thin
先程と同じニュースの記事から拾います。
New enmity between Japan and Korea plays out in Tokyo’s Koreatown
thinと聞くと「薄い」や「細い」でお馴染みですが、ここでは第三語義の「<群衆・交通などが>まばらになる、少なくなる(+out, down)」(『ジーニアス英和辞典 第3版』大修館)の意になり、Oxford Dictionaries Onlineには’ make or become less dense, crowded, or numerous ‘と掲載されていました。(Shou-VR*)
Japanese once thronged the neighborhood, which is home to many ethnic Koreans and known for its fiery food and late nights. But in recent months, the crowds have thinned, replaced by anti-Korean protesters who have turned Shin-Okubo into a rough barometer of deteriorating Japan-Korea relations.