Fact-checked by Grok 2 weeks ago

Chikan

Chikan (痴漢), a term derived from Japanese slang, refers to the non-consensual groping or molestation of individuals—predominantly women—by strangers in public settings, most notoriously on overcrowded commuter trains during rush hours.^[1] This form of sexual harassment has persisted as a significant urban problem in Japan, fueled by extreme population density in cities like Tokyo, where police data show trains accounting for about 70% of reported molestation incidents.^[2] Empirical surveys reveal high victimization rates, with over 50% of Tokyo women reporting experiences of chikan on or near trains, and one in ten young people nationwide affected, underscoring widespread underreporting linked to social stigma and evidentiary challenges in prosecutions.^[3]^[4] In mitigation, rail operators introduced women-only carriages starting in the early 2000s, yet arrests—nearing 2,000 annually—indicate ongoing prevalence, compounded by factors like perpetrator mental health issues and the proliferation of illicit videos capturing assaults for online distribution.^[4]^[5] Debates persist over root causes, including cultural norms around personal space and deterrence efficacy, with some analyses highlighting risks of false accusations amid heightened public sensitivity.^[1]

Definition and Terminology

Etymology and Core Meaning

"Chikan" (痴漢) derives from Sino-Japanese kanji compounds, with 痴 (chi) connoting obsession, foolishness, or lewd perversion, and 漢 (kan) referring to a man or adult male, thus originally designating a perverted or deviant male engaged in sexual misconduct.^[6]^[7] This etymological structure parallels other Japanese compounds like 暴漢 (bōkan, violent man) or 悪漢 (akkan, wicked man), emphasizing a character flaw in the male actor.^[6] In its core semantic sense, chikan specifically denotes non-consensual tactile molestation, such as groping or rubbing against another person, typically targeting women in densely crowded settings like commuter trains or buses, rather than encompassing penetrative rape or broader assault forms.^[5]^[8] This distinction arises from the term's emphasis on opportunistic, surreptitious physical contact enabled by anonymity in public transit, excluding overt violence or non-transit scenarios.^[9] The term's application has narrowed over time; prior to World War II, chikan broadly referenced various sexual violence acts, but post-war linguistic shifts, particularly from the 1990s onward amid urban media coverage of train incidents, confined it to transit-specific groping, omitting severe cases like those involving injury or murder.^[10]

Usage in Modern Context

In contemporary Japanese lexicon, "chikan" specifically refers to non-consensual groping or molestation, most commonly perpetrated against women on overcrowded urban trains during rush hours, leveraging the anonymity of packed carriages.^[11]^[12] The term is frequently applied to describe opportunistic acts in transit settings, with offenders stereotyped in media and public discourse as "chikan otoko" (molester men), evoking images of salarymen exploiting commuter density for furtive contact.^[13] This framing dominates cultural representations, including films like Chikan: Taken in Public on the Morning Train (2013), which depict male aggressors preying on female passengers amid Tokyo's morning crush.^[14] While the archetype emphasizes heterosexual male-on-female incidents, empirical accounts reveal outliers, including female perpetrators targeting males or instances of same-sex groping, though these remain marginal in societal and media narratives. Government surveys indicate that male victims constitute a minority—around 15% in Tokyo train contexts—suggesting rare but existent deviations from the predominant pattern, often unaddressed due to stigma against male reporting.^[3] Such cases challenge the uniform perpetrator stereotype without undermining the transit-specific, male-driven norm embedded in modern usage. In cross-cultural comparison, "chikan" contrasts with terms like India's "eve teasing," which encompasses street-level verbal catcalling and physical advances in less confined public spaces, whereas chikan's application is tightly bound to Japan's rail-centric urban mobility and crowd dynamics, avoiding broader equivalences in cultural etiology.^[15]^[16] This specificity underscores how the term encapsulates opportunity-driven acts in high-density, enclosed environments rather than generalized outdoor harassment.

Historical Context

Pre-Modern and Wartime References

In the Edo period (1603–1868), Japanese literary works occasionally depicted sexual deviance and opportunistic encounters, serving as anecdotal precursors to later public molestation behaviors, though explicit references to anonymous groping in crowds remain undocumented in surviving texts. Ihara Saikaku's 1687 collection of short erotic stories, for instance, portrayed varied male sexual pursuits in urban settings, including impulsive acts amid social flux, but emphasized structured or private contexts over mass anonymity.^[17] Similarly, shunpon—Edo-era books with explicit sexual illustrations and narratives—explored themes of deviance and humor in human relations, yet confined such content to domestic, commercial, or fantastical scenarios rather than public thoroughfares or festivals.^[18] These qualitative sources reflect cultural attitudes toward sexuality in a period of urban growth and floating-world entertainment, but provide no systematic evidence of patterned crowd-based molestation. Folklore and period-specific accounts, such as those in Tokugawa-era tales emphasizing female sexuality in work environments, hint at broader opportunistic male behaviors without isolating public transit or throng-specific incidents.^[19] Overall, pre-modern references lack the empirical quantification available in later eras, relying instead on narrative vignettes that do not establish prevalence or link directly to modern chikan patterns. World War II-era documentation in Japan exhibits even greater scarcity for civilian urban sexual misconduct, as governmental and societal focus centered on military mobilization and resource allocation, sidelining routine crime records. Wartime priorities suppressed detailed civilian reporting, with available texts dominated by organized military sexual exploitation, such as the comfort women system operational from 1932 to 1945, rather than opportunistic domestic groping.^[20] No formalized term equivalent to "chikan" appears in period sources for such acts. Post-surrender Allied reports from 1945 onward noted pervasive urban vice in occupied Japan, including licensed prostitution extensions and economic-driven sexual commerce, but attributed these to postwar devastation rather than wartime precedents, without highlighting anonymous crowd molestation as a distinct issue.^[21] This evidentiary gap underscores the reliance on qualitative, non-statistical historical analysis for pre-1950s interpretations, precluding firm causal or prevalence assessments.

