US President Donald Trump is coming to Tokyo on his first state visit to Japan, and as a safety precaution, coin lockers in and around major stations in Tokyo will be closed until he's left the country. Yes, really.
The question is whether such a measure is intended to protect the US president's safety, or to prevent him from hiding things in lockers across the capital.
We're the safest city in the world, after all – no better place to stow away state secrets or computer servers (or himself). We doubt Trump will be taking the metro or train anyways – or carry his own luggage, for that matter.
It's not the first time this has happened, of course: coin lockers are regularly closed in the event of major political happenings, most recently during the 2016 G7 summit in Tok... sorry, Mie prefecture, about 480km from Tokyo. Lockers were also sealed when Barack Obama made his visits to Japan; anti-terror measures are the new normal after all.
The inconvenience will last from Monday October 30 until Wednesday November 8, with Trump arriving in Japan on November 5. Some lockers will shut as early as October 26, with ones that are occupied after October 28 cleared of their contents and stored at the respective station offices. Some garbage bins are also said to be 'unavailable' during this time.
So far it has been announced that a good 45 Tokyo Metro stations will be affected. These are mainly larger stations inside the Yamanote line loop, including Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza, Ikebukuro, Ueno and Tokyo. Expect JR stations that don't link to metro but do see a lot of traffic to face the same fate as well. Best pack lightly or store your luggage elsewhere.