18,000 Participate in Yosakoi Dance in Kochi; Uniformed Police Officers Among Them

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:04 JST, August 11, 2025

KOCHI — About 18,000 participants showed off their enthusiastic dance moves when they took part in the traditional Yosakoi dance at the Yosakoi festival, which began on Sunday in Kochi.

Among the participants were uniformed officers from the Kochi Prefectural Police, marking the first time the law enforcement agency has participated in the dance in 51 years. Officers from the agency are in charge of security at the venue of the festival every year, so the agency decided to participate in the dance to get more people interested in the work of the officers.

Before the dance, the officers also did a performance in which one officer disguised as a suspicious person disturbed the festival and was subdued by other officers. Visitors enjoyed the performance and gave a round of applause.