Angry confrontation breaks out after man coughs on Yamanote Line train in Tokyo

It’s click bait people. Staged for your entertainment.

We can’t see what started this situation but the older guy deserve a smack in the mouth for getting in the younger guys face. Definitely crossed boundaries

Or maybe there was something in the start of the situation that we can't see that entirely justified the older guy doing what he did.

That's the problem with not being able to see the whole situation, and outrage culture. Someone always deserves a smack in the mouth.

We can’t see what started this situation but the older guy deserve a smack in the mouth for getting in the younger guys face. Definitely crossed boundaries

If the young man was infected with the virus then the old man did everyone a favor by getting in his face, he would have soaked up all the microbes himself and protected the others.

The young guy coughed. The old man over reacted. End of story.

It was the woman who coughed.

The young guy made a (let’s be honest) unwarranted comment.

The old man overreacted.

I love how the comment section took “a man who coughed without wearing a mask” and turned it into “he spit in the old man’s face.”

Next thing you know, we’ll be reading about how the young guy gave Old Man McGoo an open mouthed kiss before injecting the virus straight into his aorta.

The young guy coughed. The old man over reacted. End of story.

what are you talking about man?

its not just Japanese, it's subways in New York, Seoul, Paris, Britain,etc, etc,

if you travel around, it's everybody, it's EMEA, Americas, Other Asian countries including AU, NZ,Russia, etc....

Because japanese don't cover their mouths when coughing in general.

Brought wearing masks when sick so covering their mouths isn't a natural reflex for them, wearing a mask or not.

Barbaric.

so you are saying 40 years person is ok to seat on the priority seats, also how do you know this guy is 40 were you there? or are you just guessing?

The “young punk” people are referring to looks to be in his mid 40’s.

Priority seats are just that.. the old, sick, pregnant etc have PRIORITY. Others can sit in those seats but should give them up to priority passengers if they need them.

No masks? How about a good old fashioned hankerchief?

The video has been removed, but I found a slightly expanded version on YouTube; it's a slightly different story! @__Aerials got it wrong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMpVBLp5m68

Apparently the young guy commented on the woman sitting across from him coughing. In the photo she's wearing a mask, but it isn't clear from the video whether she was wearing a mask when she coughed.

The oyaji sitting next to the woman stood up and started laying verbally into the young bloke, and the woman eventually stepped in to tell him to sit down and shut up.

Where the young bloke was sitting played no part in the altercation (the woman looks neither old nor pregnant), and he wasn't the one coughing.

I understand is not easy to get hold on a mask, Keep yours hands clean is not enough anymore. We don't know how is infected or not. " healthy person no need to wear a mask " is TRUE. BUT how can you so sure you are not infected somehow, somewhere. This might sound racist.

There are 14 billions of Chinese in China, excluding the one who live oversea. They do travel everywhere around the world, in and out the country in the last couples of months ( lunar new Year ) some of them do went back to the mainland to visit their family during new year. With the official not transparent about the virus, now we are living in the fear.

Although Italy closed the boarder to highly infected countries/Area, and they have no clue how it got spread widely in a short period of time, In the city call Prato in Italy, most of the fashion house factory hire Chinese workers. MADE IN ITALY BY CHINESE. The little town of Prato has been taken over by them. who knows about the hidden crisis? we need to look into the source and take it seriously... peace ! Stay healthy ! I believe immune system play a major part of this new CONVID 19.

if young punk didn't seat in the priority seats, this would never happen, i see these young idiots every day, taking those seats for senior citizens, pregnant ladies, and etc,

what the... the difference if you cough in my face, it's same as spit, why if you cough, something else come out of your mouth,

You DON'T need a mask, so if someone is not wearing one,

calm down, they're not the enemy, and they're not sick.

If someone coughs, cover your mouth.

A lot of the coughs on the train are due to the air blowing down on people, which is very dry...

The old guy is scared 'cause his age group is the most susceptible to a bad result, if he gets the virus.

The young guy is indifferent, he should not be,

he should be aware of his actions, at this time.

Everyone should do their bit, during this high tension time.

Empathy takes as much energy as fear.

I dont understand why this is even news; I see this almost weekly in Japan, be it traffic disputes , over worked and tired people on the train losing it (usually around 8 - 10 pm, wed onwards, thats when the stress factor is exponentially multiplied), depato staff being attacked, etc etc.

True. Train companies had a campaign to stop the verbal and physical abuse of their staff.

don't try to justify or rationalize this young punk's behavior, he was wrong to spit, and he was wrong to talk back.

