A New Rule for Downtown Kochi
Kochi City, the capital of Kochi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, has banned street touting in its downtown nightlife district. City officials say they want to stop overcharging, the "rip-off bill" scam that local bar owners say is driving visitors away.
The Kochi City Assembly passed the ordinance on the prohibition of touting and related acts on September 30, 2026, by a unanimous vote. All of the assembly's caucuses had sponsored it together. Local broadcasters say it is the first such ordinance passed by any city, town or village in Shikoku.
The rule applies to every type of business. That includes bars, hostess lounges, restaurants and any other venue whose workers stand on the street looking for customers. The zone designation takes effect on October 23. Penalties begin on April 1, 2027.
The Yomiuri Shimbun published a follow-up on October 8. In it, residents and visitors described bills that had grown far beyond what they were promised.
The Ordinance at a Glance
| Passed | September 30, 2026, unanimously, by the Kochi City Assembly |
| Covered area | Downtown entertainment streets, including Otesuji, Obiyamachi and Hatsukamachi, plus the area around Kochi Station |
| Banned | Touting (kyakuhiki), loitering to wait for customers (kyakumachi) and street recruiting, for any type of business |
| First stage | October 23, 2026: banned zones designated; awareness campaign |
| Full enforcement | April 1, 2027: guidance, warnings, stop orders, public naming of violators |
| Penalty | Civil fine of up to ¥50,000 (about $330) for ignoring an order |
| Regional first | First such ordinance among Shikoku municipalities |
Bills of ¥100,000 and More
City officials say touting is "the entrance" to rip-off bills, known in Japanese as bottakuri. The usual pattern is simple. A tout promises a cheap drink or a cheap hour. Once the customer is inside, the bill comes out many times higher.
The Yomiuri reported complaints filed with the city. One person said, "I was told it would be ¥10,000, and they said it was ¥100,000." Another said a group "was charged close to ¥1 million." An official with the city's Living and Traffic Safety Division told the paper, "The goal of this ordinance is to stop rip-off damage before it happens."
Assembly member Yokoyama, who proposed the ordinance, gave larger figures to Kochi Sun Sun Television (KSS). He said one customer was billed more than ¥1.5 million after only a few hours at one establishment and had no choice but to give up. He said other customers were charged ¥400,000 to ¥500,000 each.
KSS also said many recent cases are smaller. Its reporter described a rise in "petit rip-offs," with bills of around ¥40,000 at venues customers thought would cost a few thousand yen. Those bills are high enough to hurt and low enough that customers rarely file complaints.
What the City Counted
The city ran its own survey in June. Staff watched 17 locations downtown for one hour, starting at 9 p.m., on each of five nights from June 5 to June 9. They counted 85 instances of touting or waiting for customers. KSS reported that the two busiest spots had about 10 touts an hour.
Police figures are smaller. KSS cited Kochi Prefectural Police data showing 58 police call-outs over touting and 14 reports of billing disputes in 2026. KSS put the number of arrests from 2021 through 2026 in the range of one to three.
Officials say the low numbers do not reflect the problem. Hirose, the head of the city's Living and Traffic Safety Division, told KSS that tourists are the most frequent victims. Many of them go home without filing a police report.
Filling a Gap in the Law
Japan already restricts touting at two levels. The fūei-hō, the Businesses Affecting Public Morals Regulation Act, regulates nightlife and sex businesses and bans their workers from touting. Kochi Prefecture's nuisance prevention ordinance also covers aggressive touting by businesses that offer sexually suggestive or "pleasure-oriented" service, such as grabbing a passerby's body or clothes, according to the Yomiuri.
Local officials say those rules are hard to enforce. KSS reported that police can usually act only when officers see the touting themselves.
The new city ordinance is broader. It bans standing in the way of pedestrians, blocking traffic, and waiting for customers on roads, in parks, at stations and in other public spaces, regardless of the type of business. Speaking at a news conference on October 2, Mayor Ryugo Kuwana said the ordinance "complements" the fūei-hō and the prefectural ordinance.
Some people have raised concerns that the ordinance does not define its standards precisely. Kuwana responded to that criticism. RKC Kochi Broadcasting quoted him as saying the city would write its rules "while listening to everyone's opinions," including assembly members and industry groups, "so I do not think it will be applied arbitrarily." The city plans to have an operations manual in place by spring 2027.
The Industry Asked for It
The push came partly from the nightlife industry itself. In July, the Kochi Prefecture association of hospitality and drinking establishments, a trade group for bars and lounges, gave the mayor a written request for an anti-rip-off ordinance. The group warned that overcharging tourists was damaging the city's image. The Yomiuri reported that the association's chairman, Iwata, said many cases "end with just a warning" and asked for rules that would actually work.
The prefecture's hotel association has also backed the measure. A representative told the Yomiuri, "We don't want guests who come all the way to Kochi and stay with us to have an unpleasant experience."
Timing played a role. The city brought the first stage forward to October 23 because the Yosakoi Kochi Cultural Festival opens on October 25 and is expected to bring in visitors from outside the prefecture. City officials are also expecting more tourists from a planned NHK taiga historical drama about John Manjiro, the 19th-century castaway from Tosa (today's Kochi), which the mayor has said will air in 2028.
According to the Yomiuri, about 50 wards and cities across Japan have passed similar anti-touting ordinances.
What Visitors Should Know
Until April, the ordinance has no penalties. City officials, police and industry groups will spend the coming months on patrols and awareness work. Mayor Kuwana said the city would publicize the rules in its newsletter and through partner organizations.
The standard advice for any Japanese nightlife district still applies. Do not follow a street tout. Ask for the full price, including table charges and service fees, before you sit down. If you are handed a bill you did not agree to, call the police on 110.
Sources: Yomiuri Shimbun Online (October 8, 2026) for the complaint quotes, the June survey dates and method, the October 23 start, the ¥50,000 penalty, the description of the prefectural ordinance, the roughly 50 similar ordinances nationwide and the trade-group and hotel-association comments; Kochi Sun Sun Television / KSS (September 30, 2026) for the unanimous all-caucus vote, Assembly Member Yokoyama's account of ¥1.5 million and ¥400,000–500,000 bills, the 85 sightings over five days at 17 locations, the prefectural police figures, the "petit rip-off" trend and Division Chief Hirose's comments; RKC Kochi Broadcasting (October 2, 2026) for Mayor Kuwana's remarks on the fūei-hō, the prefectural ordinance and arbitrary enforcement, and for the April 1, 2027 start of full enforcement; TV Kochi / TBS NEWS DIG (October 2, 2026) for the Otesuji, Obiyamachi and Kochi Station zones and the Yosakoi timing; KSS (July 13, 2026) for the trade group's July request and the mayor's 2028 drama remark. Outlets gave several officials by surname or in kanji only; this site uses surnames where the romanized given names were not published. The Kochi Shimbun and NHK also reported the ordinance's passage. Dollar figure converted at about ¥150 to the dollar. Glossary: fūei-hō = Businesses Affecting Public Morals Regulation Act; kyakuhiki = street touting; bottakuri = rip-off billing.