Victory Manual

Here’s a random blog I came across with a legitimately posed question (if not blunt),

恵比寿のクラブでのカウントダウンはまぁまぁだったな。六本木でしたかったなー。まぁカウントダウン終わったら六本木に行ったけどやっぱり外人アツいなー。警察もかなり警備してたし危険な所ではあるんだよね。なんであんなに外人いるんだろう。関東中の外人が集まったのかな。

Translation,

The countdown at the club in Ebisu wasn’t anything special. I wanted to be in Roppongi. When the countdown was over I got the chance to head over there, though, but it was thick with foreigners, just as I thought it would be. There were even cops on guard. It’s a pretty dangerous place. Why are there so many foreigners? Was it some kind of Kanto party for foreigners?

Well, if you really want to know,

[六本木にある軍事施設は]太平洋戦争終戦に伴い日本の占領にあたった連合国軍の1国であるアメリカ軍に接収される。そのため外国人向けの商店や飲食店が多く集まるようになる。

Meaning,

At the end of WWII, during the occupation of Japan, America, a member of the allied forces, confiscated military installations located in Roppongi. Because of that, shops and restaurants aimed at foreign customers increased in the area.

So, there you go - The reason there were so many foreigners in Roppongi for the 2008 New Year’s celebration was because of a war that ended over 60 years ago.