Clearly, Yokohama doesn’t have Jamaican gangs
The Japanese have a reputation for being well-mannered, but anyone who’s ever caught a train here would know that it’s not always deserved. Finally, though, a railroad operator has come up with an idea to get people behaving properly with the Yokohama Municipal Subway by appointing manner police, who’ll start operating later this month, Yomiuri Weekly (3/23) says.
Each of the 11 manner cops has received formal instruction from a corporate training company, learning the correct manners in addressing people, how to approach to strangers and phrases to use that make it simpler to get a point across to others.
The types of infractions the subway’s manner cops will be on the lookout for include people standing near carriage entrances and making it tough for others to get on or off the trains, those taking up more than one seat and others who are using their mobile phones, including to send e-mail.
Those poor old guys wouldn’t last five minutes here in Toronto. Which is too bad, because we really needd them here.
We could use them down here in Texas also. People seem to be unaware that there is anyone other than themselves on the planet.
Comment by Kevin Lee — April 4, 2008 @ 9:43 pm
Japan may not have uncouth barbarians like street gangs but they do have the Yakuza which is an ancient crime cartel which has coexisted with authority for centuries. The Yakuza have typical Japanese discapline and rules of their craft:
1) they never commit petty crime against any pribate citizen unconnected with their dealings…they stick to high profit invisible crime and only show violence against their own triads as discapinary measures….gratuitous violence or open displays of excess violence to intimidate are thought to be barbaric. They do not make work for politicians and police with open dispalys of violent crime which shock the public and in return the police turn a blind eye to their rackets. These rackets are largely protection and extortion…so the Yakuza are set up to provide protection to clients the police cannot…just don’t miss your payments.
2) any “punk” or unauthorized street gang operating in Yakuza territory is quickly and quietly liquidated…this is why there is an absence of petty crimes like mugging, armed robbery, beatings and rape..entry level free-lancer crimes are not tolerated by the local Yakuza shateigashira…it is not so much the fear of the police…it is fear of the Yakusa which keeps punks in line….the Yakuza like a calm and serene base to operate in where visible crime is nearly non existent….street punks who challenge that unwritten cultural dictate usually end up “disappearing” and the police show little interest in “finding” them.
seems like a system which has served Japan well.
Comment by WL Mackenzie Redux — April 5, 2008 @ 9:15 am
They obviously forget their manners when they come here. Japanese tourists are about as polite as the German ones.
Comment by Stacy — April 6, 2008 @ 9:26 pm