The death Monday of a 55-year-old blind man who was hit by a subway train after falling onto the tracks at Aoyama-itchome Station has once again shone the spotlight on the need for safety barriers to prevent such all-too-frequent accidents from occurring.
According to the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, the tally for platform falls in 2014 was 3,673, up from 2,442 in 2009. Of those who fell in 2014, 80 were visually impaired.
The majority of the accidental falls are caused by drunkenness, with others caused by inattentiveness or other reasons.