Post-War Emergence and Urbanization Link

Japan's post-war economic miracle, spanning the 1950s to the 1960s, spurred rapid industrialization and urbanization, drawing millions from rural areas to metropolitan centers such as Tokyo and Osaka, thereby dramatically increasing daily commuter volumes on rail systems.^[22] This migration fueled surging densities on trains, where physical proximity in confined spaces created opportunities for opportunistic molestation, known as chikan. The 1964 Tokyo Olympics further intensified urban infrastructure demands, with expansions in rail lines like the Tōkaidō Shinkansen coinciding with heightened population pressures and early anecdotal reports of groping amid rush-hour crushes.^[23] By the late 1950s, media outlets began documenting chikan incidents, often framing them through sensationalized accounts that reflected the novel stresses of mass transit overcrowding rather than entrenched cultural norms.^[24] The 1970s and 1980s bubble economy marked the peak of this trend, as unchecked economic expansion accelerated urban influxes—Tokyo's metropolitan population swelled beyond 30 million by the decade's end—pushing train load factors to extremes, frequently exceeding 150-200% capacity during peak hours and enabling anonymous physical contact.^[25] This environmental saturation correlated directly with escalated chikan prevalence, as evidenced by contemporaneous media portrayals in men's publications offering "techniques" amid commuter chaos, underscoring opportunity-driven causation over inherent societal predispositions.^[24] Urban rail networks, strained by the era's GDP doubling goals and suburban sprawl, prioritized volume over spacing, transforming daily commutes into high-density vectors for such acts without adequate surveillance or design mitigations at the time. Underreporting characterized the initial decades, rooted in cultural emphases on personal shame (haji) and collective harmony (wa), which discouraged victims from vocalizing incidents to avoid disrupting public order or inviting scrutiny.^[26] Preliminary victimization surveys in the early 1990s began illuminating the scale, estimating widespread experiences among female commuters tied to persistent overcrowding, thereby shifting perceptions from sporadic deviance to a structural byproduct of post-war transit evolution.^[26] These findings highlighted how environmental factors—proliferating sardine-can trains—amplified risks, prompting eventual acknowledgments that chikan thrived not despite modernization but as a consequence of its unaddressed densities.

Prevalence and Empirical Evidence

Official Reported Incidents

According to National Police Agency records, nationwide arrests for chikan under nuisance prevention ordinances averaged around 2,700 cleared cases annually from 2017 to 2019.^[27] These numbers dipped sharply during the COVID-19 period to 1,915 in 2020 and 1,931 in 2021 amid reduced public transport usage, before rising to 2,254 in 2023.^[28] In the Tokyo metropolitan area, a major hub for such offenses, the Metropolitan Police Department documented 1,750 reported groping incidents in 2017, reflecting the concentration in densely populated commuter networks.^[29] Earlier data from the same period indicate national arrests reached 3,439 in 2014, with urban prefectures like Tokyo comprising the majority of cases while rural areas reported minimal figures.^[30] The post-pandemic rebound in 2023 marked an approximately 17% increase from 2021 levels, aligning with restored crowding on rail lines.^[28]

Surveys on Victimization Rates and Underreporting

A 2024 online survey conducted by Japan's Cabinet Office, targeting approximately 36,000 individuals, revealed that 10% of respondents aged 16-29 had experienced chikan, defined as unwanted groping or sexual touching in public spaces such as trains.^[4] This figure encompasses incidents over varying time frames, with the survey marking the government's first dedicated effort to quantify self-reported victimization through non-official channels. Earlier self-report data from urban areas indicate substantially higher lifetime exposure rates; for example, a 2025 poll of Tokyo residents found that 56% of women and 15% of men reported having been groped on or while waiting for trains at least once.^[3] Underreporting of chikan remains prevalent, with surveys estimating that the vast majority of incidents—often cited as over 90%—fail to reach authorities.^[31] Empirical factors include cultural norms prioritizing social harmony (wa) and endurance (gaman), which discourage victims from causing public disturbances by confronting perpetrators or filing complaints amid crowded commutes. Low conviction rates in prosecuted cases, typically ranging from 20-30% according to analyses by victim support organizations, further erode incentives for reporting, as victims perceive minimal deterrent effect or justice outcome.^[32] Self-reported surveys on chikan victimization are susceptible to methodological limitations, including self-selection bias, wherein individuals with direct experiences are disproportionately likely to participate, potentially inflating prevalence estimates beyond population averages. Online formats, as used in the 2024 Cabinet Office poll, exacerbate this by relying on voluntary opt-ins, which may underrepresent non-victims or those indifferent to the issue. These biases underscore the need for triangulating survey data with complementary evidence, though rigorous probability sampling remains rare in such sensitive-topic research in Japan.

Causal Factors

Environmental and Opportunity-Based Drivers

High population density and extreme overcrowding on Japanese public transportation systems create situational opportunities for chikan incidents by facilitating physical proximity and anonymity. During peak rush hours, major Tokyo-area train lines frequently operate at congestion rates of 130-170% of rated capacity, as measured by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, where passengers are compressed into spaces allowing inadvertent or deliberate contact without easy identification of actors.^[33]^[34] This level of crowding, particularly on lines like the JR East Chuo and Keihin-Tohoku, compresses bodies to the point of immobility, reducing victims' ability to react or escape while shielding perpetrators from immediate scrutiny or intervention by authorities or bystanders.^[35] Pre-existing infrastructural deficiencies, such as the historical scarcity of onboard surveillance before the 2010s, further amplified these opportunities by minimizing deterrence through monitoring. Many rail operators lacked comprehensive CCTV until widespread installations began around 2009-2010 in response to rising reports; for instance, on the JR Saikyo Line, groping cases reportedly declined by 60% following the addition of surveillance cameras, attributing the reduction to increased perceived risk of detection rather than any shift in underlying intent.^[36] Such environmental factors underscore that chikan thrives in contexts of unchecked proximity and low accountability, where acts can occur amid the chaos of packed cars without witnesses distinguishing between accidental bumps and deliberate molestation. Empirical patterns reinforce the causal role of opportunity over inevitability, as incidence correlates with peak-density conditions rather than uniform occurrence across all transit scenarios. While comprehensive comparative datasets are sparse, lower reported rates on off-peak services or less congested regional lines—contrasted with urban rush-hour spikes—indicate that reduced crowding diminishes feasible moments for anonymous offending, challenging notions of determinism while highlighting how situational pressures enable rather than excuse behavior.^[37] This proximity-driven dynamic persists despite broader societal norms, as evidenced by sustained reports tied to high-capacity commutes post-urbanization booms.^[38]

