crime

Suspected groper arrested after jumping onto train tracks and fleeing from station

38 Comments

A man accused of groping a woman in a train jumped from the platform onto the tracks at JR Akabane Station in Tokyo’s Kita Ward on Friday night but was later arrested near the station, police said Saturday.

According to police, the suspect, who is in his 20s, allegedly groped a woman in her 30s on a train at around 7:30 p.m., Fuji TV reported. The woman grabbed his arm and held onto him until the train reached Akabane Station.

As the woman and the man exited the train, the man pulled free, jumped onto the tracks and ran. A station employee pushed the emergency button to stop all trains. JR said 33 trains on the Saikyo and Keihin Tohoku lines were suspended for 26 minutes, affecting about 34,000 commuters.

Station staff alerted police as soon as the man jumped onto the tracks and he was arrested a short distance from the station. He was quoted as saying he ran because he didn’t want to be arrested.

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38 Comments
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Kudos to the woman who tried to bring him in. This chikan deserves a few days in a cell to think about what he did.

11 ( +12 / -1 )

The penalties for these kinds of creepy sex offenses need to be made much more severe in an attempt to stop this kind of predatory behavior. Upskirt filming, groping, these creeps that cut women’s hair and clothing, any kind of perverted sexual behavior should carry a mandatory one year in prison. Japan also needs to set up a ‘name and shame’ sex offenders’ list to stain these creeps for life.

9 ( +12 / -3 )

This chikan deserves a few days in a cell to think about what he did.

And pay compensation to 33000 passengers.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

You are all assuming that he's guilty just because she said so what if she is a sociopath

0 ( +13 / -13 )

Did he do it or another one of these scams?

-4 ( +5 / -9 )

I have traveled to many countries. I don't even begin to understand the cultural norms that allow men to pinch, grab, touch, follow a woman down the street, yell, whistle, stalk, and otherwise act as though they are entitled to do these things.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

I have traveled to many countries. I don't even begin to understand the cultural norms that allow men to pinch, grab, touch, follow a woman down the street, yell, whistle, stalk, and otherwise act as though they are entitled to do these things.

Japan wasn't always like this, it's just gotten worse over the past few decades. A bunch of overly-repressed mamma's boys that have limited to no communication skills, and probably watch too much porn and fantasize about idols and the lot here.

That along with no self control.

13 ( +15 / -2 )

"Another one of these scams"

Check the government white paper on crime, and you'll see that there are over 2,500 reports of sexual assaults on trains reported every year. In addition, only 4% of these crimes are even reported.

Take that information and compare it with the number of "these scams" which have been reported, at about 10 per year.

With that information, you can now make a reasonable esitmation as the truthfulness of the claim. I'm no good at math, but I'd say the chances she is telling the honest truth is around 99%.

4 ( +10 / -6 )

That 4% figure is only somebody's estimate and has no basis in fact

-2 ( +6 / -8 )

This is one of those rare moments when I completely agree with Yubaru

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Hm. My home station.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

You will note that I am not defending that type of behavior, merely the possibility that this guy is completely innocent.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

@Yubaru

Thanks for your comment!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

The fact that the dude ran onto the tracks is not going to help with the Innocence argument. I saw one there chikans grope a woman right in front of me, and by the time I realized what was going on, he had fled and the woman just wanted to get away too. I am proud of this victim for standing up for herself!

7 ( +7 / -0 )

I'd run away too if some woman accused me of being a groper. Unfortunately the "police" always take the poor damsel in distresses side

-9 ( +3 / -12 )

It’s strange to so many people defending this goon’s innocence. This is Japan! You are guilty until proven innocent.

He ran away because he didn’t want to get arrested, but got arrested for running away. Now, he has to face more charges. Running away from the scene of a crime is a straight up admission of guilt.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Running away from the scene of a crime is a straight up admission of guilt.

What crime can you prove, occurred?

1 ( +5 / -4 )

The man groped the woman, who grabbed him. The man ran away - proof of guilt. The innocent don't run away. If someone says they'd run away even though innocent, then they are either stupid or guilty. Who here will admit to being that stupid?

There are online groups devoted to teaching men who molest how to get away with their crime - running away is one tactic. These filthy-minded criminals need to be brought to trial.

There are those who say It's he said she said, and consistently side with the man, when statistically the man is the attacker. Those people would rather believe an offender simply because he's a man, than believe a victim because she's a woman.

5 ( +10 / -5 )

There needs to be a kerb on this sort of behaviour, may be it should be brought up at school in sex education classes, may be they ought to educate these girls and boys the difference between what is acceptable and what is not, and explain that what is portrade in adult films is not what really happens between adults.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Obviously we don't have proof that this particular guy groped this particular woman, but we do know that groping is a huge problem in Japan. I think most women in Japan will agree with this statement. There are some obvious things that can be done: reducing crowding on trains, having women-only cars and using security cemeras are all probably effective to some extent. But calling out such behavior instead of teaching victims to "endure" it is absolutely critical.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Maybe the woman should have give him a smack to teach him the rule you hurt me I hurt you. That is what is happening in my country and those things hardly happen then.

We are talking about groping which starts by skiming the prey, as the groper is a furtive predator.

No one wants the predator to prefer risking his life and especially impeding all surrounding train transportation.

Good to see women standup but if no one witnessed in a crowded train, it remains one say against another...if real justice applies.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

@ Yubaru

Really? I have been here for over 4 decades and it would appear to have been just as bad then as it is now.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Really? I have been here for over 4 decades and it would appear to have been just as bad then as it is now.

