Railway operator’s controversial video takes aim at women who put on makeup in trains
A comical yet sharp-tongued video created by a Japanese railway operator aimed at improving passenger manners is rekindling a debate on whether it is appropriate to apply makeup in trains.
Women in a big city are all pretty. But they can be ugly sometimes
In the video made by Tokyu Corp., a young woman, who presumably had just come to Tokyo from a rural area to study at university, utters a monologue: “Women in a big city are all pretty. But they can be ugly sometimes,” with the camera turning to two other young women applying lipstick and mascara while seated across from her in a relatively empty train.
The young girl then stands up and starts dancing and singing rap music in front of them, with lyrics such as “Why can’t you do that before leaving home” and “Your eyebrows restored and eyelashes multiplied, your transformation is witnessed.”
While she dances fiercely and glares at the women with angry eyes, they continue putting on their makeup nonchalantly as if the girl is invisible. The video ends with the subtitle: “Please refrain from putting on makeup in trains.”
The video is one of four made by Tokyu as part of an awareness campaign on passenger etiquette launched this fall, but only the makeup version has triggered controversy on the internet.
The other three are intended to discourage people from using a smartphone while walking along the platform, jumping a queue to board a train and carrying a large bag on their back in a crowded compartment.
