Asia-Pacific
Noise irks Japan's commuters
(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-16 09:53
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TOKYO: Taking the train in Japan and want to avoid annoying fellow passengers? Keep conversation to a whisper, turn down your iPod and put your cell phone on vibration mode, a recent survey by the railway association showed.
Many foreigners who ride on Japan's vast network of subways and commuter trains complain about the pushing and shoving that accompanies getting into the train and the reluctance to give up seats for senior citizens and pregnant women.
But for Japanese commuters, noise is the biggest issue, with loud conversation and music from headphones the top two offenders and cell-phone ringtones in fourth place, the survey by the Association of Japanese Private Railways showed.
Applying make-up ranked as the sixth-biggest breach of rail etiquette, worse than being drunken, which at number 9 just edged out bringing strollers onto crowded trains.
Here are the top 10 examples of bad rail manners according to the association's online survey, with responses from about 4,200 people:
Noisy conversation, horsing around
Music from headphones
The way passengers sit
Cell-phone ringtones and talking on phones
Pushing, shoving when getting on and off trains
Applying make-up
Littering
Sitting on the floor of the train
Riding the train drunk
Riding a crowded train with a child in a stroller
Reuters
