Turning the Tables on Train Groping
April 17th, 2008 at 11:24 am (Articles, Miscellaneous, Take)
Remember how, back in the early 2000s, Japan tried to experiment with “women only” train cars in order to control the situations wherein there lies “an epidemic of men who can’t keep their hands to themselves”? Well it would seem that they missed the other side of the coin. That is, how about false accusations of groping by women towards men? Have you ever thought about it?
Recent disclosure of a spate of incidents where innocent men were accused of molesting female passengers has turned the national spotlight back toward commuter groping, a problem so bad most railroad companies have set up women’s only carriages during peak travel times in the mornings and late at night.The proposed short-term solution? Why, men should look after themselves from these “crafty commuters”.
The recent arrest of an Osaka couple for trying to set up a middle-aged man by falsely accusing him of fondling a woman train traveler has large numbers of salarymen shaking in their boots at the thought of being blackmailed by crafty commuters looking for a quick buck. This has heightened calls on railroad companies to set up sanctuaries where men can travel in peace, safe in the knowledge that they won’t be accused of molestation.
Most railroad companies say they consider the issue a serious one.
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Keio Electric Railway Co., which back in 2000 became Japan’s first railroad to introduce women’s only carriages, also has no current arrangements in place to correct the gender imbalance on its routes.
“We’re aware that there are these demands, but we have no concrete plans for men’s only carriages at this stage,” a company spokesman says.
Train experts say railroad companies are quite content to sit back and let men travel in fear of being falsely accused of groping.
Masaki Ikegami, author of “Chikan Enzai Saiban Otoko ni Banzai Tsukin Saseruki ka (Groping False Accusation Trials - You Gonna Make Men Commute Doing Banzai Cheers All the Way to Work?),” a book about false molestation claims, says the only way men can feel secure commuting is to look after themselves.It’s rather sad, indeed, what with men who are innocently standing or sitting inside the train get tagged as a “molester” by commuters who want to make a big deal out of this and make some money.
“It’s a sad situation that men have to do a banzai cheer (raise both arms skyward) while commuting (to avoid touching anyone else). Male commuters have got to look after themselves by taking such steps as avoiding standing close to carriage doors, staying well away from female commuters and never being directly behind a woman riding a train,” Ikegami tells Weekly Playboy. “There are loads of people out there who have been falsely accused of groping female train travelers. I have repeatedly called on train companies to set up carriages just for men so that we can offer relief to all those with worries.”
Michael said,
April 17, 2008 at 12:14 pm
There are always two sides of a coin. Because the focus has been directed on males, this question has only come up recently. It’s good to see another side to the issue, however.
TP said,
April 17, 2008 at 5:45 pm
So, it reinforces the notion that Asian people, regardless of any affiliation, are greedy slit-eyed money-grabbing thieves who target the innocent. [/rant]
There is nothing to stop these “false accusations” except a thorough education by parents onto their children to not take opportunity of others’ vulnerability, when it’s not required or appropriate of them to do so. It’s pretty grim, yes I know — the competition in Japan is stressful, multiplied by lack of land space, urban lifestyle and a decreasing population — but moral decency should start somewhere.
Falen said,
April 17, 2008 at 10:48 pm
The fundamental problem with all these is the fact that the train is too congested. Japan needs to run more trains on the peak hours. This problem goes beyond simply tweaking “software” such as making men-only or women only train. A “hardware” upgrade is long overdue. Packing that much people into a sardine can has unsafe as well.
Ronin AnimeLover said,
April 18, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Indeed. They have only been able to cure the superficial issue here, which is the “groping of innocent train passengers”. The government also needs to ponder on the underlying cause, which is the moral fiber.
And it’s not only Japan that has issues, I would presume.
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