He didn’t spit - he coughed.

He was right to talk back. I give him credit for keeping his cool and not punching the old sod. You said it was lucky that it was just verbal and not physical abuse and you are right. The old man could have ended up in hospital.

seems weekly some oyaji makes a cough or grunt sound every time they see me. Im used to it, but would prefer he cover his mouth, at least until this passes

> Its an exhausting experience trying to be accepted by them, so I dont do it. Instead I mirror his behavior in a calm but entertaining way and he loses face in front of his subjects. It takes time to get to this point but I find that it works for me.

@LongTermer

Same here! Golden rule! It tends to shut them up real quick when they realize you know what they are doing. The random single forced cough, the grunt and sucking of teeth the rolling of the eyes are just mirrored until they get how foolish they look.

zichiToday  03:18 am JST

fillmore2

zichi glad to hear people are giving up seats for you. Must be on the nice folk line i don’t see it in my line maybe once a year

Not everyone lives in Tokyo. I don't and in fact I live in West Japan in Hyogo near a beach.

i never said everyone lives in Tokyo...... i really don't want know your location either. what's is your point?

I dont understand why this is even news; I see this almost weekly in Japan, be it traffic disputes , over worked and tired people on the train losing it (usually around 8 - 10 pm, wed onwards, thats when the stress factor is exponentially multiplied), depato staff being attacked, etc etc.

This has been going on long before the virus.

Did not give up his seat to the older guy. This is what prolly ticked the guy off.

first, you split on someone face, you need to .............apologize 

After mouthing off the oyaji , we are told, ‘ sits down again’, from which we know that what ticked him off is unlikely to have been the lack of a seat.

And assuming that said oyaji was sitting in his seat when the young guy sneezed/coughed, unless it was a truely stupendous explosion, no one was spitting on anyone’s face.

The oyaji appears to be a jerk.

Well, how about just staying home if you are coughing/have flu symptoms?

Geez, this is the assumption of the day here! You know he had "flu like symptoms" how?

I cant count how many times in a day I may cough, for what ever reason, are you going to try and beat me up because of it?

i don't know where most of you learn your manners, maybe in your own country, you don't need to say sorry or excuse me when you cough on someone's face, i know few states in U.S and few countries in EU , get some terrible manners.......

all this young punk had to do was to say " sorry" that's it

did most of you read all the article?

why did the old man get riled up?

when the young punk said " the younger man tells him that he’s the one acting strangely, which gets the old man riled up again"

first, you split on someone face, you need to .............apologize ,but instead you are telling the old man, " You are acting strange"

young punk is lucky it was just a verbal abuse, not physical.

don't try to justify or rationalize this young punk's behavior, he was wrong to spit, and he was wrong to talk back.

Coughing aside, if you notice the young man is sitting in a seat reserved for folks with certain disabilities, pregnant women, and senior citizens.

The young man:

Did not give up his seat to the older guy. This is what prolly ticked the guy off.

Prolly has a sense of entitlement the size of the Sky Tree. This too would get me upset.

Sapporo has a sign on the special seats that says 専用席 which means as most of you know "reserved exclusively for" Tokyo and some other cities still use the somewhat vague term, 優先席 which means "priority seat". Normally younger folks will give up their seats to those who have priority.

Occasionally you get a jerk like the young man in this incident. Who are stubborn and selfish to the core.

That's what I think triggered this confrontation and is what this confrontation is really about. The mask and the cough were just a pretext to call out this selfish person.

That's my two cents.

Studies have shown an infected or sick adult can project up to 100,000 viruses into the air with every cough, especially a congested cough. But it usually only projects out one meter or less.

A sneeze is much worse from an infected person, projecting out at least half a million virus particles from an average sneeze, with far more velocity. Whenever I hear a sneeze during cold/flu season, I leave that area immediately, especially if it’s a child sneezing. Many parents don’t teach their kids how to control a cough or sneeze these days, which is why you see incidents like this JT story.

zichi

glad to hear people are giving up seats for you. Must be on the nice folk line

i don’t see it in my line maybe once a year

Rude people cannot be allowed to get away with anything in public.

Most people have an arm. Look down, put your mouth into the elbow crease and have at it. Sneeze, cough, whatever.

I've never understood how wearing a mask was helping anyone, unless their goal was to virtue-signal.

I think, you shouldn't discount older age for Weakness or for being lacking of anger management issues so be wary. Situations could turn nasty if not managed, and as another poster suggested - the humility of a "sorry" statement may help to diffuse an already difficult situation.

