Japan Train Molester Arrested After Climbing “Unclimbable” Fence
Fortunately, police caught him a month later. Sadly, too many other molestation cases in Japan end in silence.
By Francesca Annio
When foreign visitors first arrive in Japan, one of the things that catches their attention is women-only train cars. The reason behind them is startling: the rampant issue of “chikan” (molesters or sexual offenders) on crowded trains. This unsettling reality is still a common part of life in Japan and often makes headlines.
Escape, followed by an arrest
In June, at Osaki Station in Shinagawa Ward, surveillance footage captured a tense scene: a man climbing over the tracks’ fence, hurriedly retrieving something from the ground, and sprinting off. That man, 54-year-old chef Toshihiko Nojiri from Yokohama, had just been caught red-handed as a chikan (痴漢) — a molester.
His victim, a woman in her twenties, courageously grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the crowded JR Yamanote train where he had just molested her. Despite her brave attempt to drag him onto the platform and call for help, Nojiri seized the chance amid the…
