PATRIARCHY IS SEX ASSAULT

Tokyo station employee tells passengers to use rear train cars if they ‘do not want to be groped’

Rebecca Moon
Mon, September 12, 2022 at 4:47 PM·2 min read

A Tokyo train station employee is facing backlash for an announcement he made instructing passengers to take the rear train cars if they “do not want to be groped.”

In a video taken on Aug. 30 at Shinjuku Station in downtown Tokyo, a station worker is seen making an announcement via the P.A. system, stating: “We have many security cameras installed, but there are many chikan. Passengers who do not want to be groped, please make use of the rear carriages.”

During the evening rush hour, gropers, also known as “chikans” in Japan, are typically seen in the front cars, which are the most crowded. Train stations in Japan often have posters stating that groping is a crime.

The East Japan Railway Company issued an apology on Thursday explaining that the announcement did not have any negative intentions.

“The intent was to guide passengers towards less crowded carriages, but a portion of the announcement was inappropriate. We deeply apologize to those who were made uncomfortable by the announcement,” JR East stated.

The employee’s choice of words prompted backlash, as many Twitter users pointed out that the announcement was inappropriate.

“They say, ‘People who don’t want to be molested should move,’ but they don’t say, ‘People who don’t want to be suspected of being molested, please move,’” one user wrote.

“Lack common sense,” another user commented.

“I think there could be a better way to say,” another user wrote.