@Akie - if you can obtain them....

@rcch - assuming it was the woman, then you'd be right, but apparently it was reported that it was the younger man.. and the "urusai!" outburst from a younger person is usually the precursor to an actual physical confrontation. I've seen that happen from time to time ;-|

As to the current Virus, yes, there are some noobs out there who are sweaty and coughing and claim that they simply have Hayfever and who aren't even wearing a face mask... they are truly the ones we should as a whole should, ostracise. Hopefully their Companies will send them packing home promptu ! under the current environment.

I feel sorry for the older guy. He's more at risk from the insensitivity towards others from those younger persons.

And... I guess, the younger generation are the ones who bought up all the face masks quicker than the older generation.. so responsibility rests where ?

Masks can prevent stupidity.

Journalists generally identify themselves as such, but when a laymay attempts to become one, by publishing material that could be potentially damaging to an individual having a bad day... where do you draw the line ?

apparently there,s a misunderstanding ... it all started with the woman coughing and the older guy being a jckss saying things like “if you wanna cough get the h*ll outta here” and “you shouldn,t even be here you,re probably infected” ... and the younger guy is actually the good guy in all this because he started defending the woman and saying things like “urusai” to the older guy, and that,s when the older guy went crazy ... i hope you all can read this because it,s always better to know the truth and what really happened ... when people spread false information that,s not pretty ...

@zichi - it could be argued that the publication was used for promoting the Publisher in order to obtain views and as such potentially monetary gain through advertising links. So, yes, I think that the person shown in the video would have a valid legal argument against the person who took the video.

I think allot of old Japanese men feel they are entitled to some kind of privilege due to hierarchy 

Has nothing to do with age,

I think it does and it’s not limited to Japanese people nor men.

What a peaceful country Japan is. Even such a small trouble was picked up by Japan Today.

I think allot of old Japanese men feel they are entitled to some kind of privilege due to hierarchy 

Has nothing to do with age, Coughing on everybody without covering your mouth, especially now lacks such awareness that more people should have yelled at him.

How on earth did Japan survive before the mask fad kicked in I'll never know.....

After a lifetime of Judo and Taekwondo practice, I just wouldn't be able to take anyone doing to me what this old git did to to this young guy. I would just gently put the old git on the floor and tell him not to do it again. Wouldn't you? I mean I am a really calm person but there are limits.

I think allot of old Japanese men feel they are entitled to some kind of privilege due to hierarchy , like men in some middle eastern countries. I once had one on the train yell at me and say "your dirty" I guess I was after some work but I checked him about that in a non violent way of course. Its an exhausting experience trying to be accepted by them, so I dont do it. Instead I mirror his behavior in a calm but entertaining way and he loses face in front of his subjects. It takes time to get to this point but I find that it works for me.

I guess this thicko missed the announcement that masks are completely ineffective at preventing the spread of coronavirus. But hey, who am I to disagree with Japan’s favorite placebo?

In the UK, sadly, it would end in violence. So there are still standards and morals in Japan

This is an invasion of privacy - did the Uploader ask permission from those they took the video of ?

I watched the video before the uploader's account was terminated. I saw that it had over 70,000 views in 2 days, while most of their other videos were under 100 views.

I would do the same thing if someone coughed on me. Parents should teach their kids manners at an early age. The amount of people sneezing, scratching and picking their nose on the train..............uuugh

Some people say masks don’t work, others say that may. In these kinds of situations I’d rather be on the side of caution.

even if they don’t work to protect you from the virus they would protect others if you are infected and you cough.

Japan mask culture is a JOKE. All over news airwaves in Ireland and U.K. is that MASKS should only be worn by people who have a cold, virus, etc. Wearing one WONt stop you getting the virus, especially the way they wear them in Japan.....gaps galore for particles to get in and out. The amount of brainwashing in Japan is unbelievable. 

So true. Guy behind me on the Narita Express makes a huge cough as I get up to pull down my bag. His mask is hanging under his chin. A girl wearing a mask on my flight pulls it up and down to eat and talk and sleep. Then calmly puts in her contact lenses during descent without sanitizing her hands (or the tray).

Irony: Schools are closed and people are advised to reduce social contact. Starbucks was jammed today with students (with and without improperly utilized masks) huddled together over coffee and the windows streaming with condensation.

Fear is a palpable energy that's harder to ward off than a virus. So is ignorance.

Are they doing this in the priority seat section?

seems weekly some oyaji makes a cough or grunt sound every time they see me. Im used to it, but would prefer he cover his mouth, at least until this passes

People need to seriously chill.

