Robert Downey Jr.: “I probably should have seen there was a sign that said ‘No Felons Allowed’. That was in English and Japanese, and I haven’t had that expunged yet. You can actually get things expunged, but I’ve been pretty busy. I was detained, I was interrogated. God, it was a blast.” When Letterman asked, “Haven’t you kind of settled up, sort of ‘paid your debts’ to whatever that was, to whoever…” Downey Jr. cracked another joke: “Clearly I haven’t paid my debts to Japan.”
Roppongi Crossing, Roppongi district of Tokyo. Photo by T. Watanabe
While the general crime rate in Japan is well below the U.S. national average, the U.S. Department of State continues to warn Americans about Roppongi, an entertainment district in Tokyo that caters to foreign clientele. Americans have reported a substantial number of crimes in Roppongi.
Roppongi has been the scene of violence between criminal syndicates in the past. Organized crime is acknowledged to operate on a wide basis in Japan. These groups, called yakuza (Seeヤクザ), are heavily involved in sex-related industries such as pornography and prostitution, and are also involved in gambling and protection rackets. Due to the large investment by yakuza in the night entertainment business, travelers may be exposed to their operations or wander into bars or night clubs run by yakuza.
The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo reissued its July 10, 2009 warning advising American citizens from frequenting bars and clubs in the Roppongi area of Tokyo due to drink-spiking incidents. As stated in the American Citizenship Services (ACS) Newsletter, the U.S. Embassy “continues to receive reliable reports of U.S. citizens being drugged in Roppongi-area bars.”
