Chika: Bizarre true accounts of train and street groping in Tokyo, Japan

by Mico Keplar

It is generally acknowledged that there are unusually high incidence rates of molestation in Japan, especially aboard trains and buses but also in pubs and clubs, in the workplace and in the street. Many of these cases go unreported as Japanese victims do not want to draw attention to themselves. In Japan, both the act of groping and the men who commit such crimes are known as 'chikan'. This book’s aim, through a collection of interviews with victims and perpetrators of groping, is to showcase a bizarre aspect of Japanese culture and to show how Japanese people react to molestation, which may seem abnormal to non-Japanese, but unexceptional to them. In this book, you will read about the diversity of molestation in Japanese culture, from the mild to the very bizarre.

255 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2013

Reviews

[DolW · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read an interesting article about chikan and as the book was mentioned at the end, I thought it could be interesting to read more about this serious social issue.

I expected testimonies, but also explanations and a context. None of that, you just have an endless list of different molestation and rape cases. Sometimes, told by the victims, sometimes by the perpetrators. It's very often very disturbing and terrifying. The chapters with the testimonies of the perpetrators pissed me off to no end because so many of them are unapologetic j*rk.

On the other hands, some chapters had nothing to do with Chikan or any street/train groping: one girl was raped at her friend's home and there are a lot of stories about one-night stand in clubs.

seriously, just don't read this book.