Then, go on the attack. You are perfectly justified to do so.

1. Stab him hard in the foot with your umbrella. (Had to do this once, he winced and got off at the next stop.)

2. If you don’t have an umbrella, stomp as hard as you can on his foot with your heel or shoe.

3. Bash him on the head with your newspaper, magazine or handbag. Or take off your shoe and bash his head with it - a particularly shameful experience for Japanese men.

4. Swing your elbow hard at his solar plexus - the spot just below the sternum or breastbone. This is a vulnerable spot and he may even crumple onto the floor. Leave him there and move away.

5. Swing your elbow at his jaw, but not too hard. Be careful with this one. Too hard and it may seriously sprain or even break his neck. You don’t want to get sued in their country.

6. Slap his face as hard as you can, several times if you can.

7. Punch him around the eye or mouth, so as to give him a black eye or cut lip.

8. Knee him in the groin.

9. Kick his ankle or knee as hard as you can.

10. Grab his hand firmly and twist his arm or wrist till it hurts.

11. If there is space, push him away as hard as you can, and stare angrily at him. Make it obvious to everyone he did something bad to you.

12. Carry a small sharp instrument. Like a large safety pin - good tip, Jennifer. Or a hairpin, mechanical pencil, a key, or even fingernails. Bring it out and use it to scratch his cheek, hand or arm, or to pierce him through his suit or shirt.

13. Take a shot of his face with your cell phone. Show it to the transport staff or the police. If you have time, follow him and see if you can find out where he works, then send the photo to his company. If none of that helps, post the photo to local community forums and networks - both Japanese and English ones.

I doubt that asking for assistance from the people around would help much. Most would not want to get involved, even if they knew what is going on. And it’s become so common, it’s taken as normal, ‘just one of those things’, something you’re expected to bear with.

The aim should be to embarrass them. Don’t feel embarrassed yourself about retaliating. You are the victim.

Being salarymen, they do have a certain image to upkeep. If you draw the wrong kind of attention to them, and do it publicly, they will stop and think twice. Women in general also need to react in this way consistently in order for any real change to take place.

The problem is that too many women let them get away with it, by being too afraid or embarrassed to do or even say anything. Or by being tolerant, longsuffering, polite, demure or ‘nice’.

Such reactions just make them bolder and encourage this kind of perverted behaviour, which is why it is on the increase.

Ladies, be prepared for such incidents. Train yourself to quickly overcome your shock when it happens. Then, ATTACK!

A couple of my Japanese friends said that you are perfectly within your rights to haul off and smack this guy. They even shared stories of how when they were in school they used to carry safety pins in their pockets for the purpose of stabbing the hands of any chikan that might grope them. I certainly hope you never have to go through this again, but if it does here are a few phrases that should at least draw attention to him and shame him.
Kono hentai! = You pervert!
Te dokete-yo! = Take you hand off me!
Sawannai-de! = Don’t touch me!
Kono sukebe! = You freak!
Kitanai! = You’re a dirtbag!
These are much more forceful/harsh then asking someone to stop.
I sincerely hope you never have to use them.

Honestly the best thing to do if you can’t confront him is to enlist the help of somebody next to you.. peer pressure is strong against Chikans here - I have seen men come to the rescue of girls who have been groped.. grabbed the guy and dragged him off the train to the station master for arresting. Most likely the guy will lose his job and be shamed by his family but YOU CANNOT LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT!!

It is not your fault - they are cretins who need to know they cannot prey on people who are too frightened or shocked to cause a scene.

Next time get a pervert but good and you will feel more empowered. IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT!!

I was an exchange student there in 1994 and had something similar happen to me - a guy put his hand down the back of my top and pinned me to him for the entire train trip. I just didn’t know what to do. Luckily he got off at the next stop, and didn’t take me with him.

I also remember being in a department store when an elederly woman came up to me and openly squeezed both my boobs at the same time and squealed “Ookii desu ne!” at the top of her lungs.

I hope you manage to avoid such unsavoury encounters in the future!

As the other posters said, spotting and avoiding problem people is better than retaliation. Once I accidently bumped into a Japanese girl’s butt with my bag in a crowded train and she instantly gave me a look that nearly turned me to stone. She then saw it was just my bag and turned back. But the point is she reacted quickly, confidently and wasn’t afraid that she may have misjudged the bump.

Although a disturbing insight into Japanese culture, like Tim said it really does show the difference between western and eastern culture

Thanks again everyone, It was all very helpful!

try: http://jo-in-japan.blogspot.com/ she’s a friend of a friend..