It’s official – Roppongi is a pit of vipers

A warning came today from the US Embassy:

Date: March 17, 2009

This is to inform the American community that the U.S. Embassy has recommended that the embassy community avoid frequenting Roppongi bars and clubs in Tokyo due to a significant increase in reported drink-spiking incidents.  American citizens may choose to avoid frequenting drinking establishments in this area as well.

The number of reports of U.S. citizens being drugged in bars has increased significantly in recent weeks.  Typically, the victim unknowingly drinks a beverage that has been secretly mixed with a drug that renders the victim unconscious for several hours, during which time large sums of money are charged to the victim’s credit card or the card is stolen outright.  Victims sometimes regain consciousness in the bar or club, while at other times the victim awakens on the street.

Because this type of crime is already widespread in Roppongi bars and is on the rise, the U.S. Embassy has recommended that members of the embassy community avoid frequenting drinking establishments in this area.  American citizens may consider this recommendation as it applies to their own behavior.  If you, nevertheless, choose to participate in Roppongi night life, we urge you to remain extra vigilant of your surroundings and maintain a high level of situational awareness.  Establishments in the area of Roppongi Intersection (Roppongi Dori and Gaienhigashi-dori) have had the highest level of reported incidents.

Need I say more?

11 thoughts on “It’s official – Roppongi is a pit of vipers”

  1. I think I’m going to take my new-found MF-posting ability to portray the crime-filled den that is Connecticut. It’s about high time someone bravely exposed that filthy hole for what it really is.

    I’ll start with this story from earlier this week:
    http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-molestation-child-porn-victims-031509,0,3779495.story

    Connecticut beverage executive had pictures of an exploited minor (who was raped by her uncle, who photographed her, and who then traded the pictures online) on his laptop when he was arrested last year for traveling to have sex with (a different) minor.

    I can’t help but see this as an aptly repulsive metaphor for modern Connecticut. While conveniently located north of New York, for a long time the area has been considered a well-to-do area and the center of America’s insurance sector. Yet it’s now clear that the place is just as scummy as the rest of America once you peel back the thin external layer. I have read more than a few stories on Connecticut, but needless to say this story, coming from just earlier this week, trumped them all.

    But it’s obvious to me that these occasional stories on bizarre crimes in Connecticut that I read or see here and there show the true debauchery of Connecticut for what it really is, and it really requires someone like me to bravely expose it.

  2. I will not rest until I get my spotlessly clean business district!

    On the topic of scummy southern New England, I recommend this documentary on the lives of a few crackheads in Lowell, Massachusetts in the 1990s. The drugs of choice may have shifted a little, but the lives of the junkie white trash have not changed much:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_on_Crack_Street

  3. Sorry, this was an e-mail received from the embassy’s mailing list. I will post the whole thing below (the title of the post about the “pit of vipers” was my own creation):

    ***

    Date: March 17, 2009

    This is to inform the American community that the U.S. Embassy has recommended that the embassy community avoid frequenting Roppongi bars and clubs in Tokyo due to a significant increase in reported drink-spiking incidents. American citizens may choose to avoid frequenting drinking establishments in this area as well.

    The number of reports of U.S. citizens being drugged in bars has increased significantly in recent weeks. Typically, the victim unknowingly drinks a beverage that has been secretly mixed with a drug that renders the victim unconscious for several hours, during which time large sums of money are charged to the victim’s credit card or the card is stolen outright. Victims sometimes regain consciousness in the bar or club, while at other times the victim awakens on the street.

    Because this type of crime is already widespread in Roppongi bars and is on the rise, the U.S. Embassy has recommended that members of the embassy community avoid frequenting drinking establishments in this area. American citizens may consider this recommendation as it applies to their own behavior. If you, nevertheless, choose to participate in Roppongi night life, we urge you to remain extra vigilant of your surroundings and maintain a high level of situational awareness. Establishments in the area of Roppongi Intersection (Roppongi Dori and Gaienhigashi-dori) have had the highest level of reported incidents.

    For further information please consult the Country Specific Information Sheet for Japan, available via the Internet at http://travel.state.gov.
    U.S. citizens living or traveling abroad are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate through the State Department’s travel registration web site at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/ so that they can obtain updated information on travel and security. Americans without Internet access may register in person with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the embassy or consulate to contact them in case of emergency.

    U.S. citizens are strongly encouraged to maintain a high level of vigilance, be aware of local events, and take the appropriate steps to bolster their personal security. For additional information, please refer to “A Safe Trip Abroad” found at http://travel.state.gov.

