A Sanctuary for Female Commuters.

(From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI))

Byline: Matsunaga Tsutomu

A large pink sticker with a floral design has been attached to the train. The same stickers are on the platform where the carriages stop, and male passengers hesitated to stand in the area. Last spring, each station had two workers holding placards leading female passengers to the specific carriages.

Major railway lines in Tokyo introduced "Women-only-cars" in May 2005, and they are already part of the morning commuting scene. There have been no reports of men breaking the rule and forcing their way into the carriages. When the morning rush hour ends at 9:30, an announcement is made: "The carriage for female passengers is now suspended. We thank you for your cooperation." Even after the announcement is made, the men still hesitate to enter the women's sanctuary. It seems that the etiquette regarding the separation of men and women is being carefully observed.

The idea of introducing a car exclusively for women was prompted by the poor manners of some male passengers.

Last year, 2,200 men were arrested for molestation and surreptitious photography in the Tokyo metropolitan area, a threefold increase over eight years. According to a survey of female passengers in their 20s and 30s, some 64% have had the experience of being groped in a train. The majority of the victims said they silently endured the molestation, so the number of arrests can safely be considered to be the tip of the iceberg.

Tokyo's rush hour is really horrendous. You cannot move your arms and legs and they are stuck the moment you get in the train, and even if you release your grip on your bag, it will not fall to the floor. This abnormal situation of being tightly squeezed between other people may not only provide a cloak of invisibility for illegal acts, but it may also trigger such behavior. If a male passenger moves his hand even slightly, he may be wrongly suspected of molestation.