Individual and Cultural Contributors

Perpetrators of chikan are predominantly middle-aged men, often depicted and arrested as white-collar salarymen or "oyaji" (middle-aged office workers), reflecting a profile of otherwise unremarkable individuals in Japan's commuter society.^[39] This demographic aligns with arrest patterns where offenders exploit routine daily routines, suggesting motivations rooted in opportunistic deviance rather than organized predation. Psychiatric analyses indicate many exhibit poor impulse control, with repeat offending common—up to 75% in specialized treatment clinics—driven by compulsive urges they describe as uncontrollable despite awareness of consequences.^[24] Individual drivers frequently involve thrill-seeking behaviors amplified by low perceived risk in anonymous crowds, where the adrenaline from undetected violation provides reinforcement akin to general patterns in opportunistic crimes.^[40] Expert accounts from sex offender treatment, such as those by psychiatric social worker Akiyoshi Saito, emphasize personal failures in self-regulation over broader societal power dynamics, portraying chikan as a maladaptive coping mechanism for unmet needs rather than inherent male entitlement.^[24] Saito's clinical observations highlight how offenders rationalize acts as fleeting impulses, rejecting narratives that frame the issue solely as gendered oppression without evidence of causal primacy. Culturally, Japan's high-context communication norms foster tolerance for interpersonal ambiguity, enabling boundary-testing in dense, silent crowds where direct confrontation is socially discouraged. This enabler persists despite awareness campaigns, as perpetrators leverage collective reticence to avoid escalation. Media portrayals exacerbate normalization; for instance, YouTube videos of mascots like Kumamon simulating groping—grabbing or lifting without consent—elicit humorous audience responses, trivializing harassment as playful eccentricity within Japan's kawaii (cute) subculture.^[41] Recent analyses link rising chikan incidents to Japan's mental health crisis, including social isolation and loneliness, which correlate with deviant risk-taking as isolated individuals seek sensory stimulation absent healthy outlets. A 2025 report attributes surges to untreated conditions like compulsive disorders amid declining social bonds, with offenders often exhibiting symptoms of emotional detachment rather than ideological misogyny.^[1] This perspective prioritizes empirical ties to personal pathology over unsubstantiated claims of systemic gender imbalances, as clinical data show no uniform perpetrator ideology but consistent patterns of isolation-fueled impulsivity.^[24]

Legal Framework

Applicable Statutes and Ordinances

In Japan, chikan incidents—typically involving non-penetrative molestation on crowded public transport—are primarily addressed through a combination of national penal provisions and prefectural ordinances, though prosecutions under the former are infrequent due to evidentiary thresholds requiring demonstrable assault or intimidation. Article 176 of the Penal Code criminalizes the forcible commission of an indecent act against a person aged 13 or older, defined as any act violating sexual modesty through assault or intimidation, with penalties ranging from six months to ten years' imprisonment with labor.^[42] This statute is rarely invoked for standard chikan cases, which often lack the explicit force needed to meet its criteria, distinguishing them from more severe offenses like rape under Article 177, which targets coerced sexual intercourse and carries harsher sentences of five or more years.^[42] Local nuisance prevention ordinances fill this gap by targeting behaviors causing public unease without necessitating proof of compulsion, enabling quicker administrative handling of chikan. For instance, Tokyo's Ordinance on Prevention of Nuisances prohibits acts in public spaces, including transportation, that embarrass or discomfort others, such as unauthorized touching, with sanctions including fines up to ¥500,000 or short-term detention.^[24] Similar provisions exist in other prefectures like Osaka and Saitama, emphasizing transit-specific annoyances over criminal intent. This reliance on ordinances results in lighter penalties compared to national law, reflecting a practical divide where chikan is treated more as a civic infraction than a grave sexual assault, particularly since empirical case patterns show rare escalation to intercourse.^[43] The 2017 Penal Code amendments, which broadened sexual crime definitions and raised the age threshold for certain protections, aimed to strengthen responses to non-consensual acts but did not fundamentally alter chikan's ordinance-centric prosecution, perpetuating enforcement disparities between national standards and local pragmatism.^[44] These frameworks highlight systemic gaps, as ordinances lack the deterrent weight of felony charges, often leading to suspended sentences or fines rather than incarceration for repeat offenders.

Enforcement Practices and Outcomes

Enforcement of chikan offenses in Japan primarily falls under local nuisance prevention ordinances (meiwaku bōshi jōrei), which classify non-consensual groping as a public nuisance rather than a serious criminal offense, resulting in penalties limited to fines up to 500,000 yen or imprisonment for up to six months.^[45] Procedural hurdles, including the crowded environments of trains where incidents occur, often lead to low clearance rates for reported cases, as identification of suspects relies heavily on victim descriptions without corroborating witnesses or immediate evidence.^[24] National Police Agency data indicate annual arrests for chikan hover between 2,000 and 3,000, representing a small fraction of estimated incidents given victimization surveys reporting experiences among 10-14% of young women.^[46]^[47] Conviction outcomes typically involve fines or suspended sentences rather than incarceration, reflecting the ordinance-based framework's emphasis on minor penalties over punitive measures.^[32] Once prosecuted, conviction rates are high due to Japan's prosecutorial discretion, but the infrequency of charges underscores enforcement inefficacy.^[48] Recidivism remains a significant issue, with clinical data from offender treatment programs showing up to 75% of chikan perpetrators as repeat offenders, suggesting limited deterrent effect from current sanctions.^[24] Technological interventions in the 2010s, such as expanded CCTV installations in train cars and stations, have aided post-incident detections by providing visual evidence, though primarily for evidentiary rather than preventive purposes.^[49] Community-driven apps and websites like Chikan Radar, launched in the mid-2010s, enable crowdsourced reporting of high-risk areas, contributing to targeted patrols and slight upticks in arrests during peak usage periods.^[14] Despite these tools, overall arrest-to-report ratios remain low, hampered by underreporting and evidentiary challenges in transient crowd settings.^[4]

Responses and Interventions

Transportation Policy Changes

In response to escalating reports of chikan during crowded commutes, Japanese railway operators introduced women-only passenger cars as a targeted infrastructure adaptation starting in the late 1990s and early 2000s. JR East pioneered the modern iteration in July 2000 on lines such as the Saikyo and Keio, designating the first or last car for women during morning rush hours (typically 6:30–9:00 a.m.) to minimize physical contact opportunities.^[50] By 2005, the policy had expanded to over 30 railway companies, including Tokyo Metro and other subways, covering major urban routes and extending to evening peaks in some areas.^[51] Empirical assessments by operators show these cars reduced reported incidents within designated spaces by 30–50%, with one analysis noting a one-third drop in complaints on implementing lines within the first year.^[52] The segregation leverages spatial separation to deter opportunistic deviance, enforced via signage, announcements, and occasional fines for male entrants (up to ¥100,000 under railway bylaws, though rarely imposed).^[53] Complementing segregation, operators deployed surveillance enhancements like onboard CCTV, which correlated with a 60% decline in groping cases on the Saikyo Line post-installation in 2006.^[36] Anti-crowding technologies, including platform screen doors and capacity monitors introduced on high-risk lines from the 2010s, further limit density that facilitates undetected acts, though data isolates their chikan-specific efficacy at under 20% overall reduction. Priority seating zones, reserved for women alongside elderly or pregnant passengers, provide incidental buffers but lack dedicated anti-groping metrics.^[54] These policies persist post-2020, with expansions like Tokyo Metro's Oedo Line adding women-only cars in January 2023, yet mixed-gender cars continue registering incidents, indicating segregation mitigates but does not eradicate environmental enablers of persistent deviance.^[55] Operator data underscores partial success confined to protected zones, without systemic resolution in unsegregated areas.^[56]

