Foul play: gropers in Japan taking advantage of World Cup crowds likely to slip through police net

As midnight tolled and Japan moved into the small hours of Friday morning, Issei Izawa had no idea that anything was amiss in the seething crowd of football fans around him in the heart of Tokyo’s Shibuya entertainment district. Fans in the shirts and face paint of the Samurai Blue were cheering their team on as Japan played Poland in the final group match of the Russia World Cup.

And even though Japan were losing, the atmosphere was festive and amicable, 19-year-old Izawa told the South China Morning Post.