Japanese Men Fight Back!

Fellow Tokyo resident and budding legal scholar Joe and I have previously discussed the legality of women-only train cars in Japan. See Joe’s take on the issue here, or see my own prior posts here and here.

Some background information for those of you new to the subject. In Japan, trains and subways are packed during rush hour. The Tokyo Police Department reported that the number of groping cases rose from 778 in 1996 to 2,201 in 2004. Are Japanese men just that hornier eight years later? Probably not—more likely, women have finally found the courage to speak up (a major concern in the comments section of the previous posts), and technology has paved the way. Cell phones that can send email and take pictures, are excellent tools for proving the charges, finding the culprit, and promptly reporting the offense. 21st century Japanese women have decided that they ain’t gonna take it. This is all welcome news.

But the official threefold increase has motivated the authorities to do something. Forty years ago Japan had women-only cars. Osaka reintroduced them a few years ago and now Tokyo has too. During rush hours, there are now train cars for women only, also known as “pink cars.” Of coure, for all the other commuters it’s a royal pain—the subway cars are cramped enough as it is and now the men are suffering so that women can get all that open space. Plus, isn’t it sexist? Would this survive a discrimination suit in the US? Does it violate Japan’s constitution?

It isn’t just us star students of jurisprudence getting all pissy about this. Take Takahito Yamao—civil rights pioneer—who started an organization to oppose women-only train cars and organize protests to take on this sexist garbage. So far, his group has 46 members.

“This system is discriminating against men… We pay the same fare and yet are labeled as evil persons. Not all men are gropers. This is insulting.”

Preach it, brother!

Yamao and his group make some good points: excluding men from some cars doesn’t eradicate the problem of molestors; trains are packed at times outside of rush hour. Yamao suggests train companies install security cameras inside each car, increase the number of guards on platforms, and give discount tickets during the off-peak hours. Until then, he’s taking his protests to the front lines and defiantly riding the pink car! Rosa Parks, step aside!

So, are the police rushing to arrest him? Not at all: it turns out all the fuss we made over the legality of these things was for naught. Cooperation is voluntary. The pink signs, the broadcasts over the intercom informing commuters of the women-only cars, the entire thing is a charade! Men can ride the pink car as long as they don’t mind ignoring the repeated polite requests from women to leave.

I think American men would see “voluntary” pink cars and ride them just to spite the system. In Japan, such antagonists are few and far between—but at least all 46 of them now have a support group to help them cope with their rebellion against the system.