Women-only passenger car

] Keio began running trains with late-night women-only cars on a full-time basis in March 2001. [cite web
url = http://www.keio.co.jp/english/company/pdf/keio_ar_2001.pdf
title = Annual Report 2001
format = PDF
publisher = Keio Electric Railway Co., Ltd]

In July 2001, JR East began a similar service on Saikyo Line, which connects Tokyo with Saitama Prefecture and had become notorious for gropers because of crowding and longer distances between stops. [cite news
title=Guys locked out as services suck up to gals
url=http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/archive/news/2001/07/20010721p2g00m0dm999000c.html
publisher=Mainichi Daily News
date=2001-07-21] cite news
title=Lechers give Saikyo Line worst rap for Tokyo trains
url=http://www.asahi.com/english/nation/TKY200502090143.html
publisher=International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun
date=2005-02-09] The following year, the service was extended to evening rush hour.In July 2002, JR West became the third company in Japan to start running trains with women-only cars, and the JR West trains in Osaka became the first to offer women-only cars during morning rush hour. [cite news
title=JR West begins women-only cars in Osaka
url=http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/221301
publisher=Japan Today
date= 2002-07-02] The same year, two more Osaka-area railways, Hankyu Railway and Keihan Railway, added women-only cars to their limited express trains, and Hankyu became the first company to run women-only cars all day long.cite news
title=Japan - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2002
url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18246.htm
publisher=US Department of State
date= 2003-03-31] Other Osaka-area companies followed suit, including Osaka Municipal Subway, whose Midosuji Line, which carries passengers at as much as 160 percent capacity, had a reputation for having the worst groping problem in all of Japan.cite news
title=Women-only carriages prove no haven from hostilities
url=http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/archive/news/2002/11/20021107p2g00m0dm999000c.html
publisher=Mainichi Daily News
first=
last=
date=2002-11-07]

Tokyo-area companies resisted the change because of logistical difficulties and fear of overcrowding in mixed-gender cars, but in 2005, they introduced women-only cars during rush hour, after awareness campaigns and tougher sentencing proved ineffective.cite news
title=Persistent gropers force Japan to introduce women-only carriages
url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/05/15/wjap15.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/05/15/ixworld.html
publisher=The Daily Telegraph
first=Colin
last=Joyce
date=2004-11-24]

Reaction

Women-only cars have received positive reaction from some men and some women. Women cited safety from gropers, as well as not having to tolerate various smells. [cite news
title= Women-Only Cars on Commuter Trains Cause Controversy in Japan
url= http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/35/11500
first= Emi
last= Doi
publisher=Knight Ridder
date=2005-05-30] Men cited not having to worry about false accusation of being a "chikan". [cite news
title= Japan Tries Women-Only Train Cars to Stop Groping
url= http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/International/story?id=803965&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
first=
last=
publisher=ABC News
date=2005-06-10]

However, riders complained about further overcrowding in mixed cars, and feared that women who ride mixed cars would be putting themselves at more risk than before.

Visually-impaired people have been reported to be facing embarrassing experiences with these cars, unknowingly entering a car and being warned by other passengers. Some train companies in fact allow people with disabilities to ride women-only cars, but this is little known to the public.

References