Women-Only Coaches Offering Shelter from "Chikan" are Flourishing

Most Japanese in big cities commute to office by trains so crowded that bodies stick together during rush hours. Exploiting these occasions are male passengers called "chikan" who grope women's bodies. Many women hesitate to shout out from embarrassment and shyness. Recently, chikan have increased.

The molestation of chikan is, of course, a crime. When discovered the criminals are in many cases subjected to mass media reports and dismissed by their employers. On the other hand there are more than a few cases of men being mistaken for chikan, which is getting to be an issue. Under these circumstances, women-only coaches have recently become available during rush hours (mostly the first or last coach).

Many women are quite pleased, but there are complaints as well about unpleasant perfume odors, women easily falling down because there is no one standing firmly, old or women hesitating to get on the coach (as they think no chikan touch them), as well as young women being mistaken for easily tolerating chikan on regular coaches. Some people say that coaches for the handicapped and elderly should have been provided instead of women coaches. Currently, only one coach is provided as women-only, but it is not very crowded.

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