Public Urination Suspected in Kabukicho: Was It a Tourist? 5ch: “Just Fine Them ¥500,000”

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The story

In Tokyo’s Kabukicho district, a woman was spotted crouching in front of a drainage gutter with her shorts pulled down, sparking speculation on social media that she was urinating in public. According to reports, a local support group working in the area said, “Even the girls who hang around Toyoko wouldn’t do something like that,” while noting that since the area has so many public restrooms, an unfamiliar tourist may simply have struggled to find one. On 5ch, opinions ranged widely — some called for Singapore-style fines, others sympathized with foreign tourists who have trouble locating public toilets, and still others speculated about the woman’s identity.

“Woman with shorts pulled down crouches by a drainage gutter…” “Even the girls at Toyoko wouldn’t…” — Amid public urination suspicions, a Kabukicho support group suggests she may have been a tourist: “There are plenty of public restrooms here”

Mon, Sep 7, 18:45 JST

NEWS Postseven

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

What people said

6AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:25
In Singapore that'd be a brutal fine.
Japan should do the same — if you relieve yourself somewhere other than a toilet,
charge you like ¥500,000 (~$3,300).
21AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:27
Re: #6
Follow their lead — might not be a bad idea.
19AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:27
Expecting foreign tourists who don't speak the language or read the script to hunt down a public restroom is actually a taller order than you'd think.
138AnonymousSep 7, 2026 21:01
Re: #19
"Where's the bathroom" is Travel Phrases 101.
¿Dónde está el baño?
22AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:28
Apparently a ton of people were filming it on their phones.
25AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:30
Some speculated about the woman's nationality, quoting a post: 〈Is this seriously a scene from Japan!?

Having idiots like this around is the education system's fault too〉
She's Japanese.
46AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:36
>She's not the type — even the girls who hang around Toyoko wouldn't do something like this
Liar! I've seen the video.
48AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:36
Having a whole conversation mid-"roadside squat" — what is that? (slang for street urinating)
Is she chatting while peeing?
So it's not even embarrassing to her?
65AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:44
Re: #48
This is a normal sight in China.
Dead serious.
57AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:40
Her: "Build more women's restrooms! This is sexism!"
Me: "Take a page from China's book!"
59AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:40
Re: #57
Guess guys really are into Chinese people more, huh.
67AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:44
There are guys who piss standing up out in the countryside, but nobody does that in the city, right?
Right?
92AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:50
Re: #67
Flashing yourself like that gets you arrested, so nobody's actually doing it.
71AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:46
The real problem is the cop who looked the other way.

https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2094603057946652672/vid/avc1/518×290/FCNbPK7Wf7xQP_BJ.mp4
89AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:49
Re: #71
Actually, didn't they say something to her?
Like "this isn't a toilet" or something?
96AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:51
Re: #71
This is definitely China.
A Japanese woman would pick a hidden spot and face toward the sidewalk.
117AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:56
Re: #71
Isn't this a foreigner? I've never seen anyone do it right out in the open on the road. I have seen people ducking into a shaded spot, though.
100AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:51
Re: #65
Even in Japan, that used to be a normal sight out in the countryside.
105AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:53
Re: #100
Grandpa, how many decades ago was that?
120AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:56
In China, unless you're at a nice hotel or a major chain store, you can still run into a "nihao toilet" (slang for stalls with no doors or partitions, common in older Chinese public restrooms).
If you're used to that, doing your business out on the street is probably nothing.
126AnonymousSep 7, 2026 20:58
Re: #120 I'd really rather you skip the number two, though.
147AnonymousSep 7, 2026 21:03
Guys do it next to vending machines or against the side of a building all the time.
A drainage gutter is way better than that.
Is everyone just making noise because it's a woman?
154AnonymousSep 7, 2026 21:05
Re: #147
You must run with a rough crowd — nobody does that these days.
163AnonymousSep 7, 2026 21:07
Re: #147
What town did you see that in? What time of day?
150AnonymousSep 7, 2026 21:03
Years ago, an elementary school girl with an intellectual disability who was walking ahead of me suddenly crouched down on the roadside and started peeing outside.
It felt awkward in a bunch of ways so I pretended not to notice and just walked on by — but now that I've dropped that kind of bias, I'd probably just pull out my phone.

Background and Key Points of the Debate

Relieving oneself in public can technically be prosecuted under Japan’s Minor Offenses Act, but in this case the woman’s identity and nationality were never officially confirmed. Opinions on 5ch split between those sympathetic to foreign tourists — citing the shortage of public restrooms and the language barrier — and those calling for tougher penalties. In recent years, the area around Kabukicho has repeatedly drawn scrutiny over etiquette issues tied to the loitering of young people known as “Toyoko Kids” and the surge in inbound tourism, and this incident is being discussed in that same context. That said, it’s worth noting that the idea the woman was a tourist comes only from the support group’s speculation, not confirmed fact. The thread also contained baseless guesses about the woman’s nationality, which have been left out of this article.

*This article is an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Breaking News+) thread “[“Woman with shorts pulled down crouches by a drainage gutter…”] Amid public urination suspicions, a Kabukicho support group suggests she may have been a tourist: “There are plenty of public restrooms here”.”

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