Is Tokyo starting to crack down on its "low-end population"? Street vendors will disappear completely before the Olympics

Last year, Beijing forcibly evicted residents of the newly built Xinjian Village on the grounds of "fire risks" and "eliminating safety hazards," forcing tens of thousands to leave their homes overnight and launching demolition operations. These unfortunate people driven from their homes were referred to as the "low-end population." Their common traits were low income, low education levels, and employment in low-tier industries, often singing songs of a tomorrow-less existence in the alleys of advanced cities.

In fact, no matter how developed a city is, there are always people struggling at the bottom of society—even in Asia’s most bustling metropolis, Tokyo. With just over two years to go until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has begun strictly cracking down on illegal street vendors. According to a report in the magazine *Nikkan SPA!* , there are still a few small food stalls gathered in the Yaesu area of Tokyo. These mobile food carts are called “yatai” in Japanese. However, with the approaching Tokyo Olympics, police have begun to drive the yatai out entirely, hoping to make these illegally operated food carts vanish completely from Tokyo.

In fact, there are regulations in place in Tokyo regarding yatai. According to Article 77, Paragraph 1, Item 3 of the local Road Traffic Act, operating a yatai requires permission from the district police chief. But in reality, most yatai do not have such permission, meaning the majority of them operate illegally.

Yatai may be illegal, but because they carry the flavor of old Tokyo and offer affordable prices, they have long been a gathering spot for office workers and laborers to unwind with a drink after work, possessing a kind of magic that helps people truly relax. Many Tokyo residents also lament that the city seems to have given up many beautiful things for the Olympics.