TOKYO (TR) – Cocaine-related arrests within the capital reached a brand new excessive final yr as use amongst younger individuals surged. This demand is spurring smugglers, a pattern that’s not being ignored by regulation enforcement, reviews Fuji News Network (Jan. 1)
The variety of folks arrested for cocaine use by Tokyo Metropolitan Police has hovered round 100 over the previous decade. But the determine has risen considerably over the previous two years.
In 2024, the variety of arrests quickly rose to roughly 270. For the primary 11 months of final yr, it had already reached a document excessive of roughly 350.
Of that latter determine, roughly 230 have been aged below 20, indicating elevated utilization by younger folks.
In years previous, foreigners represented the vast majority of the suspects. However, Japanese customers have been the bulk in 2024, representing roughly 270 of these arrested. As properly, roughly 200 have been first-time offenders.
Japan as potential goal
As the variety of cocaine arrests has elevated, so has the quantity of cocaine smuggled into nation. According to Tokyo Customs, which has jurisdiction over Haneda and Narita airports, seizures in 2025 are anticipated to exceed 100 kilograms, greater than double final yr’s determine and a brand new document.
Cocaine couriers posing as vacationers enter the nation after swallowing cocaine wrapped in plastic wrap or different supplies with the intention to hiding the contraband inside their our bodies. Most of those couriers are from Brazil, the place they obtain directions for unlawful part-time work in alternate for a fee.
A senior official at Tokyo Customs identified, “The concentration of such smuggling cases over a period of about six months suggests that smuggling organizations may have been targeting Japan.”
Japan as potential goal
However, cocaine isn’t just a risk to Japan. According to a 2025 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the variety of international cocaine customers in 2023 was estimated at 25 million, and unlawful manufacturing reached 3,708 tons, each document highs.
While the United States and Europe are the first cocaine shoppers, seizures in Asia have additionally been rising in recent times. The quantity of cocaine seized in Asia elevated fivefold between 2013 and 2023, rendering the area as a key cocaine vacation spot and transit level for smuggling.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police is upping enforcement measures.
Yoshio Kawachi, chief of the division’s Drug and Firearms Control Division, expressed concern concerning the rising demand for cocaine. “We have received information that the amount of cocaine being illegally produced in South America is on the rise,” he stated. “This, coupled with the sharp increase in arrests of young people in Japan, raises concerns that Japan is a growing target for drug cartels. Law enforcement will further strengthen its crackdown on abusers, cooperate with relevant agencies to implement border control measures, and promote public awareness activities for Tokyo residents and the nation as a whole.”
In current years, the convenience with which medicine might be obtained by way of social media has made them extra accessible to younger folks, resulting in a diminished consciousness of their risks.
To stop younger folks from ruining their lives by fleeting curiosity or temptation, it’s pressing to lift consciousness of the hazards and take measures to curb drug distribution, Kawachi stated.