Since 2003, railways have asked passengers to turn off their mobile phones when near "silver" priority seats, for fear electromagnetic interference from the devices could interact with pacemakers, harming the wearer.
After 12 years, the ban on phones, the validity of which researchers say has long since been in dispute, will be relaxed. On Thursday, 37 railway companies in the Kanto, Tohoku and Koshinetsu regions announced that from Oct. 1, they will allow the use of phones near priority seats except during rush hour.
The new nonbinding rule urges passengers near priority seats to switch off their mobile phones only when the train is near capacity and there is little room to move. The railways will inform passengers of the change via public service announcements.