The cherry blossoms, carried on the spring breeze, paint the town in a soft pink hue.
In recent years, many travelers from foreign lands have come to visit this country.
The cherry blossoms reflected in their eyes may carry a different shade than the sensibilities we have cultivated over many years. And perhaps the same can be said for the younger generation.
The song attached below, “To Make This World a Flower.”
This song was one I listened to every morning and evening during my time at police academy, during our daily cleaning.
It’s a song imbued with nostalgia, bringing back memories of those days as vividly as if they were yesterday, and the spirit in the lyrics was the very essence of our youth.
The singer, Yukio Hashi, lives in Atami and even visited the Atami Police Station to say goodbye upon his retirement, showing a deep understanding of police activities.
The extent to which this song gave us courage is immeasurable.
This song, these lyrics, this melody, and this voice.
We put our arms around each other and sang this song together.
Even now, when we gather for alumni reunions, we always sing this song.
It’s a timeless treasure chest of our hearts.
The fervent feelings of those days, the bonds with our comrades, and the hope for the future.
“To Make This World a Flower” is, for us, a hymn to our youth.

To Make This World a Flower – Riot Police Support Song – Yukio Hashi
Akito Watanabe, Former Inspector, Shizuoka Prefectural Police (Eastern Branch Chief, Mobile Investigation Unit, Criminal Investigation Department)
Kono Michi (This Road): https://youtu.be/THRcc6VnBVs
To Make This World a Flower: https://g.co/kgs/Jc1Fshi

渡邉晃人さんは、静岡県警退職後は防犯落語の他、（一社）日本刑事技術協会に所属し講演活動を行っている。学生向けの「薬学講座」にも力を入れ、闇バイト・SNS・薬物乱用の恐ろしさを訴えている。
渡邉さんの警察の経歴は清水駅前交番の勤務から始まった。写真は12月2日に妙音寺自治会館
静岡市清水区村松で防犯落語を披露した時の様子

Prevent Special Fraud with Rakugo Humor
Akihito Watanabe, Former Detective, Shimizu Mainichi Newspaper Article.

Mr. Akihito Watanabe
After retiring from the prefectural police, he engages in crime prevention rakugo (traditional Japanese comic storytelling) and other activities.
He is affiliated with the Japan Criminal Technology Association and gives lectures. He also focuses on “pharmacology lectures” for students, emphasizing the dangers of illegal part-time jobs, social media, and drug abuse.
Mr. Watanabe’s police career began with his assignment to the Shimizu Station front police box. The photo shows him performing crime prevention rakugo at the Myoonji Community Center (Muramatsu, Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka City) on December 2nd.

渡邊晃人さん
渡邊晃人さんは防犯落語の他、(一社)日本刑事技術協会に所属し講演活動を行っている。
学生向けの「薬学講座」にも力を入れ、闇バイト・SNS・薬物乱用の恐ろしさを訴えている。
渡邊さんの警察の経歴は清水駅前交番の勤務から始まった。写真は12月2日に妙音寺自治会館
静岡市清水区村松で防犯落語を披露した時の様子

高校で出会った落語
防犯落語は振り込め詐欺防止のための創作落語。渡邉晃人さんが活動を始めたのは5年前。在職中、県警OBに防犯落語の依頼を受け、自身が退職後に行うことを約束した。披露する噺は「長屋のオレオレ」。江戸時代の長屋を舞台に、詐欺被害を住人に注意していた大家が孫を語る電話に騙されそうになる物語だ。寄席では観客に「詐欺は朝刊で被害記事を読んだ人が昼に騙されることがある」と注意喚起をする。芸名の「にか奴亭三助」は刑事二課に由来。警察時代は主に暴力団、汚職、薬物、詐欺事件を扱う刑事畑を歩んできた。
渡邉さんは富士市出身。中学の時は喧嘩早く勉強が嫌いだった。中学2年生の時に父親が経営していた会社が倒産。家計に余裕がなく学費が安い公立高校に進学しなければならなかった。受験勉強に励み、無事に静岡県立富士宮北高校に合格した。
高校ではあり余るパワーをぶつけたいと思い、ボクシング部かラグビー部への入部を希望。だが、どちらの部活も高校にはなかった。「不貞腐れていたら上級生に『ちょっと面貸しな』って呼び出されてね。ついていった先が落語研究部の部室。そのまま入部が決定しました」。部活では人前で話すことに慣れるために下校する生徒に向かって童謡を歌った。「人前で話す羞恥心が無くなり、この時の経験が警察での職務質問や取り調べに役立ちました。無駄なことってないんですね」

義理と人情
母親の手作り弁当に感謝
人生で大事にしているのは「義理、人情」と話す渡邊さん。高校生の時に不良に絡まれ喧嘩をしそうになったことがあった。しかし母親の顔が浮かび、ぐっとこらえたという。「母は家計を助けるためにスナックを開き、深夜まで働いていました。毎朝、早く起きて作ってくれた豪華な弁当は自慢でした。母には迷惑をかけたかった」。就職は親に喜ばれる仕事をしようと思い警察官の道に進んだ。「自分は親の愛情のお陰で真っ当な道に行けました」
県警時代も上司の愛情に助けられ、仕事で挑戦できたと振り返る。「無事に定年退職し、現職の人や世話になった人に恩返しをしたい。これが防犯落語を続ける理由です」
渡邊さんの落語に登場する長屋の住人は優しく、どこか憎めない。渡邊さんの元刑事の貫禄の中に見え隠れする優しさと重なった。