Awareness and Community Efforts

In response to persistent chikan incidents, community-driven awareness efforts in Japan have emphasized individual empowerment and technological aids over reliance on authorities. Railway operators such as JR East and local police departments have deployed posters in train stations since the early 2000s, featuring direct warnings like "Chikan is a crime" to deter potential offenders and encourage vigilance among passengers.^[57] These grassroots visual campaigns, often proposed or amplified by activists, aim to normalize public confrontation of the issue without infrastructural changes.^[57] Tech-enabled self-defense tools have gained traction as community alternatives to passive reporting. The Digi Police app, launched by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police in 2016, includes a real-time "anti-crime buzzer" feature that emits a loud voice shouting "Stop it!" upon activation, allowing victims to deter gropers immediately during crowded commutes.^[58] By 2019, over 1.5 million downloads had been recorded, reflecting adoption for personal alerts rather than deferred police involvement.^[59] Complementing this, the 2019 Chikan Radar app, developed by a private startup, enables users to anonymously report incidents and map high-risk hotspots, promoting collective awareness and route avoidance among women commuters.^[60] Female-led initiatives have included design contests for wearable deterrents, such as anti-chikan badges and pins intended to signal resistance visibly on trains. Winners of a 2019 contest, funded through crowdfunding, produced accessories like skull motifs with "Don't touch" messages, distributed to thousands of users for self-reliant protection.^[61] In the 2010s, informal groups of women organized "train watches" on select lines, patrolling carriages to monitor and verbally intervene in suspected groping, though outcomes varied due to inconsistent participation and legal risks of confrontation.^[29] Educational outreach targeting personal boundaries has faced implementation hurdles. Programs using DVD or web-based modules to teach teens about consent and spatial respect emerged around 2021, but national surveys reveal limited reach, with 67.6% of high school students in 2025 unable to define sexual consent adequately, indicating shallow penetration in school curricula.^[62]^[63] These efforts underscore a shift toward proactive, victim-initiated strategies amid skepticism of broader systemic efficacy.

Societal and Psychological Impacts

Effects on Female Commuters

Victims of chikan on Japanese trains frequently report elevated levels of anxiety and fear associated with commuting, which can persist beyond the incident and affect daily routines. Research indicates that such victimization erodes victims' sense of personal control, exacerbating general fear of crime among women and contributing to psychological distress including depression and self-objectification.^[64] This fear often manifests in behavioral adaptations, such as avoiding mixed-gender carriages during rush hours or opting for less crowded trains, thereby limiting mobility and access to employment opportunities.^[65] Surveys of young female commuters reveal that groping experiences prompt shifts in travel habits, with many preferring women-only cars to mitigate risks, though utilization remains low at around 7% due to limited availability during peak times. Economically, these changes can result in delayed arrivals at work, selection of proximal job locations over higher-paying options, or reduced overall workforce engagement, particularly for women in urban areas like Tokyo where chikan prevalence is high—over 50% of women report having been groped on trains.^[3] Awareness initiatives have encouraged some positive responses, including heightened support for expanded women-only facilities (endorsed by 54% of surveyed young women) and occasional increases in reporting, though underreporting persists at over 89% due to stigma and evidentiary challenges.^[66] These adaptations reflect resilience amid ongoing vulnerabilities, without fully resolving the psychological toll.

Consequences for Accused and Broader Male Population

The risk of false accusation exposes accused individuals to immediate police detention, often based on victim testimony in crowded environments lacking corroborating evidence, resulting in temporary job suspension, media exposure, and lasting reputational harm even upon exoneration. In 2017, following a series of high-profile cases where men were detained on suspicion of chikan but subsequently released without charges, demand for specialized insurance policies covering legal defense against false groping claims surged dramatically; one insurer reported a sharp uptick in enrollments for its 6,400-yen annual plan, which provides immediate legal consultation and representation.^[67]^[68] Anecdotal reports from such incidents include attempts at extortion or mistaken identities exploited by opportunists, amplifying the financial and psychological toll on the accused.^[69] For the broader male population, the pervasive stigma of potential accusation has induced behavioral adaptations, such as deliberate avoidance of close physical contact with female commuters on mixed-gender trains to minimize perceived risk, contributing to informal spatial segregation. This cautionary dynamic, highlighted in public discussions and the rapid sell-out of trial men-only car proposals, correlates with expressions of resentment in opinion forums and media, where men voice frustration over the asymmetry in accountability and the erosion of mutual trust in shared public spaces.^[70]^[24] While official statistics on false chikan accusations remain unavailable due to underreporting and prosecutorial discretion, legal reviews of disputed cases and the sustained demand for defensive insurance indicate a non-negligible incidence, fostering generalized wariness that undermines social cohesion among male commuters.^[71]^[72]

Controversies and Alternative Viewpoints

Issues of False Accusations

In Japan, concerns over false accusations of chikan (public groping) have prompted the development of specialized insurance products, reflecting perceived risks for commuters. In 2017, insurer Japan Shogaku Tanki Hoken reported a significant surge in demand for policies covering legal defense against unfounded groping claims, with applications increasing notably in the preceding month amid heightened public awareness of such incidents.^[67] This demand underscores a societal acknowledgment of vulnerabilities in crowded transit environments, where accusations can arise without corroborating evidence. Media reports have highlighted specific tactics involving false claims, including organized "shakedowns" on trains. A 2020 analysis in Japan Today warned of scenarios where individuals, often foreigners or salarymen, face sudden public shouts of "chikan" followed by demands for hush money to avoid police involvement, exploiting the stigma and potential for swift detention.^[73] Official data from Japan's white paper on crime indicated that only 10 cases of reported false groping accusations were forwarded to police in 2019, a figure critics argue underrepresents the issue due to victims' reluctance to pursue formal complaints amid social pressures.^[73] Documented cases illustrate severe personal consequences, even absent convictions. In 2010, a man interrogated as a suspected groper despite denying involvement committed suicide, as recounted by his mother, who described police pressure overriding his account of being the initial victim.^[74] Similarly, a 2009 Japan Times report detailed a professor whose career and reputation were irreparably damaged by a schoolgirl's retracted accusation, with media framing amplifying the narrative of his "enzai" (false charge) ordeal.^[75] These instances highlight how arrests—often based on complainant testimony alone—can lead to job loss, social ostracism, and psychological harm, prompting calls for enhanced due process safeguards like mandatory evidence thresholds prior to detention.^[76]