    For further information or any emergencies involving American citizens, please contact the American Citizens Services (ACS) Unit of either the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo or one of the U.S. Consulates in Japan listed below:

    U.S. Embassy in Tokyo
    American Citizen Services
    1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420
    Tel: 03-3224-5174
    Fax: 03-3224-5856
    http://japan.usembassy.gov/e/tacs-main.html

    The U.S. Embassy serves Americans in Tokyo, Chiba, Fukushima, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Nagano, Niigata, Saitama, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Yamagata and Yamanashi.

    ==============================
    U.S. Consulate General Sapporo
    American Citizen Services
    Kita 1-jo, Nishi 28-chome
    Chuo-ku, Sapporo 064-0821
    Tel: 011-641-1115
    Fax: 011-643-1283

    The U.S. Consulate General in Sapporo serves Americans in Akita, Aomori, Hokkaido, Iwate and Miyagi. As there are times when both officers are away from the office, we ask that you make an appointment before coming to the Consulate General.

    =====================
    U.S. Consulate Nagoya
    Nagoya International Center Bldg. 6th floor
    1-47-1 Nagono, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya 450-0001 TEL (052) 581-4501 FAX (052) 581-3190

    The U.S. Consulate Nagoya provides emergency consular services including death and arrest cases for Americans living in Aichi, Gifu, and Mie prefectures. Please call Nagoya or Osaka for confirmation before traveling to Nagoya if you believe you have an emergency situation. Routine American Citizen Services are provided by appointment only. If an appointment is not available, American residents may also receive service at the Consulate in Osaka.

    =================================
    U.S. Consulate General Osaka-Kobe
    American Citizen Services
    11-5, Nishitenma 2-chome
    Kita-ku, Osaka 530-8543
    Tel: 06-6315-5912
    Fax: 06-6315-5914

    The U.S. Consulate General in Osaka helps Americans in Osaka, Aichi, Ehime, Fukui, Gifu, Hiroshima, Hyogo, Ishikawa, Kagawa, Kochi, Kyoto, Mie, Nara, Okayama, Shimane, Shiga, Tokushima, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama.

    ======================
    U.S. Consulate Fukuoka
    American Citizen Services
    5-26, Ohori 2-chome
    Chuo-ku, Fukuoka 810-0052
    Tel: 092-751-9331
    Fax: 092-713-9222

    The U.S. Consulate in Fukuoka helps Americans in Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Oita, Saga and Yamaguchi.

    ===========================
    U.S. Consulate General Naha
    2-1-1 Toyama,
    Urasoe City
    Okinawa 901-2104
    Phone: 098.876.4211
    Fax: 098.876.4243
    DSN: 645-7323

    The U.S. Consulate General in Naha helps Americans in Okinawa and the Amami Oshima Island group (which is the southern island group of Kagoshima Prefecture).

    Travel, safety and security information is also available directly from the U.S. Department of State at http://travel.state.gov/

  4. Shouldn’t the letter also have said that “US citizens are strongly encouraged to stop drugging and robbing people in Roppongi”?

  5. The thing is up in full on the embassy website now:

    http://japan.usembassy.gov/e/acs/tacs-warden20090317-01.html

    Seriously, though, has Roppongi ever been a safe place to go out and get drunk? In the 1980s it was filled with gangsters and dangerous Pakistanis; in the 1990s it was gangsters and dangerous Africans; and now it’s gangsters and Chinese. The place is a perennial shithole and it’s odd to see so much attention focused on this notice sent out years after most people realized it.

  6. Well the embassy is just reporting on some tips it received recently, and I just thought the notice was interesting enough to post.

  7. Oh, I agree it’s post-worthy if for no other reason than the fact that the embassy doesn’t generally post warnings about the area. I do wonder whether there’s been a real uptick in crime there targeting Americans, or whether some embassy staffer got knocked out and robbed, making the folks there think a warning was needed.

  8. “Americans urged to avoid Tokyo bars after drink-spiking incidents”

    Current headline on YAHOO’s frontpage – meaning that it will likely be read by millions of Americans (the headline).

    Along the lines of Curzon’s post, I think that YAHOO Japan should retaliate with –

    “Japanese urged to avoid America because of non-stop violent incidents”

    Anyway, all of this is stupid because the spring break drink spiking season is almost upon us stateside.

  9. Had this happen to a friend recently in Roppongi (summer 2009).

    Scam is this.. In his case, it was a pair of African women (not sure which country) doing the ordinary bar circuit in Roppongi approaching businessmen, chatting them up and then slipping something in the guy’s drink when he’s not looking.

    Then after he falls asleep, they run off with his cards / wallet to do internet shopping / late night shopping, and come back with them a few hours later before he wakes up.. Particular venue in this case was a regular dance bar near the crossing.

    Moral, watch your drinks at all moments. Seems it is not the clubs themselves behind it, but freelancers doing the club circuit robbing the guys after drugging them and they fall asleep in the corner of the bar (a typically not unusual site anyways in any bar so it is not usually noticed by anyone).

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