Support groups are stepping up efforts to prevent sexual assaults in Kumamoto Prefecture, where they say safety remains a concern in the wake of last month's deadly earthquakes.
Representatives of the groups said they cannot say how many attacks, if any, have taken place since the temblors began. But they are warning that conditions are less than ideal for women, citing the lack of single-sex changing rooms and other privacy issues.
Harmony, a semi-public gender equality promotion center in the city of Kumamoto, has distributed hundreds of fliers in the wake of the disaster. It has done so not only to warn women, but also to raise awareness among those running the shelters, who are primarily men, said Fumiyo Tango, an official with Harmony's general affairs division, said by phone on Friday.