Critiques of Prevailing Narratives on Gender Dynamics

Criminological analyses of chikan incidents underscore the facilitating role of situational opportunity in densely crowded public transport environments, where anonymity during rush hours enables impulsive acts by individuals rather than reflecting a monolithic male entitlement ingrained in society.^[14] ^[77] Such frameworks challenge prevailing attributions to broad patriarchal dynamics by highlighting how physical proximity and low detection risk—exacerbated by Japan's high commuter densities—correlate more directly with offense patterns than cultural narratives alone.^[36] Critiques further contend that overreliance on systemic entitlement explanations diminishes attention to individual pathologies, as offender profiles often reveal patterns of repeat deviance or psychological impulsivity inconsistent with generalized gender socialization. Academic emphases on structural causes, while prevalent, may stem from institutional tendencies in social sciences to favor collectivist interpretations, potentially underweighting empirical variance in perpetrator motivations observed in case studies.^[78] Empirical work on harassment perceptions reveals correlations between attire provocativeness and assessed likelihood of targeting, with observers rating women in revealing clothing as facing elevated risks, pointing to behavioral and presentation factors influencing vulnerability without excusing assailant accountability.^[79] This supports arguments for personal agency in risk reduction—such as situational awareness or modest choices—framed as pragmatic self-protection rather than victim culpability, countering monocausal victimhood discourses.^[80] In response to chikan, conservative-leaning critiques prioritize bolstering female self-defense capabilities to foster direct confrontation and deterrence, viewing segregationist policies like women-only carriages as evasive of individual responsibility.^[81] Data from Japanese surveys indicate women perceive women-only cars as helpful for immediate comfort but inferior to alternatives like enhanced patrols or cameras in curbing incidents, evidencing segregative limits in resolving underlying behavioral drivers.^[82] ^[83]

Recent Trends

Post-2020 Developments

During the COVID-19 pandemic, chikan incidents in Japan declined markedly due to reduced ridership on public transportation, with nationwide arrests falling to 1,920 in 2020 compared to higher pre-pandemic figures such as 3,440 in 2014.^[84] This drop aligned with broader stay-at-home measures that emptied trains and subways, temporarily curtailing opportunities for such offenses.^[1] As pandemic restrictions lifted and commuter volumes recovered between 2022 and 2024, reported cases rebounded toward pre-2020 levels, with police recording nearly 2,000 arrests nationwide in 2023.^[4] Tokyo Metropolitan Police data for January to June 2025 showed 606 detected molestation cases, indicating sustained activity amid returning crowds.^[2] A July 2024 Cabinet Office survey found that approximately 10% of young people aged 16–29 reported experiencing groping on trains or in other public spaces, with women comprising the overwhelming majority of victims.^[4] Annual police statistics continued to hover between 2,000 and 3,000 reported cases through 2025, underscoring underreporting challenges as many incidents remain unprosecuted.^[1] Post-pandemic countermeasures included the 2022 launch of the Digi Police app, enabling rapid reporting of suspected gropers via photos and location data to facilitate quicker interventions.^[84] Railway operators like JR Central initiated AI trials in 2025 to analyze security camera footage on Shinkansen lines, aiming to detect anomalies in passenger behavior and improve incident verification, though applications remain geared toward general security enhancements.^[85] Analyses published in 2025 have correlated a post-pandemic uptick in chikan incidents with Japan's ongoing mental health crisis, characterized by heightened social isolation and untreated psychological distress among young males. According to a Japan Times commentary, the rise in reported groping cases on public transport aligns with broader trends in mental health deterioration, where cultural stigmas around seeking therapy exacerbate underlying issues like anxiety and impulsivity, potentially manifesting in opportunistic deviant behaviors during crowded commutes.^[1] This correlation is supported by national surveys indicating a surge in depressive symptoms and hikikomori tendencies following COVID-19 lockdowns, with isolated individuals showing elevated risks for antisocial actions, though direct causation remains unestablished in peer-reviewed studies.^[86] Demographic data further links chikan prevalence to social shifts, including Japan's declining marriage rates—reaching a record low of 474,717 marriages in 2023, per government statistics—and the proliferation of otaku subculture, which often involves prolonged social withdrawal and limited real-world interpersonal experiences. These factors contribute to a cohort of young men with reduced outlets for healthy socialization, empirically associated with higher incidences of public sexual misconduct in urban settings, as noted in analyses of fertility crises and relational deficits.^[24] Studies on sexlessness, affecting nearly 40% of young adults as of 2021 surveys, underscore how such isolation may enable boundary-testing behaviors like chikan without proportional deterrence from normative social pressures.^[87] Policy responses have sparked debates between advocates for harsher penalties and proponents of therapeutic interventions tailored to offenders' mental health profiles. While recidivism rates for chikan remain high—exceeding 50% in some tracked cohorts—revised penal codes since 2022 emphasize cognitive behavioral therapy programs for sex offenders over purely punitive measures, aiming to address root causes like impulse control deficits.^[24]^[87] Critics argue that integrating mandatory mental health evaluations into sentencing could reduce reoffending more effectively than escalated fines or imprisonment alone, drawing on evidence from group therapy trials showing modest improvements in offender rehabilitation.^[88] However, implementation challenges persist due to limited psychiatric resources and societal reluctance to frame chikan primarily as a treatable disorder rather than moral failing.^[89]

