A Japan Talk podcast listener named Billy wrote in to let us know about a post he did in May of last year about an experience he has apprehending a chikan at a Tokyo train station. I found the story pretty amazing and Billy kindly gave us permission to reprint it here.

You can check out Billy’s blog here.

Chikan!

On my way back from work today, I passed through a very busy train station in Ikebukuro. While switching trains, I noticed a woman chasing after a man and pulling at his arm. They were yelling at each other and making a scene, but none of the hundreds of people around them seemed to take notice or even care… I thought I should do something.

I ran to them and asked the woman if she was ok… she told me she wasn’t… at this moment the man broke free from her grip and ran through the crowd to the exit. I took off after him and dragged him back to the woman. since my Japanese is terrible, I was looking for someone to help, but only a couple of people came, and no one spoke English. One of them, another woman, told me the man was a chikan.

Chikan is a Japanese word that means “molester” or “pervert.” It’s a big deal and very serious to accuse someone of being one. It is often used to describe men who take advantage of crowded places, like the train, to touch women sexually. I’ve been told that being labeled a chikan can ruin ones life.

I was not there to see what happened, and didn’t know if the woman was telling the truth or not, but all I kept saying was “lets go to the police” in Japanese. The man was shaking and the woman kept yelling, but no one was moving towards the police station. Eventually the man pulled out about $60 from his wallet and gave it to the woman. That seemed to satisfy her, and she let him scurry away. She turned to me and offered about $10, but I didn’t take the money…

Honestly… The whole money exchange bothered me. From what I understand, chikans are a serious problem in Japan. so much so, that they even have “women only” cars on some train lines during rush hour. While this constant molestation is a problem, most women don’t even press charges. Many don’t even say anything at all! um… yeah… of course it’s a problem…

These women need to stand up and say something… But, there is another problem… This woman was doing just that, but no one seemed to care. If I wasn’t there to grab this guy, he would have just ran away.

Well… Actually… He still did just run away… And that’s what bothers me. The fact that this woman just took his $60 means that if this man really is a chikan, he got away with it… and cheaply too. He might be back in another train right now grabbing another woman…

Sadly, the cycle continues.