TOKYO - Nearly 64 percent of Japanese women in their 20s and 30s participating in a survey said they've been groped on trains, subways or at transit stations in Tokyo, according to a news report Tuesday.
Groping has long been a problem on Tokyo's crowded commuter trains and subways, particularly during rush hour.
In recent years "women only" cars have been used in December, when trains are often packed with drunken male office workers on their way home from company parties.
Gropers can be imprisoned for up to seven years or fined up to $485. But few victims report such crimes, either because they are ashamed or because they do not think they will be taken seriously.
The survey by the Tokyo metropolitan government and railway operator JR East showed that in most cases women fled or tried to stop the groper with a rebuke, a slap, or by covering themselves with a bag. Some unable to act simply endured the unwanted fondling, the national Yomiuri newspaper reported Tuesday.
Asked how officials could stop the groping, a majority of women polled favored dividing train cars by gender, according to the paper.
Tokyo and JR East officials questioned 632 women from the beginning of November; 403 responded. As is customary with polls in Japan, no margin of error was given.
Officials involved in the survey couldn't be reached for comment.
Groping has long been a problem on Tokyo's crowded commuter trains and subways, particularly during rush hour.
In recent years "women only" cars have been used in December, when trains are often packed with drunken male office workers on their way home from company parties.
Gropers can be imprisoned for up to seven years or fined up to $485. But few victims report such crimes, either because they are ashamed or because they do not think they will be taken seriously.
The survey by the Tokyo metropolitan government and railway operator JR East showed that in most cases women fled or tried to stop the groper with a rebuke, a slap, or by covering themselves with a bag. Some unable to act simply endured the unwanted fondling, the national Yomiuri newspaper reported Tuesday.
Asked how officials could stop the groping, a majority of women polled favored dividing train cars by gender, according to the paper.
Tokyo and JR East officials questioned 632 women from the beginning of November; 403 responded. As is customary with polls in Japan, no margin of error was given.
Officials involved in the survey couldn't be reached for comment.