Man sparks backlash after walking through women-only train car in Japan

An Australian man is being slammed on TikTok, after filming himself walking through a women-only train carriage in Japan.

In a 21-second TikTok video, which has amassed 2.2 million views, vlogger ShearingShedVlogs wanted to share what “shocked [him] as an Aussie in Japan.”

The tourist recorded himself walking onto a train carriage intended for women only, with big pink signs written in English and in Japanese. “It’s like Saudi Arabia in here,” he said, looking less than impressed.

As he walked through the car, he filmed several female passengers who appeared somewhat uncomfortable with his presence. “I am the woman inspector, checking there’s only women on this carriage,” the TikToker said in the clip.

“This ‘women-only’ carriage is the last thing I would expect to be seeing in such a free country like Japan,” he wrote in the video caption, adding that it and reminds him of something he would see “in a country with strict segregation rules.”

The controversial clip has since sparked outrage on TikTok and other social media platforms, with many blasting the tourist for being invasive and comparing women-only train cars to segregation.

“It’s not segregation it’s for women’s safety and guys like you are why they exist,” one user wrote. “You have bad manners for not respecting Japan traditions, you are embarrassing yourself,” another said.

“How dare you invade a safe space for women. Do you not even know about the sexual harassment suffered? It’s like toilets, stay out,” someone else added.

Sexual harassment in Japanese trains, also known as “chikan,” continues to be an ongoing problem in the country. According to a 2019 survey conducted by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, it was reported that 47.9% of the women polled had been touched inappropriately on a train.

Japan first introduced women-only cars in December 2000, in response to female commuters’ complaints about groping by drunken men during the bōnenkai party season.