Cameras were installed inside trains, signs were put up. Some of the in-car posters said “Chikan is a crime” and “Beware of chikan“. The first one informs the public not to commit this punishable offence. Last year, Japan’s labour ministry released findings from an unprecedented study, in which, of nearly 10,000 female respondents aged 25 to 44, almost one-third of women said they had been sexually harassed at work, with inappropriate touching being one of the most common problems. Fewer than 40 percent of women took action. Apart from making the badges more widely available, Matsunaga also wants offenders to see them and think: “The world is changing, some people have started talking about it.”

I hear many girls telling me that they have experienced men’s hands under their skirt, and the groper’s fingers in their vagina,” Matsunaga says. “It is rape.”Keep reading list of 4 items list 1 of 4 Pregnant women in peril from Israel’s bombardment list 2 of 4 FIFA bans ex-Spanish FA chief Rubiales for three years over kiss scandal list 3 of 4 Afghan girls rights activist Matiullah Wesa released by Taliban list 4 of 4 Why is Iceland’s PM joining the strike for gender equality? end of list Pre-modern Japan was traditionally less patriarchal, according to Emiko Ochiai, a sociologist and historian at Kyoto University. “In the ancient period, Japan had female kings, but it became rare in the later period. In the medieval period, there were female warriors or generals,” Ochiai says. The round badges, designed to deter gropers, feature illustrations such as a schoolgirl peering angrily from between her legs, or a crowd of stern-looking rabbits and include the messages, “Groping is a crime” and “Don’t do it”. Each comes with a leaflet instructing the wearer to clearly display the badges on their bags, to stand confidently and to be vigilant. Matsunaga decided that Tonooka should not have to fight on her own, so she came up with an idea to involve others by crowdsourcing ideas for anti-groping badges.

Matsunaga says trains display posters telling groping victims to be brave and to speak up. Tonooka started practising saying “Stop it” and “No” at home. She began to confront offenders, who would then angrily deny touching her. Onlookers did not help. Eventually, she and her mother created a label to attach to her bag, which says, “Groping is a crime. I’m not going to give up” and features a picture of policemen catching perpetrators. It worked. There are no accurate figures on the number of victims; only a fraction are believed to report incidents. You can’t blame yourself. We’re trained for things all the time, but when they happen, sometimes you just freeze. Police officers usually decide whether more serious groping-related cases, where the violations include penetration, should be filed under Article 176 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. But just a tiny proportion of the total reported cases get filed under this article. Article 177, which pertains to rape, carries harsher penalties, but its legal definition is extremely narrow and only considers rape to be forced sexual intercourse. My Streets, My Body: How street harassment impacts my weight, my eating habits, my health, DechaniqueThe vision of Japan Truly is to make this accessible to the whole world. Japan, no doubt, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. But a lot of its beauty and essence is lost in translation.

Railway police have also started holding awareness-raising lectures with high schools which have enabled students to feel more comfortable speaking about the issue, Matsunga says.When I was in high school, every [girl] was a victim,” says Ogawa. “[We] didn’t think we could do anything about it.” It would be improper to express anger towards an adult, she thought, and she worried about attracting attention. Besides, her parents had never spoken to her about such things and how she ought to handle them.