The silly old sod is making all this fuss and he's not even wearing his mask correctly. Look at him. His nose is entirely uncovered.

I'm all for making carefree coughers, sneezers and nose-pickers aware of how unacceptable their actions are, but if you're going to set yourself up as Captain Sanitised, at least get your bleeding mask on right.

The young guy should have coughed directly in the face of the old man and said, a) if you weren't so close, I could have covered myself. b) if you don't catch it now, that means I never had it and all your griping was meaningless. c) (the obvious), for a man so paranoid about germs and who probably never gets this close to a person he wishes to be romantically involved in, you sure do seem to want my germs.

Unfortunaltely, I must say "be an adult" to both of them. Even virus might want to get inside of their body, because it's probably uncomfortable for it to live calmly. Take care.

i wonder if the idiot wearing the mask reilised he isn't wearing in properly. Also wonder when he last washed his hands and did he do effectively.

seems he's ok with grabbing potentially infected hand rail.

Small mind and zero understanding.

idiot does as idiot does

Just another day on the train, see this almost weekly. whats the issue? an oyaji losing his temper? Its part of the Japan experience. Be careful, you dont know who is filming...)

Japanese men have always annoyed me when they sneeze with indiscretion, it's high time they learn some manners.

This is what new coronavirus does to some people. I'm afraid of this more than symptoms of the viruses.

Pestilance, War, Famine and Death. The four horsemen of the Apocalypse will soon ride again.

How can such a video be published out in the public? Its violation of privacy.

Scenes like this strike me as more sicknening than new coronaviruses.

The older dude needs to chill.

Zichi is correct.

However people here are not trained as kids to cover mouths when coughing, sneezing and eating with lips smacking and food flying all over the table.

Some however are trained well...like my kids.

Masks are only for the sick to not spread it. My family of which always in contact with are doctors, nurses and psychologists.

This whole situation here is getting out of hand.

I am flying to Hawaii next Saturday and I am not going to wear a mask or be paranoid over a flu like illness.

Could people stop with the comments about not coving you’re mouth. There’s not enough evidence in this video to show whether the man covered his mouth or not. Not taking any sides on this, just saying the video doesn’t show whether he covered his mouth or not so people shouldn’t comment on what they don’t know.

After a lifetime of Judo and Taekwondo practice, I just wouldn't be able to take anyone doing to me what this old git did to to this young guy. I would just gently put the old git on the floor and tell him not to do it again. Wouldn't you? I mean I am a really calm person but there are limits.

This is when mass hysteria kicks in... when the mobs start looking for people to blame... the Chinese and other Asians have been targeted in the West by imbeciles... and now we have that same fear aimed at someone having a cough. What next... someone beaten for not wearing a mask at a station? Hysteria is more dangerous than the virus.

Japan mask culture is a JOKE. All over news airwaves in Ireland and U.K. is that MASKS should only be worn by people who have a cold, virus, etc. Wearing one WONt stop you getting the virus, especially the way they wear them in Japan.....gaps galore for particles to get in and out. The amount of brainwashing in Japan is unbelievable. 

People should ONLY wear masks if they are sick. By all means cover your mouth when coughing, but this is an example of Japanese brainwashing.

And my wife agrees.

Japanese people are bombarding everyday with bad news about coronavirus. And most of the places where they could enjoy the weekend are closed due to this virus. Maybe it's common people become overloaded with many bad news and see someone coughing can spread more the virus. Shoganai.

"Priority Seating"

Priority seating is not just for the old , there are many people with internal problems that you cannot see externally with your eyes that might need to sit in the priory seat as well.

But that's not even the case here, that grumpy old man would of done that to anyone regardless of priory seats or not.

One incident out of how many millions of riders per day.

I sometimes run into some "crazy" passengers, many of them tend to be grumpy old men and this is without the coronavirus. Just a grumpy old man who's too paranoid.

The young guy shouldn’t have been in the those seats anyway, plus, the older guy isn’t an infirm doddering old geezur, looks like he can pop back, for sure. Yet, that is no way to behave, although we definitely needed to see this from the start, the young guy could have been coughing for 5 minutes before hand.

What Luddite-san said.

The weird old guy was lucky he didn't get one up the bracket. Leaning into someone's face and screaming at them in public is definitely the act of an unhinged person.

This is a result of believing the mythical safety of the mask. The government's paltry advice is useless.

