Increased security measures could bode longer lines at Comiket

Heading to Comiket 89? You may be in for a long wait…

Comiket 89 will take over Tokyo Big Sight in a matter of weeks, drawing half a million people eager to buy exclusive merchandise and support their favorite dōjin circles. The mass conglomeration of people in one area can mean one thing: lines. The Morinaga Candy company posted a video for this summer’s event giving useful advice so visitors could avoid heat stroke while waiting to get in.

Now those lines might be longer thanks to increased security concerns by police to prevent a terrorist attack. Police requested an increase in the event’s security measures. To comply with the request, visitors will have to submit to a baggage check and no hazardous materials, firearms, or swords that violate the Firearms and Sword Possession Control Law will be allowed. Personal belongings should not be left unattended, either.

Terror attacks in Paris and mass shootings in the U.S. have overtaken recent news reports. Japanese police arrested a 27-year-old South Korean man earlier this month on the suspicion that he placed a bomb in the bathroom of the Yasukuni shrine on November 27. The shrine memorializes Japanese war dead, including war criminals from World War II. The bomb detonated and blew a hole in the ceiling of the bathroom.

Comiket previously required a bag check at its Comiket 83 event in 2012 in the wake of threats targeting Kuroko’s Basketball dōjin events and the creator himself. Comiket cancelled all circles related to Kuroko’s Basketball and refunded the participating circle’s entrance fees. The Sankei Shimbun reported the event lost more than 10 million yen (about US$117,900) as a result.

The perpetrator of the Kuroko’s Basketball threats and blackmail was arrested in 2013.

[Via Kai-You]

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