特殊詐欺被害を防ぐために
渡邊さんに詐欺被害に遭わないための対策を聞いた。今回は2つの対策を紹介する。

・電話を一度切り、家族や警察に相談!
自分一人で判断せず、一度電話を切ること。詐欺師は「守秘義務がある」など難しい言葉を言って相談を防ごうとしますが、電話を切り家族や警察に相談をしましょう。

・警察官を語る電話詐欺の場合
所属、担当部署、氏名、内線番号を聞いて電話を切る。警察署に連絡し事実かどうか問合せをしましょう。

Akito Watanabe
Akito Watanabe performs “crime prevention rakugo” (comic storytelling) and also gives lectures as a member of the Japan Criminal Technology Association. He is also active in “pharmacy lectures” for students, where he talks about the dangers of illegal part-time jobs, social media, and drug abuse.
Watanabe’s police career began with his assignment to the Shimizu Ekimae Koban (police box). The photo shows him performing crime prevention rakugo at Myoonji Community Center (Muramatsu, Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka City) on December 2nd.

Rakugo Encountered in High School
Crime prevention rakugo is a creative form of rakugo aimed at preventing “furikome” (transfer) fraud. Watanabe started this activity five years ago. While still on the police force, he was asked by a retired prefectural police officer to perform crime prevention rakugo, and he promised to do so after his retirement. The story he performs is “Oreo in the Nagaya” (Tenant House). Set in an Edo-era tenant house, it tells the story of a landlord who warns residents about fraud but is almost deceived by a phone call from someone claiming to be his grandson. At performances, he warns the audience, “People who read about fraud in the morning newspaper can be deceived by noon.” His stage name, “Nikadoitei Sansuke,” comes from the Second Criminal Investigation Division. During his police career, he mainly worked in the criminal division dealing with organized crime, corruption, drug, and fraud cases.
Watanabe is originally from Fuji City. In junior high school, he was quick to fight and disliked studying. When he was in the second year of junior high school, his father’s company went bankrupt. His family’s finances became tight, and he had to attend a public high school with low tuition. He studied hard for the entrance exam and successfully entered Shizuoka Prefectural Fujinomiya Kita High School.
In high school, he wanted to channel his excess energy into a club activity and hoped to join the boxing or rugby club. However, neither of these clubs existed at the high school. “While I was sulking, an upperclassman called me out, saying, ‘Let me have a word with you.’ The place I was taken to was the rakugo research club’s room. That’s how I ended up joining.” In the club, he sang children’s songs to students going home from school to get used to speaking in front of people. “I overcame the shyness of speaking in front of people, and this experience helped me with police questioning and interrogations. Nothing is ever a waste.”

Duty and Humanity
Gratitude for Mother’s Homemade Lunch
Watanabe says that “duty and humanity” are important to him in life. There was a time in high school when he was about to get into a fight with some delinquents. However, he remembered his mother’s face and restrained himself. “My mother opened a snack bar to help with the household finances and worked until late at night. I was proud of the elaborate lunch she made for me every morning, waking up early. I didn’t want to cause her any trouble.” He decided to become a police officer to do a job that would please his parents. “I was able to go down the right path thanks to my parents’ love.”
He recalls that even during his time with the prefectural police, he was able to take on challenges in his work thanks to the affection of his superiors. “I retired safely and want to repay the people I worked with and those who took care of me. That’s why I continue to do crime prevention rakugo.”
The residents of the tenant house in Watanabe’s rakugo are kind and somewhat endearing. This overlapped with the kindness that peeks through Watanabe’s former detective demeanor.

Preventing Special Fraud
We asked Watanabe for measures to avoid becoming a victim of fraud. Here are two measures:

・Hang up and consult with family or the police!
Don’t make decisions on your own, hang up the phone. Fraudsters try to prevent consultation by using difficult words like “confidentiality,” but hang up and consult with family or the police.

・In the case of phone fraud impersonating a police officer
Ask for their affiliation, department, name, and extension number, then hang up. Contact the police station to verify if it’s true.

We are pleased to announce that we will be holding a rakugo performance at the Mt. Fuji Waraji Mountain hut again this year. The director of the Waraji Mountain hut is a dear friend of mine, with whom I shared the ups and downs of police academy life for a year as classmates.
Without waiting for his mandatory retirement, he embarked on managing a mountain hut located at 7.4 stations (3,090m above sea level) on the Gotemba trail of Mt. Fuji. There, as a substitute for dessert after dinner, I performed my rakugo, which led to the annual summer tradition of visiting the mountain hut and holding rakugo performances with short comic stories.
Five years have passed since then, and as it has gradually become known to climbers, it caught the eye of an advertising agency in Tokyo, who praised it as a “very interesting project.” They requested that I stay at the mountain hut for a week, from July 31st to August 5th, and hold rakugo performances. Of course, I am very keen to do everything I can to support him. If you are interested, please feel free to contact the “Waraji Mountain hut.”
One day, he unfortunately fell from the roof of the mountain hut and suffered an injury that resulted in a difference in the length of his left and right legs. Nevertheless, he never gave up, managing the mountain hut and striving for its continued existence.
While other mountain huts were closing one after another due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked hard to prevent climbers from getting lost and installed a bio-toilet brought in from Asahikawa, Hokkaido, to solve the toilet problems faced by female climbers in particular.
This was broadcast on an NHK special program, and he has also made a significant contribution to society by opening the Gotemba Trail 6th Station Hut No. 2 “Hanzo-bo” (2,590m above sea level), even at the risk of incurring a deficit. This mountain hut’s opening was also a very memorable event for me, as I supported him as an administrative scrivener.
I am truly proud of him, a man who “loves mountains and loves people.”
We look forward to welcoming you.