All-men carriage would have been group’s first exterior of Tokyo.
Many commuter practice strains in Japan function trains with women-only carriages every day through the morning and night rush hours, as a countermeasure towards gropers, or chikan, as they’re referred to as in Japanese. Chikan use the crowded circumstances onboard commuter trains as cowl for his or her heinous acts, making it tough to establish or confront the perpetrator earlier than they exit the practice and make their escape, and so women-only automobiles are supplied as an possibility for feminine passengers who really feel extra comfortable with no males of their neighborhood.
Nevertheless, a non-profit group referred to as the Japan Weak Males’s Middle has, for the previous couple of years, organized a men-only practice. The group insists that this isn’t a type of protest towards women-only practice automobiles, having beforehand issued a press release establishing its opinion on the matter as “Ladies-only automobiles are completely crucial in order that they’ll really feel safe and secure whereas using. Such automobiles must be offered not simply at rush hour, however always.” As a substitute, the professed aim of the Japan Weak Males’s Middle’s men-only practice initiative is to boost consciousness that males too could be victims of groping and different types of sexual harassment or assault, in addition to the possibly ruinous results of being falsely or mistakenly accused of groping.
The Japan Weak Males’s Middle’s men-only trains run in November, in recognition of Worldwide Males’s Day on November 19. Since that is an occasion organized by the Middle, and never an official coverage of the rail operator, technically the men-only trains are trains which were rented out of their entirety by the Middle, which then invitations events to journey the carriage without cost. The Japan Weak Males’s Middle has additionally beforehand mentioned that regardless of the “men-only” designation, in fact anybody is welcome to journey (offered there’s area on the practice), as long as they’re sympathetic to the group’s trigger.
The primary 4 iterations of the November men-only trains have been all on the Sakura Tram, also referred to as the Toden Arakawa Line, a streetcar line that runs within the northwest nook of Tokyo’s downtown space. Because of a scheduling battle, although, this yr the Japan Weak Males’s Middle was unable to hire out a complete carriage throughout their desired timeframe. So as a substitute, in September they contacted a rail operator in Osaka Metropolis, making the choice to run their first men-only practice exterior Tokyo.
Initially, the group’s utility was accepted by the rail operator, which runs a streetcar community, however in October the operator contacted the Japan Weak Males’s Middle and mentioned the group wouldn’t be allowed to hire out a practice. The Middle had been braced for this, as an analogous scenario had occurred when it utilized to run its first men-only practice in Tokyo, requiring compromises and changes equivalent to an elevated safety employees presence. After renewed negotiations with the Osaka rail operator, the Japan Weak Males’s Middle was as soon as once more granted permission to hire out a practice for his or her men-only journey, on the next three circumstances.
● The Japan Weak Males’s Middle is prohibited from mentioning the rail operator’s title in selling the occasion.
● The show of “men-only” indicators or placards contained in the carriage is prohibited.
● Media organizations are prohibited from taking pictures or movies of the practice inside through the occasion.
That first situation may sound like a whole deal breaker, however it’s truly not as massive a problem because it appears. In its announcement for the occasion, the Middle merely instructed anybody wishing to journey its men-only practice to satisfy at a pedestrian bridge close to JR Tennoji Station on November 17 by 12:45 p.m., the place occasion organizers would give tickets to the primary 30 folks to point out up (keep in mind, technically the Middle is renting out the whole practice, so from the rail operator’s viewpoint, it’s already getting paid straight from the Middle). After assembling, the group would stroll to the equally named close by Tennoji-ekimae Station and catch the 1 p.m. practice sure for Hamadera-ekimae Station, the place the practice would then make a U-turn and are available again to Tennoji-ekimae Station, with the entire journey lasting about two and a half hours.
▼ Rail route from Tennoji-ekimae Station to Hamadera-ekimae Station
Nevertheless, on the night time of November 5 the Japan Weak Males’s Middle immediately introduced, via its Twitter account, that “the Osaka men-only practice occasion deliberate for November 17 has been cancelled,” and that additional particulars concerning the circumstance of the choice might be mentioned at a later time.
As of this writing, it’s unknown whether or not the choice was made by the Japan Weak Males’s Middle or the rail operator, however it’s fairly clear that the rail operator doesn’t need its title related to the occasion. The one rail line connecting Tennoji-ekimae Station and Hamadera-ekimae Station, although, is the Hankai Uemachi Line on the Hankai Tramway community, operated by Hankai Tramway Co., Ltd., so it’s not like the corporate was going to have the ability to fully disassociate itself with the occasion.
▼ A Hankai Tramway streetcar
【夜のモ504号車】
夜の早い時間ですが、いつもの帰り道横を走行していました🚋
前照灯、明るいですね💡#阪堺電車 pic.twitter.com/zIpgk4dW5B— 阪堺電車【公式】 (@hankai_official) October 15, 2024
In the meantime, for the Japan Weak Males’s Middle’s half, not having the ability to showcase pictures and movies of the occasion limits its effectiveness as an awareness-raising initiative, so it’s potential that each side got here to see that they weren’t going to have the ability to work with one another and mutually determined to name the entire thing off.
Supply: Sankei Shimbun by way of Hachima Kiko, Twitter/@jwmc_or_jp
Prime picture: Pakutaso
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