Japan gropers foiled by phone
p2pnet news | Mobiles:- Japanese subways are so crowded pushers are actually paid to shove people into the carriages.
But the country’s super-packed trains are also providing irresistible opportunities for pervs who get their jollies from groping women.
“According to Tokyo Metropolitan Police, 1,853 people were arrested for groping passengers on trains in Tokyo in 2005,” says Mainichi.
“Experts say the incidence of harassment on trains is much higher, but women are often too embarrassed to report it.”
It’s no joke and women who’ve been looking for a way to foil the fondlers now have a partial answer.
The Anti-Groping Appli by games developer Takahashi, “was released in late 2005, but has only recently climbed up popularity rankings, reaching No. 7 in this week’s top-10 cell phone applications list compiled by Web-based publisher Spicy Soft Corp,” says the story, adding:
“The application flashes increasingly threatening messages in bold print on the phone’s screen to show to the offender: ‘Excuse me, did you just grope me?’ ‘Groping is a crime,’ and finally, ‘Shall we head to the police’?”
Also See:
Mainichi – Cell phone application wards off gropers in trains, October 24, 2007
October 28th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
I live in Japan, and that picture is no joke. It really does get that bad in the mornings. Unfortunately Japan still is seriously lacking in plans to stop molestation on the trains. One good start would be to have more companies introduce flex-time. Just recently I started showing up to work at 8 AM, instead of 9 AM like everybody else, and there is a HUGE difference in the amount of people on the trains one hour earlier than normal. If more Japanese companies started introducing flex time, it would alleviate some of the packed trains, such as the infamous Saikyo line, which is believed to be packed up to 125% capacity at some points.
Another big step would be to decentralize Tokyo. Seriously, why does every frickin company have to be inside Tokyo? If you move some companies down to Yokohama, or up to Saitama city, then that would make a big difference in traffic on the trains. Maybe the Japanese government should start offering tax breaks to companies that move out of Tokyo. If my company moved out of Tokyo, and I moved my housing, keeping the same commute time somewhere outside of Tokyo, I could find an apartment bigger and cheaper than the one I live in. There are so many advantages to decentralization. I hope the Japanese government starts to realize this soon.
October 28th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
Same thing in China. Trains are always so jam-packed it’s crazy. Not too sure on that groping aspect, though.