[Article] articles about the police raid on avex June 2009

[nmskalmn]

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