The Metropolitan Police Department said Monday it has closed one of its two facilities where drunken people can sober up overnight due to a decline in the number people causing trouble when under the influence.
Numbers peaked in 1976 when the MPD took 35,109 drinkers into custody but had declined to 8,683 by 1999. Last year saw 9,755 people spending a night in the tank.
The force, which used to have four such facilities, now has only one, located in the Azabu-Juban district of Minato Ward. Intoxicated people are also taken into custody at police stations.