Seventy-seven gropers (chikan) were arrested on Tokyo commuter trains during a crackdown by the Japan National Police Agency. During the April 15 - 21 effort, 120 officers from the NPA and the Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectural police rode train routes known to attract molesters.

Six people were caught on the Keio Line and JR Chuo Line, the highest number of all the train lines. The JR Saikyo Line, notable for frequent reports of groping, installed security cameras on some trains last year. Five people were caught on the Saikyo Line during the April crackdown. All of the perpetrators were caught in cars without security cameras.

Twenty-six of the 77 victims were high school students and fourteen people were university students. Forty of the victims were between 15 and 19 years of age. Forty-two of the arrests occurred between 7 a.m and 9 a.m.

Fifty-eight of those arrested were charged under the "public nuisances" law. Four of the perps were charged with using a hidden camera to take secret photos in the train. Three were arrested on charges of forced obscene acts in the train car, and one man was charged with indecent exposure in the car.

Eleven people were charged with taking indecent photos of passers-by on escalators and on the stairs on station premises.

Twenty-nine of the 77 had previously been caught molesting train passengers. In one incident, while an officer obtained a description of a suspect from one victim, the officer saw the suspect in the first crime grope another victim in the same car. The suspect was arrested.

The NPA will post police officers on trains to crack down on gropers who target particular victims or stalk women after they get off the train. "If you get groped on a train, please tell the nearest police officer," an NPA spokesman said.

In one groping arrest in February, a 16-year-old girl who was fondled on the JR Takasaki Line grabbed the suspect’s hand, hauled him off the train at the next station, and handed him over to police. The girl is a member of her high school judo team. The 21-year-old perpetrator was charged with public nuisance.

Chikan Densha Otoko 2 Molester Trainman game (Windows PC)

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January
A letter a Kawasaki schoolgirl sent aloft by balloon in 1993 was found fastened to a fish by a fisherman off Choshi port,150 kilometers away from where the balloon was launched.

February
A 39-year-old man wearing a high school girl’s uniform and a long wig loitered near a Saitama high school and was arrested for trespassing and avoiding police by trying to blend into a group of teenagers on school grounds.

March
Cartoon robo-cat Doraemon named Japan’s "anime ambassador".

April
A city council employee in Kinokawa, Japan makes 780,000 hits on porn websites in nine months, on his office computer.

May
Homeless woman lived in man’s closet for year. Disappearing food leads to discovery in home of man who thought he lived alone.

June
Investigation finds "pub cabs" popular as hundreds of government bureaucrats routinely receive free beer, snacks and sometimes cash from taxi drivers competing for late-night business from public servants.

July
Dummy clown mascot "Kuidaore Taro" makes final appearance as 59-year-old Osaka restaurant goes out of business.

August
Wild macaque monkey causes chaos during morning rush hour at Tokyo’s Shibuya station.

September
(1) The Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare plans to set up counters in all prefectures and large cities to offer counseling to "hikikomori" – people who suffer from a kind of agoraphobia and who further isolate themselves from society.

(2) Fifteen officers all fail to realize "corpse" wrapped in plastic found in forest was actually a life-sized sex doll.

(3) Two employees of Japanese confectionery company open can of red-bean paste, notice paste has strange odor, decide to eat some to check the quality, then suffer numbness in limbs, and are rushed to hospital.

October
(1) British tourist swims naked in the moat of Imperial Palace then leads cops on foot chase around palace grounds.

(2) A camera-police-hotline-alarm-equipped Coca-Cola vending machine is installed in a park in Toyohashi, Japan, and is vandalized three days later.

November
Man releases hundreds of beetle larvae inside moving express train "to see women get scared and shake their legs.”
December
Japan police cancel plan to fine drivers aged 75 or older who fail to display a maple-leaf-shaped sticker that indicates to other drivers that they are elderly. Some elderly have said the sticker resembles a dead leaf, and police will also consider redesign of the sticker.

Female attendants on JR Tokai line trains are being issued personal protection cayenne pepper spray devices. The spray mixture causes temporary incapacitation. Female employees who sell food or work as conductors on the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet trains and other Tokai trains are being given the devices. The first JR Tokai female conductors were hired in 1999 and female employees on the trains have since been required to carry personal buzzer alarms. In March and April 2008, two female "green attendants" were assaulted in the Green Car first-class section of late night and early morning Shinkansen trains. JR Tokai has distributed four hundred pepper spray canisters to Shinkansen female staff. The railway company will give the palm-size spray device to a total of 1300 female employees. The Mace-brand Triple Action Pocket product is offered by Mace Security International, Inc. and retails in the US for about USD 15.00, and in Japan for about JPY 2500. It’s designed for use by women. The ingredients contain UV dye that will invisibly mark an assailant. The unit sprays 6-12 feet and contains 5, one- second bursts.

photos: green car; 3 cannisters. video:TBS News

A man who challenged a 1999 groping accusation by a female commuter won his court case against the accuser Nov. 7, 2008. The Japan Supreme Court revoked the charge of "public nuisance" against the man. In September 1999, a woman accused the man of rubbing his groin on her thigh as they stood on the Chuo line railway train in Tokyo. The man was arrested and charged with a crime but denied the accusation. He filed civil lawsuits against the woman. The Nov. 7 TBS Tokyo Evening 5 news program reported on the case. At two points in the TBS video story, computer-generated imagery characters on a train illustrate the woman’s description of being rubbed against from the side. The video depicts a circular and simultaneous up-down motion. The complete CGI scene is at 1:17 in the video.

chuo line photo

One man. One beautiful woman. One Vulcan, a demon and a peon.

