Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai - [Article] articles about the police raid on avex June 2009

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articles about the police raid on avex June 2009

Quote:

Tokyo police raid Ayumi Hamasaki's agent

Japanese police Wednesday raided the office of the agent of pop superstar Ayumi Hamasaki after a promotional event in April drew 8,000 screaming fans and stopped traffic in central Tokyo.

Police raided the offices of agent Avex Entertainment Inc., over the event that was allegedly held without a permit in Tokyo's fashionable Shibuya district.

Shrieking crowds massed around Hamasaki, 30, when she appeared for several minutes to promote her new book at the teenage fashion temple Shibuya 109, a shopping centre that is a magnet for teenage girls.

Police are reportedly investigating the incident as a possible violation of the road traffic law, but they declined to comment, as did Avex staff.

Hamasaki, known to her fans simply as 'Ayu,' enjoys intense adoration as a pop diva and fashion icon among girls and young women in Japan and elsewhere across East Asia, including Taiwan and China.

From AFP, 11 June 2009

Quote:

Hamasaki crowd spillover spurs raid

Police searched the offices of Avex Entertainment and other companies Wednesday in connection with an alleged traffic violation in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, that occurred at a publicity event for pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki in April.

The companies held the event on the afternoon of April 7 in the open space in front of fashion emporium Shibuya 109 to celebrate a new book by Hamasaki. When Hamasaki turned up at the event, the audience was allowed to spill into the street even though the companies hadn't gotten permission to use the road.

The offices of Avex Entertainment Inc., Hamasaki's agent, are in the ritzy Minamiaoyama district in neighboring Minato Ward. As police entered the office with media crews looking on, pedestrians wondered what was going on.

"Why is everybody making a big fuss? Hamasaki didn't do anything wrong," said a 55-year-old woman who was walking by. "Avex staff should have reported the event to police."

Letting crowds block a street is a violation of the Road Traffic Law.

From The Japan Times, 11 June 2009

Quote:

Police launch probe after Ayumi Hamasaki street event causes chaos in Shibuya

Organizers of a street event featuring Japanese pop superstar Ayumi Hamasaki have come under suspicion of violating the Road Traffic Law by holding the event without a license, it has emerged.

The Metropolitan Police Department searched the offices of Hamasaki's management agency Avex Entertainment and several other locations in connection with an investigation Wednesday. Police are planning to send documents on involved parties to public prosecutors, accusing them of violating the law.

According to police, Hamasaki held an event at 109 Square in front of the 109 department store in Tokyo's Shibuya district at around 3 p.m. April 7. The event, held to promote a new book about the star, was an unannounced "surprise event," and the square was soon flooded with some 8,000 onlookers. The crowd overflowed the boundaries of the square with some ending up on the surrounding streets, causing traffic mayhem at the major junction.

From The Mainichi Daily News, 10 June 2009