Gathering hundreds of thousands of fans in one place is always a celebration of Japanese pop culture, but massive crowds also attract those looking to exploit others’ carelessness. After the latest edition of Comiket (Comic Market) concluded on August 15 and 16, the organizing committee issued a stern warning to attendees following a concerning wave of incidents including thefts, pickpocketing, unauthorized photos, and scams involving money exchanges.

The alert was especially aimed at independent artists and doujinshi circles selling their works. Handling large cash amounts while serving crowds of customers, several exhibitors fell victim to skillful scammers paying with counterfeit bills or pretending to have given higher amounts to demand incorrect change. For this reason, the organizers advised vendors to verify each transaction aloud by stating the exact amount upon receiving money, and urged attendees to keep their wallets and backpacks closely watched in the crowd.

Although the organizers did not reveal the exact number of complaints or whether they identified suspects for these thefts and unauthorized photos, they reminded everyone that security at the world’s largest convention depends on collective caution. Crime issues are unfortunately not foreign to a venue hosting hundreds of thousands of people in just a few days, so event authorities reiterated that they will reinforce recommendations to keep Comiket a safe space where creators’ art remains the main focus.

With some scammers exploiting chaos and crowds to ruin artists’ and attendees’ experiences, do you think Comiket should implement digital payments to eliminate cash, or would that destroy the convention’s traditional essence?