There are differences between men and women in Japan. This post I want talk about the differences of treatment for male and female customers in Japan.
Japanese women are often thought as inferior than men that they are weaker and do not know how to protect themselves properly. Thus, external methods are needed in order to protect women. Many train lines in big cities in Japan provide “Ladies Only Compartment” during rush hours in order to protect women being sexually harassed by Chikan. Because of my gender, I cannot go into the “Ladies Only Compartment”. But one of my friends told me her story providing that “Ladies Only Compartment” really helps protecting women. “There was one night I was in a hurry so when I arrived the platform, I rushed into a normal compartment with a lot of Salarymen. But then, there was a mid-aged man started trying to talk to me and asked me if I want to drink with him. I didn’t answer him but then he started touch my body and so I got off the train immediately in the next station”, she told me. Truly, Japan is famous of having so many cases of sexual harassment in trains so “Ladies Only Compartment” can prevent women from Chikan.
Another example of difference of treatment for men and women is the case of “Capsule Hotels”. “Capsule Hotels”, as its name said, are hotels that providing capsules for customers to sleep. However, most of such kind of hotels only accepted men. “Is this sexual discrimination?” I asked the bell boy when I stayed one capsule hotel in Okayama during the winter break. “No. It is because the capsules we provide to customers have no lock and closed-circus television inside, it may be dangerous for women as someone can get into their capsules and do something bad to women, then we will be in big trouble”, the bell boy said. That is the reason why most of the “Capsule Hotels” accept only male customers.Besides these two facts, there are still many examples showing the difference between men and women in terms of treatment, like Ladies’ Day in cinemas and night clubs. The sexual difference in Japan may be more than what you thought.
Service Hours of "Lady Only Compartment"
Instruction "Lady Only Compartment"
Capsules without any locks in a “Capsule Hotel”
It has only one cloth to cover your capsule
I too am troubled by these gender segregated places. It is as if Japanese society has given up on solving the problem and just accepted the fact that men are sukebe/chikan and women need protection. I'd like to read more of your ideas on this subject.
ReplyDeleteThere is no gender discrimination with the way capsule hotels are operated. The capsule hotel is a very intelligent idea for such crowded and congested super-cities such as Tokyo. However, what people need to understand about them with regard to why men and women have separate living quarters is the fact that the capsule hotel does not offer the same types of protections that a regular hotel with a separate room and locking door would offer. Therefore, it is only a matter of common sense to mandate the need to have men and women sleep separately, as in different buildings. I don’t understand why this is a difficult concept to grasp. It is done for the reasons of security not arbitrary discrimination of the sexes. One can only imagine what might happen if men and women were allowed to bunk together. There would be rampant sexual assault and rape that would ensue.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, Japan has not given up on solving anything. People from the West, particularly the United States with all of our freedoms, amenities, and luxuries that cause us to become spoiled, seem to have the hardest time understanding Japanese customs and lifestyle choices. Westerners need to realize that life is different in Japan.
I too am troubled by these gender segregated places. It is as if Japanese society has given up on solving the problem and just accepted the fact that men are sukebe/chikan and women need protection. I'd like to read more of your ideas on this subject.
ReplyDeleteThere is no gender discrimination with the way capsule hotels are operated. The capsule hotel is a very intelligent idea for such crowded and congested super-cities such as Tokyo. However, what people need to understand about them with regard to why men and women have separate living quarters is the fact that the capsule hotel does not offer the same types of protections that a regular hotel with a separate room and locking door would offer. Therefore, it is only a matter of common sense to mandate the need to have men and women sleep separately, as in different buildings. I don’t understand why this is a difficult concept to grasp. It is done for the reasons of security not arbitrary discrimination of the sexes. One can only imagine what might happen if men and women were allowed to bunk together. There would be rampant sexual assault and rape that would ensue.
Therefore, Japan has not given up on solving anything. People from the West, particularly the United States with all of our freedoms, amenities, and luxuries that cause us to become spoiled, seem to have the hardest time understanding Japanese customs and lifestyle choices. Westerners need to realize that life is different in Japan.