JR West switches on 'drunk-spotting' cameras

Its so sad that these measures have to be taken because there are so many people who can't control their drinking behavior

Seems more like a cost-saving measure instead of installing more platform barriers.

I got this feeling -- Somebody's watching me...

The seats were rotated to face along the platform rather than the tracks in the ............

That reminds me of the two men sitting talking on the quayside watching some divers and one said to the other "why do divers always fall backwards into the water"? The other replied "because if they fell forwards they would still be inside the boat".

The sad part is that what the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) is doing now will likely spread to all of Japan's passenger rail lines. And the reason is simple: there is still too much socializing between the boss and employees after work hours at local bars and izakaya establishments, and as a result we get WAY too many drunk people at night in the center of most large cities in Japan, which makes them hazards at street intersections and any form of public transit.

Japan Yesterday- I was just going to say exactly that

Probably if people did not get forcefully drunk like idiots every night, all these problems did not happen. And the they waste your life if you smoke a little bit of pot at home!

The seats were rotated to face along the platform rather than the tracks in the hopes of stopping drunken passengers from marching headlong into trouble.

Sounds like they work well for typical Japanese drunkards. Incidentally, as I can relatively hold my liquor well for Japanese, I don't need them at all though. Hahah...

Those JR West employees monitoring the cameras and platforms are going to be VERY busy.

A result of the binge drinking society. One would think it would be a better idea to stop the binge drinking instead of stopping the accidents that come from it.

Set off an alarm? I guess it's better than nothing but I wouldn't want to live near a train station with the "alarm" going off every 5 mins at 11:50pm

How about keeping late-boozing patrons from bothering the other passengers.

Hopefully the cameras will be pointed at JR employees as well.

@ Disillusioned

"One would think it would be a better idea to stop the binge drinking instead of stopping the accidents that come from it."

Far to logical and idea and it would also require someone to put it forward and rock the boat and then they would have to get pi@@ed after work to try and make a decision / come to a consensus.

Seems more like a cost-saving measure instead of installing more platform barriers.

Perhaps although it seems strange to me. Cameras are not exactly cheap. Even if they made barriers with open gates, more than half of the way to the tracks would be blocked with great result. If they put hand-operated doors in, it would cost a bit more, but people would figure it out and surely it would save even more lives and trouble. I guess those automatic gates are what pushes the cost up. Seems like over-kill to me.

A result of the binge drinking society. One would think it would be a better idea to stop the binge drinking instead of stopping the accidents that come from it.

Exactly. Go to the route of the problem. Mandate & train bar / izakaya staff to spot these drunks and "cut them off" from consuming more alcohol. Refuse service when these (obviously over-drunks stumble into another establishment.

Cops need to make more arrests for public drunkenness, if there is penal code. If not, draft one up and start enforcing it.

But we all know this is japan. Do not "confront" the problem realistically. Instead, passively install cameras. Way to go- not.

Would it not be much more effective to simply erect barriers on the edge of the platform like you see at some stations? I am having trouble understanding how cameras, which will have to be monitored by somebody, is preferable to having someone on the platform keeping an eye on things.

"One would think it would be a better idea to stop the binge drinking instead of stopping the accidents that come from it."

Stopping binge drinking: Out of JR's realm of power

Stopping accidents that come with it: Within JR's realm of power

I'm curious as to how people think that JR can stop people from binge drinking.

Even though you got all those camera you can not prevent the drunk from falling to sleep or either from the accident.

Airports somehow manage to separate their skytrains' platforms from the tracks.

Fire a few executives and bean counters and get it done.

Couldn't disagree more with Mirai Hayashi. People have a right to drink - and life in Japan would be unbearable without - but it's good that cameras protect them.

as always japanese are smart, usa star taking notes

Couldn't disagree more with Mirai Hayashi. People have a right to drink - and life in Japan would be unbearable without - but it's good that cameras protect them

Please read my post carefully before commenting on it.

I am not asking to bring prohibition back..Yes, people do have the right to drink but to do it RESPONSIBLY! -not like little children raiding their parents' liquor cabinet, and definitely not to the point where they lose control of their bodies and are found barefooted sleeping on the train floor, dead on the train tracks! This not only makes them look absolutely stupid and ridiculous, it costs us money in the long run.

All of the measures being taken (the suicide gates, cameras, flashing lights, etc..) costs money -sometimes a lot of money. And the train companies aren't going to do this for free. They are going to do everything in their power to recoup that cost, which could mean higher fairs or possibly reduced services for everyone else.

When does it end? How much more money needs to be spent on people's stupidity and ladk of common sense and consideration for others? Too much catering to the bad, no time for the good.

rainydayAug. 20, 2015 - 11:10AM JST Would it not be much more effective to simply erect barriers on the edge of the platform like you see at some stations? I am having trouble understanding how cameras, which will have to be monitored by somebody, is preferable to having someone on the platform keeping an eye on things.

Not sure what they're claiming to do, but they definitely won't have a guy sitting and watching the monitors all evening long, it will be a pattern checking script and a guy doing a dozen other tasks will glance over whenever it sounds an alert to try to make out whether it's a drunk guy etc.

Your alternative would be to have several people patrolling each platform, which isn't feasible at all considering some stations have a dozen or more and each one is several hundred metres long. (They have better things to do) With just a handful fatalities a year it doesn't make much sense to hire several more people, so the simple solution is to run the already existing cameras' video feed through analyzing software. Barriers will eventually come in place, but there are thousands of stations.