On telly this morning we saw several minutes given over to 'celebrities' telling us how to avoid the virus, then giving us useless and often dangerous advice. Then, at the very last, a doctor was asked his opinion and rightly rubbished the nonsense spouted by the 'talent'. Why ask them in the first place, just stick to facts as idiots will watch the people on tv and believe them.

The only useful advice is;

Forget the masks.

Wash hands for at least twenty seconds using hot water and soap. Wash frequently. Use a gel if you don't have access to soap and water, but it isn't as effective.

Use a tissue when coughing and sneezing, them dispose of it immediately. Use the crook of your arm if you don't have a tissue.

If you are sick self isolate and call your doctor for advice DON'T go to a hospital or clinic where sick people are.

Don't think you are protecting yourself and others if you wear a mask and don't bother with the advice that actually works.

Too bad there's nothing in the video that shows the whole thing is about coughing without a mask. All I see is an altercation between a geezer and a younger guy with no specific mention of the real issue at hand.

People there is their unknown virus that kills now, do you ride the train to work ? How many of you ?

oh we have to be civil or it’s resident evil time ? Are you out of your .... mind ? What are you smoking ?

it wasn’t you that get this punk’s split on your face

lets see how civil you are when you get someone else’s gob on your face because you refuse to wear mask also

Anybody can seat on the priority seating ? I guess. Problem is that very few give up their .... seats man , pretending to be sleep.

have you ever rode a train in Japan?

what are you talking about ?

Both parties are at fault. It is bad manners and inconsiderate not to cover your mouth while coughing or sneezing coronavirus or not. It is also not wise to start a confrontation/fight with someone unless you are willing to get your a#$ beat! One-hundred % certain that the old man would have been the first person crying to the police if the young man would have put some hands on him after the old man got in the young man's face.

Far too many Japanese people that I have come across don't really get that second one!

There is no paranoia as most would like others to believe. Nothing wrong in trying to prolong your life and take measures if one can, is this a problem? When did trying to take care or save ones life or others become such a bad thing to call it paranoia? I guess these types have more than 1 life but dont' want to share that extra life. This virus is highly contagious, many things are still unknown and the source country is still keeping its research findings secret to help other countries come up with a cure/vaccine. WE should all get along as best as possible and take the greatest hygiene care possible. There are still masks being sold out there and the guy could have taken the time to buy the 1 allowed per each customer. He just took the risk and decided to board the train. This shows a selfish act by the youngster and less care for others rights to protect or take precautions by putting himself in that position. The old guy is also to blame in his own approach and could have taken a more careful diplomatic response vs just intimidation, but surely can understand his concerns as well as others.

I'm not going out, not because I'm afraid of the virus, but because I'm afraid of irrational hysteric masses.

If you are so afraid that someone coughing is enough reason to go ballistic, then you should also stay at home.

But the collective has decided that been hysteric, and worrying about the corona virus as if it was the T-virus from Resident Evil is normal now, so you better stop living your normal life, and get with the hysteria program.

I mean, just a few days ago, I remember some semi-famous person who posted about their trip to a ski-resort was meet with vitriolic in Twitter because "why are you having fun in these serious times?"

He was so close in his face he should have kissed him and jump off the train.

People are paranoid and it is getting annoying. I tried to buy fresh France Pan today and it was wrapped in plastic...ten loaves were and I felt each one and asked the manager for a fresh loaf of outside crispy French bread. She said they wrap them now due to the virus.

So I said, is this special plastic packaging that resists coughed virus particles? She had no clue as to what I was asking. Whether someone coughs on the bread or the plastic, whoever opens the bag will now transfer the particles to the bread anyway.

They lost a customer and it used to be really nice bread.

The paranoia has to stop.

The old man needs a good shoeing.

Attention to those who do not adhere to public health is a daily occurrence in Japanese society.

Such a scene always exists.

One drugstore employee said, Coronavirus isn't scary, people are. The Walking Dead isn't really about fighting against zombies.

If you click on the second video where a man and his friend posing as a NHK fee collector prank his brother, it’ll show the Japanese are still very calm and peaceful people. There would have been a physical altercation in most countries.

Does that say "priority seating" on the floor? If so, neither of them should be sitting there.

If people are fearful then don’t go out for a few weeks-its simple.

i am glad the old man went crazy

Well, he got a bit lucky here. Some people would have decked the old buzzard. A smack and a fall at his age wouldn’t be a good thing.

I would or just get up and walk away. The man looks healthy enough to stand. Save yourself some trouble.

