I will not cry myself to sleep. Inspired, Ms Matsunaga launched a crowdfunding campaign in to create badges with the same message. Recent years have seen a flurry of innovations in the fight against groping— chikan in Japanese—in addition to the many train services that offer carriages which only women can use, or have installed ceiling cameras in the hope of catching molesters on film. Since its launch in August, cases have been reported across Japan. Please help. There were 2, reported cases of groping in Japan in , mostly in Tokyo.

In light of the metoo movement making traction in Japan, we reached out to seven women who shared their first-hand accounts of dealing with assaults and harassment on Japan's rail system. They shared their stories hoping that it will help destigmatize the issue and bring it to the forefront of public discourse. In early April, a video of a foreign man groping a woman on a Tokyo train was shared around various online Japan communities and networks, inciting outrage and disbelief. Over the years, Japan has continued to try and find ways to fight the issue. More recently, a number of other anti-chikan initiatives have been put into place, including pervert branding stickers put into place by the Saitama Prefecture Police department, and popular warning badges, which were created by a year-old high school student.

Sexual harassment on public transport has become such an issue in Japan that women are having to turn to technology to prevent it. Groping is an all too common occurrence across the country in the day-to-day lives of women; so much so, in fact, that women-only train carriages were introduced nearly two decades ago to combat the issue. Recently, a video put together by American technology company Vocativ highlighted the ongoing dangers faced by Japanese women each day while drawing attention to the app and its uses. The shocking footage collated a number of clips showing various different men sexually harassing and assaulting women on public transport, in complete disregard of the women and in full view of other passengers.

Please refresh the page and retry. A dmit it: you think you know what a groper looks like. You probably think you could spot one a mile off. But now, briefed by the lead detective, I looked around me.