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Japan's booming drug culture
From Rebecca MacKinnon
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Drug use among Japanese has hit a new peak of about one and half percent of the population, with police estimating that roughly 2 million Japanese are now drug users. Compared to some other countries it may not sound serious, but authorities say drug use in Japan has hit a new peak. Shibuya is a trendy part of Tokyo where young people come to meet and have a good time. It's also where young people say they come to buy drugs. "Everyone does it," says 16-year old Saori. She says ecstasy and marijuana are easy to get. Seventeen-year old Rie says her friends like to get high when they go out to dance clubs. Stalls and small shops openly sell what they say are legal, mood-altering herbal concoctions. Shopkeeper Makoto Kimura says demand for all drugs is growing. Strong cultural taboos against using them are breaking down fast among Japan's young people. Growing demandCompared to many other countries, including the United States, Japan's drug problem is small. But police say a recent growth in demand has been matched by increasing sophistication of drug smuggling operations. Those drugs include amphetamines from North Korea. "In the past three years one third of smuggled drugs come from China and another third are from North Korea. But recently there has been an alarming increase of drugs coming from North Korea," says Naoto Takeuchi of Japan's National Police Agency. A North Korean ship sunk after a gun battle with Japan's coast guard one year ago now appears to have been involved with drug smuggling. GangstersThe Japanese coast guard salvaged the ship this summer. They say that among articles proving the ship's North Korean origin was a cell phone whose records showed numerous calls made to numbers belonging to Japanese gangsters. "Large amounts of stimulant drugs originating in North Korea are sold in Japan," says the National Public Safety Commission's Sadakazu Tanikagi. "The drugs are high-quality and neatly packed. This leads us to believe that a well-organized, well-funded body is behind this drug smuggling." North Korea has denied all allegations made by officials in Tokyo, Washington, and elsewhere that it openly sanctions and even supports drug smuggling. Meanwhile in support groups, young Japanese struggle to shake their addictions. They don't know where their drugs came from -- all they know is how drugs ruined their lives.
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