Tokyo ward to install sonic ‘Mosquito’ device at park to drive away loitering youths
Tokyo’s Adachi Ward is poised to install a sonic device that emits an annoying high-frequency sound in a bid to discourage youths from loitering in a park late at night.
The ward plans to install the British-made “Mosquito” device at Kitashikahama Park on Thursday. Officials at Melc Co., the Japanese agency for the apparatus, said that just over 20 of the devices had been sold over a period of one year, mainly to convenience stores. It is reportedly the first time for a local body in Japan to install one….
Depending on the success of the device and residents’ opinions, officials will consider installing more devices at other parks. The ward has already reportedly received repeated installation requests from other areas, along with inquiries from other local bodies and police.
The “Mosquito,” which was developed by a British researcher in 2005, was awarded an Ig Nobel prize the following year. The Ig Nobel prizes are awarded for humorous, creative research.
So reports the Mainichi Daily News, on May 20, 2009