Just over 10 percent of young Japanese, mostly women, have experienced groping in public places, mostly on public transport, according to a survey by Tokyo authorities. The practice is called chikan and has been a problem in the country for years.
Results survey conducted by the Japanese government in February and published in July, CNN describes. It surveyed more than 36,000 Japanese people aged 16-29. It found that one in ten people interviewed (10.5%) said they had experienced groping or other similar indecent acts on public transport and other public places. In 90% of cases, these people were women.
What is chikan – harassment in public places
The practice of groping strangers without their consent in public places is called chikan in Japan. It usually happens on trains, which carry millions of passengers every day and are particularly crowded during rush hour. About two-thirds of respondents said they had been the victim of this phenomenon on a train, during rush hour in the morning or evening. Some said it had happened to them multiple times.
In Japan, however, cases of chikan are rarely reported to the police. According to statistics, almost 2,000 people suspected of such activities were detained in 2023. However, as many as 80 percent of those surveyed admitted that they did not report to the police that they had been groped, which suggests that there may be many more perpetrators and victims. In addition, a significant number of those questioned stated that they did not realize the seriousness of what had happened or thought it was not worth reporting the authorities. “We must continue to educate people that harassment is a serious crime,” the government spokesman emphasized in an interview with CNN.
Chikan has been a problem in Japan for many years. In an effort to combat the phenomenon, for example, train carriages dedicated exclusively to women have appeared in Tokyo. More surveillance cameras have also been installed in trains, at train and subway stations, and the police have increased the frequency of patrols. Posters have also appeared informing about this threat and encouraging people to report the crime.
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