Tweet of the Week #67: Dealing With Chikan

Japan is a safe country. Unless you’re a woman riding on a packed train during rush hour, that is. Chikan (痴漢（ちかん）), or train groping, continues to be a problem in Japan, and Japanese authorities are not doing enough to tackle the issue.

Japan needs to do better to stop chikan

Let’s be clear—sexual harassment on trains is not a recent phenomenon, nor is it limited to Japan. We’d bet the problem can be traced back to when public transportation first became commonly used to commute to work and school. Current statistics indicate women to be the majority of the victims, but public attitudes don’t make it easy for men to speak up after being groped on a train either.

In a culture that values social harmony over individual needs, gropers profit from their victims’ fear of causing a fuss in public.

Japanese victims are speaking-up more than before, but it’s far from being enough. In a culture that values social harmony over individual needs, gropers profit from their victims’ fear of causing a fuss in public.

Over the years, Japanese authorities have only taken halfway measures to deter gropers. Women-only train carriages, poster campaigns, and web applications to call for help discreetly all serve as small bandaids on a nationwide problem.

What can you do if you witness groping on the train? A Twitter Thread

While the authorities run around in circles battling sexual harassment with stickers and comic-style posters, passengers are left with little guidance on how to react when witnessing chikan. The bystander effect is even harder to shake off in Japan, where people worry about getting in trouble for stepping in.

Drawing from his very own experience, Twitter user @keizi666 wrote a series of tweets giving advice on how to safely apprehend a train groper.

みんなに知っておいて欲しいんだけど、目の前で痴漢してるやつを見つけることがあるんですよ。無いと思うでしょ？そのうちあるから。その時に落ち着いて行動して犯人を確保する方法です。
・バレないように現場を写真や動画で抑える。
・必ず顔も映るようにする。
・必ず複数の男性で確保する。
つづく

— マツモトケイジ (@keizi666) January 24, 2020

みんなに知（し）っておいて欲（ほ）しいんだけど、目（め）の前（まえ）で痴漢（ちかん）してるやつを見（み）つけることがあるんですよ。無（な）いと思（おも）うでしょ？そのうちあるから。その時（とき）に落（お）ち着（つ）いて行動（こうどう）して犯人（はんにん）を確保（かくほ）する方法（ほうほう）です。

・バレないように現場（げんば）を写真（しゃしん）や動画（どうが）で抑（おさ）える。
・必（かなら）ず顔（かお）も映（うつ）るようにするるようにするるようにするるようにする。
・必ず複数（ふくすう）の男性（だんせい）で確保する。

つづく

= I’d like everyone to know that witnessing groping right in front of you can happen. You think it doesn’t happen, right? But it does. And when it does, here’s what you should know to stay calm and apprehend the culprit.

• Discreetly take a video or picture of the act.
• Make sure you record the culprit’s face.
• Make sure to have several men around to help apprehend the culprit.

To be continued.

@keizi666 goes on with more crucial pointers on how to ensure the culprit doesn’t get away while avoiding putting yourself in danger.

・確保する時は両腕とベルトを後ろからしっかり掴む。
・スマホを取り上げて、絶対に犯人に返さない。
・被害者がいないと立件できないので被害者にもお願いして来てもらう。女性のケアがあるといい。
・駅員を呼んで警察に来てもらう。
・次の被害を防ぐために、必ず警察に渡す。
つづく

— マツモトケイジ (@keizi666) January 24, 2020

・確保する時は両腕（りょううで）とベルトを後（うし）ろからしっかり掴（つか）む。
・スマホを取（と）り上（あ）げて、絶対（ぜったい）に犯人に返（かえ）さない。
・被害者（ひがいしゃ）がいないと立件（りっけん）できないので被害者にもお願（ねが）いして来（き）てもらう。女性（じょせい）のケアがあるといい。
・駅員（えきいん）を呼（よ）んで警察（けいさつ）に来てもらう。
・次（つぎ）の被害を防（ふせ）ぐために、必ず警察に渡（わた）す。

つづく

• When you apprehend the culprit, firmly hold both their arms and belt from behind.
• Confiscate the culprit’s cellphone and don’t give it back by any means.
• A police case cannot be opened without the victim, so ask them to come with you. Getting help from a woman to take care of the victim is a good idea.
• Call the station staff and get the police to come.
• Make sure to hand over (the culprit and your proof) to the police to prevent future crime.

To be continued.

・しっかりと、大きな声で相手を従わせてください。けっこう言うことを聞く。
・犯人の言い訳は無視。
・会社や学校に遅れるなど、都合もあるかも知れないけど一旦忘れましょう。
・線路に逃げることも考慮し、しっかり確保する。
・ポケットの外から武器の有無も確認。
つづく

— マツモトケイジ (@keizi666) January 24, 2020

・しっかりと、大（おお）きな声（こえ）で相手（あいて）を従（したが）わせてください。けっこう言（い）うことを聞（き）く。
・犯人の言（い）い訳（わけ）は無視（むし）。
・会社（かいしゃ）や学校（がっこう）に遅（おく）れるなど、都合（つごう）もあるかも知（し）れないけど一旦（いったん）忘（わす）れましょう。
・線路（せんろ）に逃（に）げることも考慮（こうりょ）し、しっかり確保する。
・ポケットの外（そと）から武器（ぶき）の有無（うむ）も確認（かくにん）。

つづく

• Make the culprit obey using a firm and loud voice. Quite often they obey to what you say.
• Ignore excuses from the culprit.
• Let’s forget about the inconvenience of being late for school or work for the time being.
• Firmly secure the culprit, taking into consideration that they may escape on the railway tracks.
• Pat the outside of their pockets to check for weapons.

To be continued.

Following with a few more tweets,@keizi666 emphasizes how we should always be on the lookout and anticipate these incidents. Anticipation is key to keep our cool and gather evidence. Getting proof is also very important to avoid false claims and protect both the victim and yourself.

Stepping in is hard, but next time you witness a groper, do something about it.

Vocabulary

Prepare yourself for what may come with the expression ておく

Japanese doesn’t really have tenses, right? That’s why you’ve got grammar books filled with phrases like ておく, to learn how to nuance your speech.

The expression “verb te form + おく” conveys that you’re acting or will act, with the future in mind. You’re anticipating future circumstances or actions. It might help to know the verb おく means “to place”.

寝（ね）る前（まえ）に、明日（あした）着（き）る服（ふく）の準備（じゅんび）をしておきます。

= Before I go to sleep, I prepare my clothes for the next day.

マスクが売（う）り切（き）れる前に、買（か）っておこう。= I’ll buy some masks before they’re out of stock.

そのままにしておいてください。= Please leave it as it is (so you can pick up where you left off in the future).

A final and particular usage of the expression, one that you may hear a lot if you’re an anime aficionado, is やめておく(shortened to やめとく in casual speech) which means you’re giving up doing something.

しばらくは飲（の）み会（かい）はやめておきます。= I’ll stop going for drinks for a while.

Additional vocabulary

For more on learning Japanese