Japan has long taken pride in its world-class rail system. Trains enjoy a prominent role in its culture from the Shinkansen to Kenji Miyazawa's "Ginga tetsudo no yoru" ("Night on the Galactic Railroad") to Hitori Nakano's "Densha otoko" ("Train Man"). So it is hardly surprising for strains in Japanese society to appear there as well.
On July 7 it was announced by 25 railway companies that attacks on rail employees nationwide had increased for the third year in a row, to a new high of 869 cases in the last fiscal year, compared to 554 in 2004. Traditionally train companies have hesitated to get tough with unruly passengers but are increasingly calling in the police. In order to call attention to the problem, 74 railway companies throughout Japan kicked off an anti-violence campaign on July 15.
Almost 60 percent of those violent cases involve alcohol; it seems that drinking serves to release bottled-up frustration and stress. In one such case, a drunken Tokyo career bureaucrat was arrested on July 6 at JR Shin Osaka station for hitting the station employee who came to help when his ticket became jammed in the automatic ticket gate.