Men-only train carriages
Commuting to work in Tokyo on crowded trains can be a tortuous affair, made worse by groping incidents that occur with a surprising degree of frequency. In an attempt to alleviate the problem, a number of rail operators have designated particular carriages to be women-only during rush hour.
But what if rail operators were to introduce men-only cars? In June, market researchers Macromill asked 500 commuters living in Tokyo and Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures whether they would support the introduction of such cars. The results are as follows:
73.9%: The percentage of female respondents that backed the introduction of men-only train carriages.
26%: The percentage female respondents that opposed the introduction of men-only train carriages.
65.1%: The percentage of male respondents that backed the introduction of men-only train carriages.
34.9%: The percentage of male respondents that opposed the introduction of men-only train carriages.
Women appeared to support the introduction of men-only cars because they thought it would lead to a reduction in groping. Men supported the idea based on the notion that it would reduce incidents in which they could face a false accusation of groping. Some said it was unfair to have women-only cars, but not men-only ones. (Natsumi Komiyama contributed to this report)