Man arrested for allegedly sexually molesting woman on bus

Only cares about opportunities for his own desires. He must be banned from public transport after his prison term has ended.

Research shows Japan is the leading sexual molestation (chikan) nation in the world, and measures to combat it have been severely lacking. Time for another BBC documentary (they did do one on the videoing and selling of chikan).

Catching the men cashing in on sexual assault in East Asia - BBC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SU6Cl2xaKg

arrested a 62-year-old man on suspicion of indecent behavior after he allegedly groped a woman sitting next to him on a bus.According to police, the incident occurred at around 4:35 a.m. Saturday on a bus traveling from Nagano City to Higashi-Matsuyama City,

Old guy on the night bus try his luck, this kind of incident happened in the past and they changed the seat between male and female. That's the reason when anyone want to book night bus, there's form that will ask gender.

> William_BlakeToday 06:40 am JST

Only cares about opportunities for his own desires. He must be banned from public transport after his prison term has ended.

Research shows Japan is the leading sexual molestation (chikan) nation in the world, and measures to combat it have been severely lacking. Time for another BBC documentary (they did do one on the videoing and selling of chikan).

Catching the men cashing in on sexual assault in East Asia - BBC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SU6Cl2xaKg

I should have included in the 'developed' world.

Sexual assault is worst overall in Latin America and South Asia.

Nevertheless, curious about the resistance (downvotes) about this fact.

There is good individual research done by a well-known Japanese Youtuber Shogo for anyone interested.

Molestation on Trains is NO JOKE in Japan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dajKNczCPRs&t=507s

William_BlakeToday 07:45 am JST

Molestation on Trains is NO JOKE in Japan

This. 100%.

And I'm sick to death of the comments to the contrary, making jokes or making light of the situation, or even accusing women of making up stories and lying. I'm also sick of the inaction of the government and the police, the majority of whom are men, and who see this as a woman's issue and not a societal one.

I get why foreigners are reluctant to step in when they witness chikan incidents, but what excuse do Japanese men have for just watching and doing and saying nothing?

The problem won't get fixed if no one is ever willing to do anything to call chikan out and make sure they are arrested, fined, and shamed.

girl_in_tokyoToday 09:43 am JST

William_BlakeToday 07:45 am JST

Molestation on Trains is NO JOKE in Japan

This. 100%.

And I'm sick to death of the comments to the contrary, making jokes or making light of the situation, or even accusing women of making up stories and lying. I'm also sick of the inaction of the government and the police, the majority of whom are men, and who see this as a woman's issue and not a societal one.

I get why foreigners are reluctant to step in when they witness chikan incidents, but what excuse do Japanese men have for just watching and doing and saying nothing?

The problem won't get fixed if no one is ever willing to do anything to call chikan out and make sure they are arrested, fined, and shamed.

This is my experience too.

There are so many men in Japan (including on this discussion board) who refuse to accept that sexual assault is a problem in Japan's big cities and some efforts have been made to combat it but it should be a much greater priority as it can cause lifelong trauma for thousands of women.

Estimates from research show 4 out 5 Tokyo women (75%) have experienced sexual assault on public transport. Only 4% ever report it. Official police reports are around 3,000 per year. The real figure is likely then to be more than 100,000.

That means of all the Japanese women you know most have been sexually assaulted (especially if they are young and attractive then I would say all of them have). That must change now.

Incomprehensible to me.

uncivilized and A shameful act

This is sick but we have to consider the effect of Japanese culture that these people are grown up. Starting from child sexualisation and continuous emphasis of sexual content in the media, which is not acceptable in most other countries in the west. The entire focus of life in japan seems like centered around sexuality. There are other things to enjoy in life.

this behaviour is very sick especially at his age, but it’s common in japan due to negative impact of the culture.

JohnToday 12:05 pm JST

This is sick but we have to consider the effect of Japanese culture that these people are grown up. Starting from child sexualisation and continuous emphasis of sexual content in the media, which is not acceptable in most other countries in the west. The entire focus of life in japan seems like centered around sexuality. There are other things to enjoy in life.

this behaviour is very sick especially at his age, but it’s common in japan due to negative impact of the culture.

Yes, that's part of it. Men who commit sexual assault are somewhat protected by the inadequate police and justice system and many in the public (just look at Leo T's comment) who fail to understand the gravity of such crimes. You would have to be a very, very brave woman to come forward about being assaulted because the risks of being ignored and belittled are very high.

Too many women and girls are being assaulted and abused in the streets and on public transport, why?, because the other people around them choose to ignore it. I know it is a world wide problem but whether it is worse in Japan or not I can only guess, but every day there is another is another story in JT almost identical. One way I can think of to stop it is to split the seating areas on buses and trains for women or men only..ie. women at the front of a bus and men at the back, with an exception made for couples.

Japan needs a sex offenders register.

You hear of no policy for women for self-defense or national organization to help victims.

Politicians are first responsible of course but IMHO, Japanese women are also part of their own problems, which is cultural.

Chikan won't disappear anytime sooner or later because of stickers saying beware of chikans...

opheliajadefeldtToday 12:35 pm JST

Too many women and girls are being assaulted and abused in the streets and on public transport, why?, because the other people around them choose to ignore it. I know it is a world wide problem but whether it is worse in Japan or not I can only guess, but every day there is another is another story in JT almost identical. One way I can think of to stop it is to split the seating areas on buses and trains for women or men only..ie. women at the front of a bus and men at the back, with an exception made for couples.

