Japan survey finds 1 in 6 men groped on Tokyo public transport, defying gender assumptions
Experts say the 15.1 per cent figure is striking and a reminder that women are not the only targets of molestation on public transport
While women are disproportionately affected – 54.3 per cent reported being touched inappropriately on public transport in the same survey – the 15.1 per cent figure for male victims challenges long-held assumptions that such assaults almost exclusively target females.
“I am very surprised by the 15 per cent figure,” said Takayuki Harada, a professor at the University of Tsukuba’s Institute of Human Sciences. “Similar surveys in the past by the Japanese government about people’s experiences on public transport have consistently reported much lower figures, usually around 5 per cent and never above 10.”
The findings are part of Tokyo’s ongoing research into sexual assaults on public transport, an initiative launched in 2023 to better understand the scale of the problem.
Earlier surveys suggested that around 20 per cent of women and fewer than 10 per cent of men had experienced molestation, making the latest increase striking for both groups.
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Harada, who has spent more than two decades working with sexual offenders in prisons and mental health clinics, says several factors may explain the rise.