Violent incidents against railway company employees have reached an all-time high this year with almost 800 incidents through October, 250 of which resulted in injuries. That breaks down to nearly three acts of violence against staff per day, every day.
With the arrival of the yearend holiday season, those numbers will only increase. The result is that not only station guards but the general public feels less safe on trains and in stations than ever before.
Japan is one of the safest countries in the world, but perception counts a great deal in maintaining that image. Railway lines in general are highly efficient, but Japan's is among the most crowded systems in the world. When conditions deteriorate, they can do so quickly. Crowded conditions make incidents more likely, yet explosions of violent behavior extend from more general levels of social frustration.