gave the apartment to a real estate agency.”

He has lived in the unit for about two or three years.

“I think he lives alone,” the owner continues, “and he works for a reputable company. We run a fairly rigorous screening process. I’ve never heard of him getting drunk and causing trouble, let alone paying the rent late or causing trouble with the neighbors.”

Alcohol-related problems

Due to the increasing number of foreign tourists coming to Japan, the number of foreigners in the Shinjuku area, especially in Kabukicho, is increasing, and alcohol-related problems are also increasing, the website said.

(Still, it should be noted that Laforet is not part of this group. A local news reporter says, “The suspect speaks fluent Japanese, has a valid residence permit and was not a tourist.”

“I wasn't on shift the day of the incident so I didn't witness it, but I hear there are a lot of problems with foreigners around here,” said a worker in Kabukicho. “For example, when they get drunk and go into a private room at a restaurant to pick up girls without permission. It seems that this incident also started with a pickup…”

In recent years, the Golden Gai district, which lies on the outskirts of Kabukicho, has been full of foreigners. For restaurant workers, they have to balance the good (strong business) with the bad (incidents).

“Foreigners spend a lot of money and tip,” says a Golden Gai employee. “Because of the price differences [between Japan and overseas]People from Europe and America seem to view Golden Gai as a place to drink cheaply. Some foreigners get so drunk that they say, “I don’t want to pay.” Then they will try to run away. I hunted once [one person] to Kabukicho.”

Now that October is here, Halloween is just around the corner – and that may just be Tokyo at its loudest.

Shibuya District, famous for its Halloween events, has passed an ordinance banning street drinking all year round starting Oct. 1. The move came as drinking on the streets had become commonplace for young people and foreigners and there were a number of problems over noise and litter.

“While vigilance over Halloween events is increasing in Shibuya, there were also people dressing up in Halloween costumes and drinking on the streets in Shinjuku last year,” said an investigative source. “With the increase in tourist numbers, we fear Halloween will be a big deal in Shinjuku this year.”