Japan’s famously polite train commuters lose their cool sometimes. There were 825 attacks last year
More than 60 per cent of reported attacks last year involved people who were drunk
Issei Izawa only started university in April, but he already dreads a daily two-hour commute to and from Tokyo that has long been notorious for congestion and discomfort.
To add to those problems, he has been shocked at the violence that appears to have become a daily occurrence.
“I was expecting the trains to be busy and that is unpleasant enough, but I was not ready for the arguments that I have seen,” he said.
“The mornings are not so bad, but something seems to happen every day when I am coming home late at night or after finishing my part-time job.
“Often it is two drunk people pushing each other around on the platform – which can be dangerous – but I also see the station staff being targeted when they try to step in.”
Japan’s commuters have long had a reputation for placidly putting up with their lot on the way to and from work, but new statistics from the transport ministry make sobering reading.