Tokyo police have arrested a 53-year-old Nigerian man, Nwadiukwu Sylvester Ikenna, on suspicion of persistent touting for an establishment in Tokyo’s Kabukicho nightlife district.
The Metropolitan Police Department said Ikenna grasped a passer-by by the left hand on the street in the district in Thursday’s small hours, July 9, 2026.
“The suspect was saying things like “Why don’t you?” and “Don’t be scared. I love you,” the police said.
The suspect admitted to the act of solicitation and said he had received part of the money solicited customers paid at an eating establishment, according to the police.
In the first half of the year, the police received 91 consultations about cases around the district in which people were forced to pay extremely high sums at establishments that they were taken to by African-looking touts.
The number already exceeds 77 consultations for the whole of 2025.
Most of those who consulted with the police in the six months were tourists from abroad, with overall financial losses totaling some 100 million yen.
Of them, an Australian claimed some 4 million yen in damage.