From the "hysteria over coronavirus gets out of hand" file.

yes, stay home, someone mentioned he was seating priority seating, good catch, that tells me he is punk, or idiot or both.

i am glad the old man went crazy, before c19, no one would of cared, Japanese people need to care ,not just this but also other issues too. yell at your elected officials,

it's ok, let me out, yell once a while, everybody, office ladies, house wives, salary man, unemployed young punks

The the US Surgeon General himself said that wearing a mask or not prevent you from Catching the Coronavirus. The best way to protect yourself Is frequent hand-washing.

Nothing will prevent to a 100% catching the virus, specially by itself, but each measure has it advantages. Frequent hand-washing is not a useful advice for people that have to take a packed train for long time during their daily commute, but appropriate use of a mask can help you from getting infected secretions to your nose or mouth, directly by blocking a lot of what floats around after a sneeze or a cough and indirectly by interrupting the contact from your contaminated hands at least until you can go out of the train and disinfect them properly.

People simply tend to fall into false dichotomies, where something has to be perfectly protective or else is useless, in reality every hygienic measure is in the middle, not perfect but useful anyway.

Well, how about just staying home if you are coughing/have flu symptoms?

I was pissed off actually when the same thing happened on a train I was on the other day. Japanese people are notorious for going to work/school when they have flu/cold symptoms. If you have any cough/flu symptoms, STAY HOME!

Why does everybody assume that the younger man did not cover his mouth when he coughed? We don't see that part in the video.

He was in the priority seating as well.

A classic old 'ijime jiji' (old man bully). He has nothing better to do than abuse people.

Rule o mamoru, Stress o tamaru. Yet another classic case. Period.

Life in the big city....

Hysteria much?

@oldman

There you go. Does anyone need any more proof that the myth of the 'reserved,' non-confrontational Japanese afraid to speak out and stand out against the grain is baseless?

I get your point; I really do (not being sarcastic). However I think there are some people that think the public in Japan need to also be more confrontational toward the elected officials (government).

The best response would be to provide him a mask rather than shouting at his face, if you get uncomfortable just move seats.

However i would advise someone whose coughing without masks to probably avoid seating during this extreme periods as it inconveniences others since they need to change seats because of you.

They should have investigated the young man who coughed to see if he bought 100s of rolls of toilet paper and boxes of tissues too...

Does anyone need any more proof that the myth of the 'reserved,' non-confrontational Japanese afraid to speak out and stand out against the grain is baseless?

Who actually believes they are in the first place? Japanese are no better, and no worse than people in any other country in the world.

before c19, there is always some idiot in the train who thinks it's ok to cough with taking any precautions, just cough without putting his arms around or using his handkerchief or something, or say ...... sorry.

what a punk.....

with all the bad news and increase in c19 in Japan, this guy is lucky that entire train didn't jump on him.....

or wear the ......mask, any mask, make one at home, so that you are not freaking out the entire train or .... walk,

Have some respect

As a manner, we should cover our mouth when we cough but I am scared that our society will be too strained and people would lose their kindness due to the virus....

Sorry to say but if the paranoid, crazy guy got in my face like that, corona virus would have been the least of his health worries.

Every person has their breaking point. Tensions are high all over Japan. Not only the stress of riding packed trains every day but now add on to that the possibility of catching a new disease, or a bad cold, the flu, norovirus, community acquired pneumonia, and so on. I literally hate getting on the trains.

And please stop with the "Masks are useless comments." Several studies have shown they have some benefit when used properly and in combination with proper hand washing.

Really, the ignorance and the 'just don't give a flying flippedness' of some people amazes me

Having said that, I myself have run into people who cough or sneeze on the train with complete disdain for their fellow passengers. I handle it by changing seats.

Will not prevent you

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-29/u-s-surgeon-general-urges-people-to-stop-buying-masks

The the US Surgeon General himself said that wearing a mask or not prevent you from Catching the Coronavirus. The best way to protect yourself Is frequent hand-washing.

@oldman_13

The young man was relatively 'reserved' I thought.

Difficult times, some people just can't handle difficulties as well as others.

I reserve my right to cough and not wear a mask but I always cover my mouth. The first part was not captured so we don't know if the cougher covered his mouth. If he did, I would not get riled up but if he didn't I would be angry. Don't think I would confront someone unless the act is repeated and the offender doesn't seem to care but it is still a fine line. People are seriously overreacting though.

feel the harmony...

There you go.

Does anyone need any more proof that the myth of the 'reserved,' non-confrontational Japanese afraid to speak out and stand out against the grain is baseless?