Tokyo's Shibuya cracks down on public drinking as tourist crowds swell

TOKYO -- Tokyo's Shibuya district will ban nighttime public drinking of alcohol year-round beginning Oct. 1, looking to quell the disruptive behavior attributed mainly to tourists and hoping to restore the area's quality of life.

In early August, a group of people who appeared to be overseas tourists sat on a guardrail drinking in front of a convenience store at 11 p.m. Other foreign nationals drank alcohol while using a sign for a multi-use development as a table. Trash was strewn everywhere in the area.