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Tokyo subway conductor reprimanded for posting photo of commuter on Twitter

18 Comments

Tokyo Metro Co says that a train conductor on duty photographed a passenger whom he thought was showing bad manners and then posted it on his Twitter account after his shift ended.

According to the subway operator, the conductor, who is in his 30s, used a tablet device for business purposes to photograph the passenger on the Yurakucho line running between Ichigaya and Nagatacho stations on Dec 14, Sankei Shimbun reported. He posted the photo on his Twitter account from his personal smartphone.

Since the photo reportedly showed the passenger’s face, the incident came to light after an acquaintance of the passenger contacted Tokyo Metro about the tweet on Sunday.

On Monday, the company released a public apology stating, “We will severely punish the conductor according to our company’s rules. We will also provide in-depth guidance and training to our employees and work to prevent a recurrence of this incident.”

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18 Comments
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I'm curious as to what the rude passenger was doing?

19 ( +20 / -1 )

I'm curious as to what the rude passenger was doing?

Doesn't matter. Japan has serious libel laws, so it would be interesting to learn what comes of this.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

Moron.

Use a fake or separate account, like normal people, if you’re gonna do stuff like that.

12 ( +16 / -4 )

We know @Mickelicous 8:08am nothing will come of it. The ‘public apology’ was made, ‘compensation’ will probably be offered and after all, they need conductors so, it was back to full duty for him on the next shift.

@Mickelicious 8:08am: [*I'm curious as to what the rude passenger was doing?**] “*Doesn't matter. Japan has serious libel laws, so it would be interesting to learn what comes of this.”

3 ( +4 / -1 )

But surely the passenger was wearing a mask, so this shouldnt be an issue.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Good on him. More idiots need to be called out when they are stupid, rude or ill-mannered.

9 ( +13 / -4 )

Link to the Tweet or didn't happen...

4 ( +6 / -2 )

The conductor stated that he took pictures of people with bad manners, especially when drinking or being drunk on the train or occupying more than one seat unnecessarily. Seems like he posted just four pictures since Dec. 2019. He used a company tablet for the initial photo but since those don't provide an internet connection, he took a close up picture from the tablet screen with his personal mobile phone.

I think it would also be interesting to know how the acquaintance of a person shown on one of these pictures found it in the first place. Stumbling upon an account out of millions and then identify a friend or relative seems rather odd.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

If anyone should take photos of a passenger who is bad mannered, it should be the conductor. Why not have a site that shows photos of selfish people? Those who like taking up two seats, putting their shopping on the seat next to them when people are standing, sitting with legs spread like they have a nasty rash or something. Have been tempted to take photos of them myself.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

I assume this rude passenger was wearing a mask so how exactly was his identity revealed?

Honestly, I don't see the issue. People get crazy rude on trains here and more should be called out for their appalling behavior.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Maybe the bad mannered person was not wearing a mask and that is what set the conductor off.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

If he would have blurred the face, which is so easy to do with even the most rudimentary editing tools, he could have avoided this.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

What is with the growing obsession with the privacy of people in public places? Guess what, if you're in public people can take a photo of you, and vice versa. How many times are people in the background of a family photo, or even photo bombing you? If I take a photo at a crowded event do I need to get everyone's permission before posting it online?

Ridiculous.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

Joe Blow

Agree 100%

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Bad mannered A holes should be publicly shamed, that might prevent others from doing so... As was said before, public place = no privacy!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Link to the Tweet or didn't happen...

Probably laws against that too in this country.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

photograph the passenger on the Yurakucho line running between Ichigaya and Nagatacho stations on Dec 14,

Err, was the passenger running between Ichigaya and Nagatacho stations, or the line? And what was the rudeness?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

What is with the growing obsession with the privacy of people in public places? Guess what, if you're in public people can take a photo of you, and vice versa. How many times are people in the background of a family photo, or even photo bombing you? If I take a photo at a crowded event do I need to get everyone's permission before posting it online?

Yes, that is exactly how it shy work. We should be working towards more privacy rules in this day in age where every action we take is potentially recorded.

Put the phone away and enjoy the concert. Too many people concerned with taking a movie or taking 1000 photos

We as humans deserve the right to privacy even in public places.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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