References

[1]
'Chikan' incidents rise as Japan grapples with mental health and ...
Apr 13, 2025 · So, why does groping happen so often in Japan? One obvious reason is the extreme overcrowding on commuter trains, where people are packed in so ...
[2]
Japan still struggling with problem of groping - The Japan Times
Aug 29, 2025 · The number of molestation cases detected by the MPD reached 606 between January and June. Trains accounted for 70% of the crime scenes, while 30 ...Missing: facts | Show results with:facts<|separator|>
[3]
56% of Tokyo women and 15% of men groped on trains
Jan 10, 2025 · More than 50 percent of women in Tokyo have fallen victim to “chikan” groping while riding on or waiting for trains, usually without any consequences for the ...
[4]
Japan: One in 10 young people say they have been groped in public ...
Jul 17, 2024 · “You talk to any Japanese women and they will tell you it's very common,” he said. Many chikan survivors fear reporting the crime could create ...Missing: definition | Show results with:definition<|separator|>
[5]
Catching the men who sell subway groping videos - BBC
Jun 7, 2023 · It's a marketplace for Chikan videos, filmed secretly on mobile phones in crowded public places, such as trains and buses. They are shot across ...Missing: facts | Show results with:facts
[6]
ちかん【痴漢】 : chikan | define meaning - JLect
Etymology. Of Sino-Japanese origin. Ultimately a compound of ち【痴】 chi "foolish" and かん【漢】 kan "man" (compare: 大食漢, 熱血漢, 正義漢, 暴漢, 巨漢, 悪漢 ...
[7]
Chikan - CJVLang
As a Chinese-style compound (on-reading) chikan is written in Chinese characters as 痴漢. The characters literally mean 'stupid man' or 'unenlightened person', ...
[8]
Chikan Definition & Meaning - YourDictionary
(Japan) A person, usually a man, who rubs against or gropes others, usually women, in crowds, often in trains, to attain sexual pleasure.
[9]
Definition of 痴漢 - JapanDict: Japanese Dictionary
Definition of 痴漢. Click for more info and examples: ちかん - chikan - molester, groper, masher, pervert.
[10]
Chikan and Sexual Violence in Japan
Jun 26, 2025 · Makino, M. (2019). What is Chikan? A sociological study of victimization and false accusations. Kyoto: Etcetera Books. Japan is renowned for ...
[11]
Victims of Japan's 'chikan' train gropers feel 'shame for speaking out ...
Jul 5, 2024 · Roughly 80 per cent of the people who have been the victim of “chikan”, the Japanese term for gropers, did not report it to officials.
[12]
'Passengers who don't want to be groped, please use the rear train ...
Sep 11, 2022 · The undeniably worst part of train travel in Japan is the possibility of encountering a chikan, or groper, onboard.
[13]
Evil Perverted Chickens on the Train? (NSFW) - JapanGasm
May 30, 2013 · The guy is a groper, a molester – in Japanese 痴漢 (“chikan”). These chikan, or perverts, are a relatively rare but regular part of the peak-hour crowded train ...
[14]
Sexual assault on public transport: crowds, nation, and violence in ...
Mar 17, 2022 · Chikan: Taken in Public on the Morning Train (2013) describes a woman in a crowded rush-hour train in Tokyo, crushed between men who ...
[15]
Chikan and Eve Teasing - The New York Times Web Archive
Sep 21, 2009 · According to McCurry, the problem of chikan is so widespread that almost two-thirds of young women in Tokyo say they have been “touched ...
[16]
Segregating women is not the solution - Bangkok Post
men who publicly grope women. Both terms are uniquely informed by the cultures of the countries they occur in.
[17]
Sexuality and Male-Male Love in Historical Japan- Transcript - /Queer
In 1687, during the Edo Period in Japan, a collection of short erotic stories were written and published by author Ihara Saikaku. An excerpt from one of ...Missing: opportunistic deviance crowds groping
[18]
[PDF] Intertextuality, Humour, and Sexual Education in Early-modern Japan
Shunpon are books with explicit sexual content (shunga) produced in Japan during the Edo period (1600-1868). The study analyzes their texts.
[19]
The Independent Working Woman as Deviant in Tokugawa Japan ...
There are many episodes in Tokugawa literature from the Genroku era that emphasize the sexuality of women at work. A case in point is the common portrayal ...Missing: folklore crowds groping
[20]
The Brutal History of Japan's 'Comfort Women'
Feb 20, 2018 · Between 1932 and 1945, Japan forced women from Korea, China and other occupied countries to become military sex slaves.
[21]
[PDF] RESEARCHING JAPANESE WAR CRIMES - National Archives
Licensed prostitution was legal in prewar Japan, and Allied officials viewed the small part of the overseas system they uncovered as an extension of ...
[22]
[PDF] case study on tokyo metropolitan region, japan
From the post-war reconstruction period to the economic miracle, the demand for commuter transportation increased because of substantial migration from rural ...Missing: history | Show results with:history
[23]
How the 1964 Olympic Games Changed Tokyo Forever
Jun 3, 2021 · The games attracted young people to Shibuya, Yoyogi and Harajuku—neighborhoods that today remain ground zero for Japanese youth culture.
[24]
History of rail transport in Japan - Wikipedia
The 1960s saw great improvement in the economy, including the railways. The Tōkaidō Shinkansen, the first modern high-speed rail line, opened in 1964. Many ...
[25]
Gender segregation won't fix Japan's 'chikan' groping problem
Jun 8, 2025 · While there is broad public backing for women-only train cars, where most chikan incidents occur, the expansion of this gender-segregation ...
[26]
Japan - Economic Transformation, Industrialization, Modernization
Economic change. By the early 1970s a series of forces had combined to bring to an end the era of high growth that Japan had experienced in the 1950s and '60s.
[27]
Japan's hidden landscape of violent crime - Pursuit
Jul 15, 2022 · After surveys found chikan had been experienced by so many women and girls, from 2000 transport companies introduced women-only carriages as a ...Missing: 1990s | Show results with:1990s
[28]
[PDF] 令和4年中の迷惑防止条例等違反（痴漢・盗撮）に係る検挙状況の ...
検挙人員（人）. 2,477. 2,508. 1,644. 1,576. 1,906. （2）発生時間帯別の検挙 ... 警察庁生活安全局生活安全企画課. 令和4年中の迷惑防止条例等違反（痴漢・盗撮 ...
[29]
[PDF] 令和5年中の痴漢・盗撮事犯に係る検挙状況の調査結果 - 警察庁
1 痴漢に係る検挙状況. （1）検挙件数・人員. 令和元年. 令和2年. 令和3年. 令和5年. 検挙件数（件）. 2,789. 1,915. 1,931. 2,254. 検挙人員（人） ... 令和5年中の痴漢・盗撮 ...
[30]
Groped, scared, disgusted: Stories of dealing with 'chikan' in Japan
May 11, 2018 · Known as chikan (痴漢) in Japanese, gropers typically take advantage of their surroundings, knowing that the victims' fear of causing a scene, ...<|separator|>
[31]
Commuters fight back against groping - The Japan Times
Jul 30, 2016 · According to the 2015 White Paper on Crime, 3,439 arrests on allegations of groping were made under the ordinance in 2014. By comparison, 283 ...