This is a two-part story by the creators of Shin Angyo Onshi: Youn In-Wan and Yang Kyung-Il. Vulcan Markovic lives in a small fishing village in Croatia. He has only two things on his mind–designer goods and losing his virginity. When an indescribably beautiful girl shows up asking for directions to Heaven’s Gate, Vulcan takes his first step into "thrilling world-salvation action!!" Synopsis from MyAnimeList:

Let’s Bible forum discussion: ChristianComics.net. Two chapters can be downloaded here Let’s Bible-part1[ETC].zip and here Let’s Bible-part2[ETC].zip. Download links via: Anizeen.com

Experiment Confirms Transparent Swimsuit Concern

Swimsuits that can be "Photoshopped" see-through may distract Japanese Olympic swimmers at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. The Shukan Post quotes a spokesperson for the Japan Swimming Federation. The spokesperson says that following the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, official swimsuit manufacturers were asked by the JSF to "ensure their products would not become see-through when filmed in infra-red." Asics, Descente, and Mizuno are the official suppliers to Japan’s swim team. Speedo’s high tech LZR bodysuit, which the team may be allowed to wear, is also susceptible to digital manipulation. Descente developer Toshiharu Tsubouchi told The Shukan Post the Descente swimsuit utilizes polyurethane for adhesiveness, and adds "depending on the way light shines on it, the color can brown a bit. That may make it look a little bit transparent." He points out a tight fit is essential for athletes, thus some body parts will bulge out more than others. Shukan Post Via Daily Mainichi: Faustian swimsuit gives Japanese swimmers the edge while revealing the points more: Japanese denied ‘high-tech doping’ Speedos Japanese swimmers could do U-turn on bodysuits

Bathing Gapers Sneak Peeks

Mixed bathing at a 320-year-old hot spring is being jeopardized by naked male bathers who stare at the nude females in the onsen. The 260-square-meter bath area at the Sukayu Hot Spring Resort does not have a wall to separate the men’s and women’s sections. Due to recent complaints from female bathers, members of the newly-formed Protect Mixed Bathing Association are encouraging visitors to follow the "no staring" rule. news source

photos: No Staring; Men’s and Women’s sides ; Mainichi; Sukayu Mixed Bath More reading: Sukayu Onsen Ryokan ; Onsen guide ; more Sukayu photos; How To Onsen

A suspect in a crime is identified by name, and employer or occupation, but other people arrested for similar crimes are called only “company employees”( whatever that means.)

In Japan, it seems the employer and occupation are revealed for anyone in a media-related occupation, who is caught driving while intoxicated, or peeping under skirts, or for similar crimes, while the employers of others (excluding celebrities or well-known figures) are not.

Nihon Shinbun Kyokai Canon of Journalism states in part:

Member newspapers should pay utmost respect to the dignity of human beings, put a high value on individuals’ honor and give serious consideration to their right to privacy.

Media outlets in Japan are quick to point out crimes allegedly committed by employees of competing media outlets.

In my opinion, the occupation or employer of people alleged to have committed a crime, should not be reported, unless there is a direct connection to the alleged crime, such as someone accused of embezzlement. In most cases, naming the employer or the occupation of a person who has allegedly committed a crime, is irrelevant.

Some examples for comparison (from English-language media)

(more…)

From stylish Omote Sando in Tokyo, to the far rural areas of Japan, “Watch for Molesters” signs are a common sight. (above: The chikan sign in Omote Sando: “Chikan attention. Immediately call 110”)

[“Watch for Chikan” gallery ]["Watch for Chikan” homemade][Osaka police “Stop Chikan”]

Aichi Police - How to Avoid or Catch Chikan in 10 Easy Steps Miyagi Police Catch a Molester poster. Kanagawa Police Kanagawa penalties: Molestation: 6 months prison or a fine of up to 500,000 yen; voyeurism, spy photos, 1 year in prison or a fine of up to 1 million yen.

Deliveryman Plucks Panties from Packages Osaka - A Sagawa Express driver admitted to stealing womens underwear from five parcels he delivered. The 30-year-old man has been fired and faces charges. SOURCE Taxman Takes Pair of Panties Hamamatsu - A tax collector from the Hamamatsu Municipal Government delivered a tax past-due notice to a woman at her home and stole a pair of her panties while there. The man, 62, admits he took the undies. He faces robbery charges. Police suspect the man may have committed further crimes and are continuing to investigate him. SOURCE Policeman Pockets Panties Tachikawa - A 27-year-old sergeant and member of the Tokyo police riot squad was arrested for stealing a young womans panties. Police say he climbed onto a first-floor apartment veranda, opened a window, and sneaked into the womans apartment. Dozens of women’s undies were found scattered around on the ground outside the apartment. SOURCE Teacher Nicks Former Student’s Knickers Osaka - A teacher at a prestigious private school in Osaka was arrested for stealing four pairs of a former students panties from the womans home.The teacher reached into the open window of the 20-year-old’s home and grabbed the lingerie from a hanger. A neighbor chased and caught him, and held the teacher until the police arrived.The teacher, 52, admits he stole the intimates. He said he’d taught the woman when she was younger, and when he found himself in the area of his former pupils home, he suddenly felt a longing for her, which made him take the undergarments. SOURCE What makes panties so appealing to Japanese men?MODEL