A JR West Japan transport employee was arrested Monday under prefectural nuisance prevention laws after he was accused of being vulgar to a woman on a train. Yoji Funata, 50, of Okayama Prefecture, is accused of standing behind a woman passenger and blowing into her ear Monday morning on an express train running between Kakogawa and Nishi-Akashi on the JR Sanyo Line.
According to police, the woman's husband was sitting across from her and noticed the act. He grabbed Funata and took him off the train at Nishi-Akashi station and notified police. Funata, who was on his way to work when the incident occurred, denies the charges.
© News reports
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Sarge
Wait a dang minute! From the article:
"Funata... is accused of standing behind a woman passenger and blowing into her ear... the woman's husband was sitting across from her... Funata... denies the charges"
Well, if Funata was standing behind her, she must have been standing. And her husband was sitting. And this couple may be making all this up, as Funata has denied the charges.
Coolasapool
i did do a double take at the headline though.. too funny..
Airion
I don't understand the motive. Why blow in a stranger's ear?
mikehuntez
I was going to say what space_monkey just said. I should have taken all the smokers who have ever blown smoke on me in a restaurant to the cop shop too for assault with a deadly weapon. Hmmm Sarge, interesting. I wonder if he said anything to the woman besides ..hhhhhhhhhh.
Sarge
This idiot apparently doesn't know the difference between blowing and whispering.
space_monkey
This story is a breath of fresh air. Maybe he was just a super jealous husband. Accused of breathing. Japan has gone too far. I would sue the husband for assault. What about all those Japanese who breath smoke on you? can we citizen arrest them?
Fadamor
It will be interesting to hear how the prosecutor plans to prove blowing air at someone meets the definition of "vulgar". Oh, to be a fly on the wall during THAT discussion!
YuriOtani
Never knew "vulgar" was a criminal offensive. I wonder if they will make having bad body order and bad breath criminal offensives as well?
Fadamor
Dang, hit "Submit" too soon.
... After all, what the guy was doing was obvious enough for the husband to notice.
Fadamor
Of course with all here sarcastically complaining about not being able to even breathe on a train now, there IS still the possibility that he actually DID blow into her ear.
Mark_McCracken
There appear to be no children involved in this incident.
Beelzebub
He was probably a fan of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in. ("Blow in my ear and I'll follow you anywhere.")
mindovermatter
Not only do they have some of stupidest pedophiles, they are also total wimps... And how in the hell, do they know, he wasn't just breathing, or gasping for air...? Those rush-hour trains, are pretty crowded, it's not hard to be pressed up, to within a few inches of someone's face or ears...
"Oh, ok, just take me to the police, I've got nothing better to do..." crazy... Let's suppose for a minute he's innocent... Now, he's he's going to be locked up for 21 days straight, until the police can force a confession out of him... Loser... Anyone tries to detain me, over some BS, better stand the fxxx by.... It's not going to happen... And they've tried...
Mikanojo
@Synista: Actually if somebody was intentionally targeting you with coughing, sneezing, or spitting on you in public then yes.. yes you should report that and they can be arrested for harassing you.
Mikanojo
There is a noticeable difference between just standing breathing, as opposed to leaning close and blowing in someone's ear.
realist
People usually dont speak on japanese trains, now it appears we arent allowed to breahe, either, or get arrested like this man. This country become more bizarre every day. The trains are packed like sardines every day, so its inevitably that someone`s ear gets breathed into! Like another poster said, I get sneezed on regulary (and showerd by the spary) almost every day. I really dont understand why this man was arrested for this - unless he was just another kinky man.
Synista
........Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.....this is incredible ...arrested for blowing in a woman's ear???... so does this mean that i can have someone arrested for coughing or sneezing on me while i am at the supermarket ?? What about if someone spits and the mist happens to get on my clothing...can i sue for that??
Grifter88
This law is becoming a joke. No one breath on the trains, please...
wanderlust
better re-read again...
It is quite hard to stand behind someone sitting,
Usual pattern of behaviour here, husband sitting down while his wife is standing, probably in front of him.
smithinjapan
My bad... on re-reading the story it says 'sitting across from her', which seems to imply she was sitting too. If that's the case, it's a lot harder for said employee to 'accidentally' breathe in the woman's ear, and would at the very least require him to turn his head and breathe heavily towards her face. For some reason I thought at first they were standing and the employee behind the woman.
smithinjapan
Masterkun05: "Sure he wasn't just breathing?"
If it were the woman standing with her back to the man and her only accusing him of this, I could see that as a possibility (meaning it would be harder to prove), but in this case clearly the husband, who was sitting (why didn't he give his seat to his wife??), saw something untoward and called the JR employee on it.
"He grabbed Funata and took him off the train at Nishi-Akashi station and notified police."
Good on him for taking action...
goddog
Cute...did not know they did that here.
masterkun05
Sure he wasn't just breathing. Not sure if vulgar is the right word. Kinky perhaps.