Complaints from foreign visitors about being overcharged in Tokyo's Kabukicho district reached about 240 between January and October, roughly triple the figure for the same period last year, Kyodo News reported.
The Metropolitan Police Department's public safety division believes a group of African touts is targeting visitors specifically, based on what complainants have described, and has stepped up vigilance.
The Shinjuku police station, which covers Kabukicho, took about 340 overcharging complaints over the same period, including those from non-visitors. Reported losses totaled about ¥390 million, more than double the roughly ¥140 million recorded for all of last year.
Many complaints describe being led by a tout to a bar or restaurant and then having a large sum charged to a credit card without consent at payment time. One case involved losses of about ¥9.6 million.
Arrest at Kabukicho bar
The division arrested two people, a man and a woman, on Wednesday on suspicion of operating a bar with hostess service in Kabukicho without a license, in violation of the Entertainment Establishments Law.
One of those arrested was identified as Ekueruundou Anburusu Oshita, 62, a Nigerian national described as the person in charge of the establishment and resident in Iriya 5-chome, Adachi Ward, Tokyo. Police made the arrests on the spot.
The bar had also drawn complaints from foreign visitors about overcharging, and investigators are looking into whether the cases are connected.