Gathering
hundreds of thousands of fans in one place is always a feast for Japanese pop
culture, but massive crowds also attract those looking to take advantage of
others' carelessness. After the conclusion of the most recent edition of Comiket (Comic
Market) held on August 15 and 16, the organizing committee issued a stern
warning to all attendees after registering a worrying wave of incidents that
included theft of belongings, pickpockets, unauthorized photos and money
exchange scams.
The alert
was especially aimed at independent artists and doujinshi circles
who participate by selling their work. When handling large amounts of cash
while attending to human tides of customers, several exhibitors fell victim to
tricksters who paid with counterfeit bills or pretended to have handed over
larger amounts to demand incorrect change. For this reason, the organization
recommended that sellers verify each transaction aloud by mentioning the exact
figure when receiving the money, in addition to asking attendees to keep their
wallets and backpacks well guarded in the tumult.
Although
the organizers did not reveal the exact number of complaints or whether they
managed to identify the suspects of these thefts and photographs without
consent, they recalled that security at the largest convention on the planet
depends on collective care. Crime problems are unfortunately not alien to a
venue that brings together hundreds of thousands of people in a few days, so
the authorities of the event reiterated that they will reinforce the
recommendations to maintain the Comiket as a safe space where the art of
creators continues to be the only protagonist.
Seeing how
some crafty people take advantage of the disorder and crowds to ruin the
experience for artists and attendees
