Sazae-san fires strike for crime prevention

Sazae-san, a cheerful popular TV cartoon character from a program of the same name, threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Saturday’s game between the Yomiuri Giants and the Hiroshima Carp at Tokyo Dome in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, as part of a campaign calling for crime prevention.

Sazae-san, who serves as a crime prevention ambassador for the Metropolitan Police Department, called for the use of the MPD’s free crime prevention app called Digi Police.

The crowd applauded when the ball landed in the mitt of Giants mascot Giabbit, the catcher.

The MPD distributed flyers promoting Digi Police to help prevent acts of molestation on trains. Instructions on how to download and use the app were also displayed on the dome’s big screen.