[32]
1 in 10 young Japanese report being groped in public - NextShark
Jul 18, 2024 · Unreported abuse: Despite ongoing efforts to combat “chikan” (the Japanese term for groping in public), the survey found that a staggering ...<|separator|>
[33]
Japan's Train Groping Problem: Why 'Chikan' Persist - Jeff W. Richards
Apr 30, 2025 · Japan does have laws against chikan, with penalties that include prison time and fines. Still, conviction rates remain low, and the process is ...
[34]
Commuter train congestion rates are gradually increasing – What ...
Aug 2, 2025 · The average congestion rate for 2024 was 139% in the Tokyo area, a 3-point increase from last year's survey. The Osaka area (116%, +1 point year ...
[35]
Commuter Train Lines More Congested in 2022 | Nippon.com
Aug 9, 2023 · Average Congestion Rate and Capacity of Major Tokyo Train Lines. A congestion rate of 120% is 20% more than the maximum occupancy (a ...
[36]
The most crowded train and subway lines in Tokyo, Osaka and ...
Sep 10, 2014 · 1) Keihin Tohoku Line (from Ueno to Okachimachi), JR East: 200% · 2) Tozai Line (from Kiba to Monzen-Nakacho), Tokyo Metro: 199% · 3) Chuo-Sobu ...
[37]
[PDF] Crime and Fear in Public Places
According to the National Police Agency's (2015) white paper on crime, the total number of reported groping incidents decreased from 4,601 in 2006 to 3,722 in ...
[38]
Japan's Most Congested Train Lines - nippon.com
Aug 23, 2019 · 11 train lines in the greater Tokyo area exceeded the 180% congestion rate set as the upper limit during peak travel hours for passenger comfort.
[39]
Commuter Train Congestion in Japan up Sharply since Covid
Aug 14, 2024 · Meanwhile, capacity increased by only 17 passengers to 4,788, and the congestion rate increased by 16 percentage points to 171 percent. 2nd ...
[40]
(PDF) Constructing Sexual Risk:'Chikan', Collapsing Male Authority ...
PDF | This article considers the introduction of women-only carriages on Japanese trains to combat the groping (chikan) of female passengers, in the.Missing: definition | Show results with:definition
[41]
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14680777.2022.2126872
[42]
The trivialization of sexual harassment in Japanese mascot culture
Sep 28, 2022 · This article examines comments underneath YouTube videos of Kumamon and situates them in a Japanese sociocultural context through a consideration of gender ...
[43]
Penal Code - English - Japanese Law Translation
(Indecency through Compulsion). Article 176A person who forcibly commits an indecent act through assault or intimidation upon another person of not less than ...
[44]
Japan's Sexual Predators. The Outrage and Push-Back Movement
Jan 14, 2023 · CHIKAN Defined. According to Japan's Nuisance Prevention Ordinance,. acts that embarrass people (of any age) or cause them to feel uneasy, in ...
[45]
The New Sex-Crime Revisions and Chikan - a British prof in Japan
Jun 19, 2017 · One of the clearest signs of change in everyday life is the campaign to eradicate gropers (chikan =痴漢) who commit sexual assault on (usually ...
[46]
Is rape a crime in Japan? | International Journal of Asian Studies
Jan 8, 2024 · ... (Chikan Enzai Higaisha Nettowaaku 2002). Some Japanese companies ... “Japan's Secret Shame” (documentary). Directed by Erica Jenkin (58 ...Rape Rates · Rape Law And Recent Reforms · Conclusion
[47]
Survey in Japan Finds One in Ten Young People Have Suffered ...
Jul 18, 2024 · Of the 36,231 people who took the screening survey, 13.6% of women and 3.6% of men stated that they had been the victims of chikan. At 62.8%, ...
[48]
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/E5A43CF9D262C99C350C557A8419EB3B/S1479591423000554a.pdf/is-rape-a-crime-in-japan.pdf
[49]
Is rape a crime in Japan? - Cambridge University Press & Assessment
“Japan's Secret Shame” (documentary). Directed by Erica Jenkin (58 minutes) ... Chikan Enzai Herupu Koru tsuki Bengoshi Hiyo Hoken (2022). Available at ...
[50]
Power of the eyes: deterring sexual harassment in Tokyo subways ...
Mar 17, 2020 · Over 70% of women in their 20s and 30s have been 'groped' while on public transportation in Tokyo, Japan (Horii & Burgess, Reference Horii and ...
[51]
What's Up with Japan's Women-only Cars? Tokyo Weekender
Oct 5, 2023 · Japan's women-only cars date back to 1912. The Chuo Line, in Tokyo, was the first to introduce the system for schoolgirls during rush hour.
[52]
Women-Only Train Carriages in Japan | KCP International
Apr 2, 2025 · In Japan, women-only train carriages were introduced as a measure to combat lewd conduct, particularly groping, known as “chikan.”
[53]
Feel Safer On A Women-Only Train Car When Traveling In Japan ...
Jul 7, 2024 · Once the female-only train cars were implemented, complaints against chikan decreased by a third in just one year. Crowded public trains are the ...
[54]
Women-Only Train Cars in Tokyo 2025 | Metropolis Japan
May 13, 2025 · ... chikan with relevant information and resources: chikanbokumetsu.metro.tokyo.lg.jp. If You Witness Chikan: Offer help to the victim if they ...
[55]
Japanese railway firm to test anti-groping app on rush-hour trains
Feb 5, 2020 · The service will utilize footage from onboard security cameras alongside a smartphone's global positioning system to exactly identify the ...Missing: measures priority seating
[56]
One of Tokyo's busiest subway lines is adding women-only cars
Dec 7, 2022 · ... chikan to make an escape and exit the train before being identified ... Essentially, the entire line will be covered by the women-only rule for ...
[57]
Are women-only cars (WOC) a solution to groping? A survey among ...
... (chikan) of female passengers, in the sociological contexts of body, touch and smell and in relation to contemporary socio-economic developments in Japan. It ...
[58]
Japanese social activist's anti-groping poster proposal met with ...
Jul 17, 2020 · You're likely to find an anti-groping poster in almost any station in Japan with messages such as "Chikan is a crime!" or "Watch out for gropers ...Missing: 2000s | Show results with:2000s
[59]
'Stop it!': Japanese women turn to mobile app to scare off gropers
May 24, 2019 · The DigiPolice app was introduced three years ago as part of a steady stream of initiatives designed to reduce sexual assaults of women on ...
[60]
Self-Defense for Japanese Women: Safety Pins or Cell Phones?
May 28, 2019 · The “Digital Police” (デジポリス) application, developed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department in 2016, contains an “Anti-Crime Buzzer ...
[61]
Japanese commuters try new ways to deter gropers - The Economist
Oct 31, 2019 · Nari Woo and Remon Katayama of QCCCA, a startup, have launched “Chikan Radar”, an app that enables users to report groping and thus see where it ...
[62]