Really? And how in the world did you find out about it? I've been here close to 4 decades and there are far more crimes like this being reported NOW than ever before.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Yubaru writes "Japan wasn't always like this, it's just gotten worse over the past few decades".

I lived in Tokyo from 1982-1989 when I was in my twenties and was frequently physically groped by chikan in crowded trains. I reckon that Japan was always like this but that mobile phones have just given them another way to be creepy.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Sensei258Today 09:02 am JST

That 4% figure is only somebody's estimate and has no basis in fact

This figure comes from book written by a long time criminal prosecutor and has been widely reported in the media, including the Japan Times, the New York Times, and The Daily Beast, among others. Of course it is an estimate, since there is no way to know exactly how many women don't report. But that doesn't mean it is completely made up rather than based on fact.

Jonathan PrinToday 05:05 pm JST

Maybe the woman should have give him a smack to teach him the rule you hurt me I hurt you. That is what is happening in my country and those things hardly happen then.

Did you know that if a woman hits a chikan she can be charged with assault? She has to prove to the police that she was forced to hit him in order to defend herself, and that is not as straightforward or as easy as you may think.

In addition, starting a fight on a crowded train or on an empty street is inadvisable in any situation, much more so when you are a woman - what if it makes him angry? What do you think this man, who has just demonstrated hatred for women, would do if a woman hit him?

So no, "Just hit him" is not a solution. I'd be curious to know which country you're from that has solved the sexual assault problem in this way, because I don't know anywhere in the world where the women are bigger than the men and can so easily intimidate them. If that were the case, men wouldn't attempt to assault women in the first place, now would they?

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Running away from the scene of a crime is a straight up admission of guilt.

That only matters if you don't get away, and running away was probably the guy's only chance of escaping the consequences. He just didn't run fast enough.

 If someone says they'd run away even though innocent, then they are either stupid or guilty. 

People's lives are often ruined by a mere arrest here, even if they are never charged. So it's not all that stupid to run away even if innocent.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Anyhow, good on the woman. This shows that contrary to media stereotypes about Japanese women, many of them DO take charge of their own safety and dignity.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

If a person is transgender, either pre op or undergoing/had the operation, if they were a male, can they now ride on the only woman carriages?

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

Another day, another load of people defending a sex offender.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Another day, another load of people defending a sex offender.

And one person apparently seeing comments that don't exist. I don't see any comments here defending a sex offender.

There are those who say It's he said she said, and consistently side with the man, when statistically the man is the attacker. 

@Maria, I find this a strange comment. This may be a he said she said case (perhaps there are witnesses), but I don't see anyone siding with the man. I see people basically saying we are ignorant of the facts. Are you suggesting that criminal cases be tried on a balance of probabilities? Criminal cases where the only evidence is one person's word against another's are virtually impossible to prosecute. Sadly, it is often cases of sexual assault that fall into this category.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Did you know that if a woman hits a chikan she can be charged with assault? She has to prove to the police that she was forced to hit him in order to defend herself, and that is not as straightforward or as easy as you may think.

Right but on a woman's word alone a guy can have his life ruined, guilty or otherwise.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Yubaru

Did you know that if a woman hits a chikan she can be charged with assault?

Right but on a woman's word alone a guy can have his life ruined, guilty or otherwise.

I don't understand how those two things are connected? Are you trying to equate them in some way? Or are you trying to get people to turn their sympathies away from the woman who was groped and instead sympathize with a man who has been accused of groping a woman? That's what this statement seems to be attempting, but you may correct me if I am wrong.

And no, a woman's word is not enough to convict a man. They take DNA swabs to find out if the man's DNA is on the woman's clothes or body, they talk to witnesses, check security cam footage, interview both the victim and the suspect, and then there is a trial with a judge. A mere accusation of groping is not going to get a man convicted of a crime - as with any crime, there is a process that is followed.

In addition, if a woman IS lying, it's not difficult for the police to suss that out during the interview. Lies break down under questioning, and if you don't think the police question women just as hard as they question men, then you know nothing at all about the process. I have been there and done that, and believe me - the police are men, and as such, most of their sympathy lies with the man - just as yours seems to. Women get blamed for their own rapes, so do you think the police are going to be any easier on a woman who accuses a man of groping her?

Besides that, the vast majority of women do not lie about such things, because the entire experience, from confronting the man, to holding him for the police, to being questioned, to appearing in court, and THEN having to describe the disgusting things the man did to her are both very stressful and humiliating. That's why most women don't even bother to report - who wants to go though all that, when we can just go home, eat some ice cream, take a hot bath, and later complain to our girlfriends about how awful the subway is.

You see, I happen have some experience in this area. I've been groped more times than I can remember. The last time was about three months ago on my way home from work, by a young salaryman. I yelled at him and he backed off. Reporting would have taken more energy than I could muster, and I was not about the spend the next six hours at the police station with a group of sweaty male cops asking me about my sex life.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

If the woman hits the man who is molesting her, she can be arrested for assault.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

You are all assuming that he's guilty just because she said so what if she is a sociopath

Always with the victim blaming.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Another day, another load of people defending a sex offender.

Tbf, it's online and online, you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. That doesn't excuse the sentiment that somehow it's never the man's fault, mind.

Thankfully, real people out there who live in Japan - they care and this suspect would be given short shrift.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Time to push for more Men Only & Women Only train compartments.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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