No, sexual assault on public transport in Japan is a silent and hidden crime so unless the victim speaks up it's unlikely anyone will do anything about it since they don't know it's happening in most cases.

Jonathan PrinToday 01:23 pm JST

You hear of no policy for women for self-defense or national organization to help victims.

There are many.

http://spring-voice.org/english/

https://www.gender.go.jp/policy/sokushin/ouen/safe/victim/

https://jammin.co.jp/charity_list/160926-tsubomi/

https://sarc-tokyo.org/

etc.

Politicians are first responsible of course but IMHO, Japanese women are also part of their own problems, which is cultural.

I'd be very interested in knowing why you think women are at fault for being sexually molested by men. Do explain.

girl_in_tokyoToday 04:44 pm JST

Jonathan PrinToday 01:23 pm JST

You hear of no policy for women for self-defense or national organization to help victims.

There are many.

http://spring-voice.org/english/

https://www.gender.go.jp/policy/sokushin/ouen/safe/victim/

https://jammin.co.jp/charity_list/160926-tsubomi/

https://sarc-tokyo.org/

etc.

Politicians are first responsible of course but IMHO, Japanese women are also part of their own problems, which is cultural.

I'd be very interested in knowing why you think women are at fault for being sexually molested by men. Do explain.

At a stretch, you could blame Japanese women for not being more proactive in protecting themselves, but there is not much they can do - they have to take the train, and lady-only cars are not always accessible. Still, why should it be on women to do something. Why can't men control themselves already?!

If you are observant, you would have noticed that Japanese school girls often put their school bags at the rear to protect themselves from predators from assaulting them via their short skirts (most Japanese high school girls wearing short skirts would have been assaulted on multiple occasions).

I was with a girlfriend on an Odakyu line train getting off at Shinjuku when a man behind her grabbed her crotch. We looked around, but hundreds of men were rushing to work.

@wallace In other words Japan needs a Chikan register, if this is a big problem perhaps the government can do something about it. Once a man has been caught and convincingly convicted he should be finger printed and cataloged as a Chikan offender.

Japan needs a sex offenders register.

It's great to read that she had the courage to tell the bus driver what was going on.

I would like to see some kind of posters on the public transportation system here, or maybe some announcements over the speaker system warning about possible gropers ..but that would mean admitting that there's a problem.

@Girl in Tokyo.

Right, you always have the last word whatever the real situation is.

Have you seen or heard huge demonstrations against gropers in the street. Nowhere.

Have you seen women politicians shout to do something on TV about it. Nowhere.

Have you heard about a group of women trying to catch them. Nowhere.

Have you seen specific self-defense groups for women growing. Nowhere.

If Japanese were more vocal (and sorry not you with your western style), I believe things would change. If it is not part of their first request for a better life, then so be it.

I also believe the matter of rapes is far more important than groping in view of the way it is dealt by authorities, with a chikan who can lose everything within seconds and a rapist who can nearly go scot-free with the victim ridiculed in Japan. Priorities first !

@Girl in Tokyo. Right, you always have the last word whatever the real situation is.

Do I not have the same right to comment as you? What exactly are you complaining about?

Have you seen or heard huge demonstrations against gropers in the street. Nowhere.

There are demonstrations against sexual assault held monthly in Tokyo by Flower Demo: https://www.flowerdemo.org/

Have you seen women politicians shout to do something on TV about it. Nowhere.

There is a ministry in the Japanese government for Gender Equality, and sex crimes is their purview: https://www.gender.go.jp/english_contents/international/apec/apec2021_2.html

Have you heard about a group of women trying to catch them. Nowhere.

Yes: https://www.opentheblackbox.jp/

Have you seen specific self-defense groups for women growing. Nowhere.

Not sure what you mean by self-defense group, but women can train at pretty much any gym or dojo. I'm not involved in such training, but a quick google turned up a good number of links: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=%E5%A5%B3%E6%80%A7%E8%AD%B7%E8%BA%AB%E8%A1%93%E8%AC%9B%E7%BF%92%E4%BC%9A++%E7%97%B4%E6%BC%A2%E5%AF%BE%E7%AD%96

I did the hard work of googling for you to help you answer your questions. You're welcome.

If Japanese were more vocal (and sorry not you with your western style), I believe things would change. If it is not part of their first request for a better life, then so be it.

Since those things you said aren't happening, actually ARE happening, how does that new information change this hypothesis?

And for the record, I am quite cognizant that a lot of women, perhaps the majority, are afraid to retaliate against sexual assaulters and other various sex pests. I'm glad you recognize that, too, since it seems a lot of people in these comment sections instead want to blame women for not fighting back and make it their fault. I am glad you don't think this way. In fact, I think we have similar opinions on this.

I wish the government and the police would take harder action, just like you do - we do agree on that.

I also believe the matter of rapes is far more important than groping in view of the way it is dealt by authorities, with a chikan who can lose everything within seconds and a rapist who can nearly go scot-free with the victim ridiculed in Japan. Priorities first !

I don't think there is any need to rank sexual assault. We can do two or more things at the same time, at the same level of prioroty.

@GirlinTokyo

I am with you to fight any violence against women, and more than welcome to debate. And the more writing is not necessarily the better. Keep cool sometimes.

Your way of antagonizing men and women in general is awful, and totally detrimental to your wish of making women be recognized as victims.

No, a chikan is not same as a raper. Happy to disagree 100%.

And no the replies you gave are so far from a national level or concrete actions. More words, as usual, which are not enough from Japanese women from group you are not part.