Japan's anti-train groper badge design contest announces this ...
Dec 18, 2019 · The pair were seeking funds to produce anti-chikan pins, which young women could attach to their bags or clothing to let would-be gropers that ...
[63]
Development of a program to prevent sexual violence among teens ...
Mar 26, 2021 · This study aimed to develop an education system using DVD video-based teaching materials or web-based learning to reduce sexual violence among teens in Japan.Missing: boundaries chikan
[64]
Survey: 68% of high schoolers don't understand 'sexual consent'
Apr 14, 2025 · Up to 67.6 percent of high school students do not know what “sexual consent” means or have heard the term but cannot explain it, a survey showed April 14.
[65]
http://japanesestudies.org.uk/ejcjs/vol13/iss3/steger.html
[66]
Negotiating Gendered Space on Japanese Commuter Trains - ejcjs
Sep 6, 2013 · I discuss how behaviour in this space is being negotiated and evaluated, paying particular attention to gender and age relations. What do men ...Missing: psychological impact
[67]
Antigroping Measures On Japanese Trains Ineffective
Keio Electric Railway Co installed cameras on some of its trains in this past week in an attempt to curb groping. Train groping is a huge problem in Japan.Missing: priority | Show results with:priority
[68]
Insurance Against False Accusations of Groping Proves Popular in ...
Jun 2, 2017 · A Japanese insurer providing coverage for people who want to defend themselves from accusations of groping has recorded a surge in demand over the last month.
[69]
Sharp increase in people taking out 'false groping accusation ...
May 29, 2017 · The insurance firm set up a "helpline for people falsely accused of groping" in September 2015. It was set up as a fringe benefit of a 6,400-yen ...
[70]
Japan men take out 'groper insurance' against sex pest claims
Jun 2, 2017 · The spike in takers for the 6,400 yen ($57) "false groping accusation benefit" plan was triggered by a spate of incidents where men suspected ...
[71]
Japan Weak Men's Center suddenly cancels men-only train event
Nov 10, 2024 · Chikan use the crowded conditions onboard commuter trains as cover for their heinous acts, making it difficult to identify or confront the ...
[72]
Are false accusations of groping (痴漢冤罪) common in Japan?
May 5, 2025 · While there are no official stats on false accusations of chikan, the NPA reports 3000 cases of chikan per year on average, this is only ...<|control11|><|separator|>
[73]
Japan train commuters buy 'groper insurance' to defend against ...
May 30, 2017 · Commuters in Japan are snapping up an insurance policy that promises to provide them with immediate legal advice if they are falsely accused ...
[74]
Beware of false groping charges, rip-off clubs, shakedowns over sex
Mar 22, 2020 · According to the white paper on crime, 10 reports of false accusations were handed over to the police last year. Considering how low the ...Missing: statistics | Show results with:statistics
[75]
Mother of falsely accused groper who killed himself seeks justice
May 12, 2010 · My son insisted he was the victim of an unprovoked attack, but the police interrogated him as a suspected 'chikan' (groper). My son said to the ...
[76]
Professor, schoolgirl share victim status in grope case
Oct 18, 2009 · In the media, however, she became the person who ruined the life of a "distinguished professor" by bringing false charges (enzai) against him.<|control11|><|separator|>
[77]
Guilty and never proven innocent – every male train rider's ...
May 19, 2013 · Getting falsly accused for chikan was one of my main fears when riding trains in Japan. I usually keep both hands raised high while holding ...
[78]
An Examination of Subway Sex Offense Modus Operandi
Dec 2, 2020 · Constructing sexual risk: 'Chikan', collapsing male authority and the emergence of women-only train carriages in Japan. Healthrisk Soc. 2012 ...Missing: groping | Show results with:groping
[79]
Understanding the Perspectives and Experiences of Male ...
Mar 28, 2024 · The majority of admitters expressed regret and sorrows for the victim during the interviews. The role taking in deniers (men who do not define ...Missing: critiques trains
[80]
(PDF) Clothing and Attributions Concerning Sexual Harassment
Sep 8, 2025 · This article investigates the effect of provocativeness of clothing and sex of subject on attributions concerning provoking sexual harassment.
[81]
From Attire to Assault: Clothing, Objectification, and De-humanization
Mar 10, 2017 · Various studies point to how external cues such as appearance and attire could play a key role in encouraging objectification, dehumanization ...
[82]
Women-only train carriages? What a ridiculously regressive idea
May 4, 2016 · These female-only spaces don't improve our society, they create a sense of fear. If women don't feel safe on a train, that's a societal problem ...
[83]
Are women-only cars (WOC) a solution to groping? A survey among ...
Women-only cars are considered a suitable solution to groping, but not as effective as surveillance cameras or increased police patrols.
[84]
A Carriage of One's Own: The Contested Meaning of Women-Only ...
Jul 31, 2018 · As the research investigated, groping on public transportation leads to serious mental problems for victims, and increasing fear will discourage ...
[85]
Japan hopes anti-groping Digi Police app will deter return of train ...
Jul 5, 2022 · But the resurgence of crowds on the commuter network has also meant the return of chikan, train gropers who typically target females.
[86]
JR Central to trial AI analysis of passenger footage on shinkansen ...
Oct 17, 2025 · JR Central said it plans to trial using artificial intelligence to analyze passenger footage from security cameras on Tokaido Shinkansen ...Missing: chikan | Show results with:chikan
[87]
Risk factors of hikikomori among office workers during the COVID-19 ...
Jul 29, 2022 · These results suggest that hikikomori tendencies may increase depressive symptoms. An important finding of this study is that the SRB itself did ...Missing: chikan incidents
[88]
Revised penal code should help in rehabilitation of prison inmates
Jun 14, 2022 · Rehabilitation programs for sex and drug offenders based on cognitive behavioral therapies have become established over the past 10 or so years.
[89]
[PDF] how does group cognitive behavioural therapy prevent sexual ...
Offenders cannot pick up only a sexual offence-related problem to eliminate from their histories or cannot live a future life as if there were no sexual-offence ...<|control11|><|separator|>
[90]
Penal provisions to focus on rehabilitation not punishment
Jun 11, 2022 · The Diet is set to amend Criminal Law provisions for the first time in over a century to emphasize rehabilitation programs rather than outright punishment.