For most people, the end of the year is a time for making merry. For the nation's railroad employees, who have to deal with those merrymakers, it is a nightmare.
Incidents involving drunk passengers usually peak in April and December. April, the start of the fiscal and academic years, is a season of parties for college and company freshmen, while December brings the traditional round of "bonenkai" yearend parties.
At stations operated by East Japan Railway Co. in and around Tokyo, more than one worker was beaten or kicked every two days by drunken passengers in fiscal 1999.
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