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Many women taking the crowded train in Tokyo opt for women-only carriages during the rush hour to avoid gropers.
Now, for fear of being accused of groping, some are asking for carriages reserved for men as well.
Ten shareholders of Seibu Holdings, which runs trains in the Tokyo area, have petitioned for carriages reserved for men.
"There have been many cases of groping, as well as false charges of groping, on Seibu Railway," the shareholders said in a notice seeking a vote at the company's annual meeting next Wednesday.
"While measures against groping, such as setting women-only carriages, have been effective to a certain extent, no measures have been taken against false charges of groping... In the spirit of gender-equality, a male-only carriage must be introduced."
False accusations of groping were highlighted when Japan's Supreme Court overturned in April the conviction of a professor for groping a girl on a Tokyo train.
Judges pointed out a need to be careful in such cases when the accuser was the only source of evidence, media said.
But the shareholder request for men's carriages may not be implemented, as Seibu's board of directors opposes the idea.
"The reality is that we have few requests from Seibu Railway users for setting up male-only carriages," the board said in its reply to the shareholder request.
In Tokyo, around 2,000 people were arrested for groping in 2007, data from the police showed. Many crowded train lines, including Seibu lines, designate a carriage just for women during the rush hour.
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(Agencies)
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日本許多女性在乘車高峰期乘坐擁擠的地鐵時會選擇“女士專用車廂”，以避免遭到性騷擾。
而如今，一些男性由于擔心遭到性騷擾指控，要求也設立男士專用車廂。
東京地區的地鐵運營商日本西武集團的十位股東已申請設立男士專用車廂。
提出申請的股東們在聲明中說：“在西武地鐵運營線路內，已經發生了多起性騷擾案件，但有些指控純屬誹謗。”他們希望公司在下周三召開的年度會議上對這一提議進行投票表決。
“設立女性專用車廂等防范性騷擾的措施在一定程度上取得了成效，但還沒有防范誣告性騷擾的措施。本著男女平等的精神，必須設立男士專用車廂。”
日本不久之前曾發生一起性騷擾誣告案，一名女孩控告一位教授在東京地鐵上對她動手動腳，日本高級法院于今年4月份駁回了這一起訴。之后，性騷擾誣告引起了人們的關注。
媒體報道稱，法官指出，審理此類案件時必須格外謹慎，因為控方是唯一的證人。
但由于西武集團董事會反對該提議，股東們設立男性專用車廂的要求可能落空。
董事會回應這一申請時稱：“實際上，在西武地鐵線路的乘客中，很少有人要求設立男性專用車廂。”
據日本警方的統計數據，在2007年，東京約有2700人因性騷擾被捕。在乘車高峰時段，包括西武地鐵在內的許多擁擠的地鐵線路都設有一節女性專用車廂。
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“乘地鐵”須知
（英語點津 實習生許雅寧編輯）
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