In a first, Tokyo’s Public Safety Commission has ordered a 21-day closure of an izakaya Japanese pub in the Shimbashi district in the capital’s Minato Ward for setting up tables and chairs on the street without permission, violating traffic laws.
The Public Safety Commission imposed the suspension order, effective from March 21, according to a report from NHK.
It is the first time in Japan for such an administrative action to be imposed against an izakaya for violating traffic laws, according to police.
The Eiyuya izakaya’s Sanchome branch had previously been investigated in December when the Atago Police Station referred the operating company and a female employee in her 30s to prosecutors for violating traffic laws.
According to police, the pub repeatedly placed tables on the street between April 2023 and October 2024, despite receiving more than 60 warnings from law enforcement. The tables would be temporarily removed after the izakaya received the warnings, only for them to reappear the next day.
The company’s representative attended a hearing with the Public Safety Commission on March 11, arguing, “It wasn’t a habitual practice.” The representative added that the company had “notified all employees by phone and taken measures to prevent further incidents.” The pub has since ceased setting up tables, according to the representative.
NHK reported that many residents in the district have complained about restaurants and bars setting tables on the street without permission since around 2023. Police and Minato Ward officials have been calling on operators to stop doing so, as they could hamper emergency vehicles from responding to incidents such as a fire.
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