TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have launched an intensified crackdown on train gropers, kicking off a dedicated awareness campaign at JR Shinjuku Station to eradicate the crime, reports Nippon News Network (June 1).
On the 1st of the month, police officers, joined by local students, distributed flyers to commuters at the bustling transport hub, actively appealing to the public to help stomp out chikan (groping).
According to the police, Tokyo recorded 667 reported groping cases last year, with approximately 70 percent of those incidents taking place inside train carriages.
To combat the high rate of transit-based assaults, authorities are strongly urging the public to utilize “Digi Police,” a smartphone security app that allows victims to notify surrounding passengers that they are being groped without having to vocalize their distress.
Through June 15, the “Intensified Chikan Countermeasure Period” will include uniformed and plainclothes officers stepping up patrols and heightening vigilance inside stations and on trains.
“Groping is a serious crime that tramples on an individual’s dignity,” said Yuriko Ueki, head of the department’s Community Safety General Affairs Division. “If you become a victim of a groper, we want you to ask for help from those around you without hesitation.”
