Authorities suspend Akihabara’s “pedestrian paradise”

For 35 years, Tokyo’s Chiyoda-ku has closed some major roads to vehicle traffic on Sundays and created a “pedestrian paradise,” making a nice atmosphere and preventing sidewalks from overcrowding in the popular shopping area. However, authorities have announced that they are planning to suspend the Akihabara “pedestrian paradise” following the knife rampage that occurred last weekend. It is not clear how long the suspension will last, but sources have said it will continue until at least the end of July.

Here’s a FTV news report about the decision:

Pedestrians interviewed were generally surprised and disappointed by the decision, and I have to say that I am too. There’s simply no logical reason why authorities should close down the “pedestrian paradise.” This does nothing to stop a copy cat criminal from repeating the crime- anyone can rent a truck and drive into pedestrians by jumping a curb or waiting for crowds to walk across a crosswalk, and a determined madman could attack people on a sidewalk just as easily as in a vehicle street.

Combined with police tactics that include walking around with menacing nightsticks and searching random people, this new policy will no doubt make Akihabara less appealing to shoppers and tourists.