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.

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All Nippon Airways has designated one lavatory for exclusive use by women on most international flights.

Men may use the women-only toilet only when there are few female passengers and in an emergency. Men can also use the ladies-only rest room before taking off and landing before the fasten-seatbelt sign is displayed, and when there is an urgent need due to illness. An announcement about a given flight’s toilet-usage is made at the start of the flight.

A 2007 ANA online survey found women do not like using unisex lavatories because men sometimes leave the seat up. Women also expressed displeasure about waiting in line for the toilet with men after airline meals.

ANA says 70% of male passengers it surveyed say they did not mind the ladies-only washrooms, and some men approved because it means less time waiting for women to finish using the toilet. ANA said demand for a lavatory exclusively for women is especially high among passengers taking long flights.

The Tokyo Setagaya-ku Cleaning and Recycling department uses expired departmental flyers for its business cards. The department uses the reverse side of printed material that has been used in the department. The front of the business card contains the usual business card information. On the back of the cards Lets Japan received is a portion of an announcement about the trash collection schedule at the end of the year. The flyer paper is not as heavy as a standard business card, but heavier than a standard piece of paper.

When two employees of the Cleaning and Recycling department presented their business cards to LJ, the employees pointed out the reverse side of their cards.

Funeral-services providers are offering photography services so you’ll have a decent photo to display at your funeral ceremony. Photography studios are also targeting the new funeral-photo market.

A headshot of the deceased is usually on display at the start of funeral ceremonies in Japan. A different photo of the deceased – often a wedding photo – is displayed when the bereaved express condolences.

Kinoshita Inc operates 16 funeral parlors in Fukuoka and Saga prefectures. "Photos are shown at funerals to recall the deceased. If a variety of photos are displayed, participants in the funerals can recognize their personal characters more deeply," Masaru Ishikawa, 56, an executive of the company, told the Asahi Shimbun.

Translation: You have a higher risk of contracting disease as you reach old age. Or contracting a severe illness. You will lose teeth and your face will change. We welcome you to take a vibrant photo at age sixty, in your favorite style. For example, people who like golf can wear golf clothes. Kimono-lovers can wear kimono. And people who like to cook could wear one of their favorite aprons.

This photo studio advises taking a picture every 5 years until age forty, and then every 2-3 years after forty, in order to have an up-to-date photo if you die.

Terukazu Mori, 46, representative director of Kumamoto Resident Funerals, said, "If you prepare the photo (in advance), you can enjoy your remaining life without worry. Taking the photo is one of the things you should do for that purpose."

These suggest you have a picture taken so survivors don’t have to search for a good picture after you’re dead.

photos: Eternal photo; blue kimono; Ikeda Shashinkan; couple; gray suit.