Photo/Illutration Police officers hand out fliers calling for the eradication of molesters at a subway station in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward in January. (Shoko Mifune)

Police and railroad companies are stepping up efforts to prevent groping and molestation on trains during the entrance examination season by heightening surveillance, patrolling more frequently and increasing public awareness campaigns.

This move is in response to a recent rise in online posts encouraging molesters to target students on their way to exam venues, since the vulnerable students may be less likely to report crimes due to “fears of being late for exams.”

East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) is implementing measures to prevent molestations, mainly in Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture and Saitama Prefecture until Jan. 14, when a unified university entrance exam ends.

The measures include more frequent announcements in trains and stations, and increasing posters and displays bearing messages such as “groping and secret filming are crimes” and “if you see someone being victimized, report it to station staff.”

BOOSTING PATROLS IN TRAINS, STATIONS

The Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation, which operates the Toei subway, will continue a similar campaign until March 10, when the early session individual tests for national and public universities, which are taken by students who passed the unified exam, conclude, and the entrance exams for private universities and metropolitan high schools come to an end.

Station staff will increase their patrols.

JR East has installed security cameras in all of the approximately 8,500 trains running in the Tokyo metropolitan area, including the Saikyo Line, where many groping incidents have occurred.

Some of these cameras can transmit live footage to crew rooms, enabling the train staff to monitor the situation in real time. In other lines, cameras have been installed on newly built train cars in the last five years or so.

“All trains running in the metropolitan area are equipped with emergency call devices and SOS buttons that allow passengers to speak with the crew,” an official of the JR East said. “We encourage those who have been victimized or witnessed groping to utilize these tools.”

West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) makes anti-groping announcements on a regular basis, mainly in the Kinki area.

JR West said it will broadcast more announcements than usual in various areas during the exam season, urging passengers to inform the crew or press the emergency button if they witness groping incidents.

The Fukuoka City Transportation Bureau is also increasing patrols in stations and trains by police officers and employees, as well as making announcements to alert students.

Nagoya Railroad Co. is taking measures on a regular basis to prevent groping by having conductors patrol the trains and making announcements in trains and stations to report any molestation to the staff.

From Jan. 9 to Jan. 14, which includes the unified university entrance exam, the company said it would collaborate with Aichi prefectural police to step up announcements during the morning and evening hours, when many students use the trains.

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