Over 60 percent of train travelers in Japan have been left annoyed by the behavior of foreign tourists on trains and at stations, according to a recent survey.
The annual survey on the manners of travelers on trains and at stations in Japan, conducted by the Japan Private Railway Association, found 62.9 percent of respondents to have felt annoyed by the behavior of foreign tourists.
“Loud conversation and boisterous behavior” topped the survey’s ranking of annoying behaviors experienced by train travelers at the hands of foreign tourists.
“The way of carrying and storing luggage” and “the way of moving through station facilities,” including blocking passages and not paying attention to the flow of foot traffic, ranked second and third respectively, among the options available.
It’s the first time for the behavior of foreign tourists to be targeted in the survey. As demand related to foreign visitors to Japan grows, the association said it included the question with an eye toward the implementation of education about etiquette.
A train passes through Tokyo’s Shinjuku district on Jan. 22, 2025. (Kyodo News Plus)
Passengers coughing or sneezing without consideration of their surroundings topped the survey’s overall ranking of the most annoying behavior experienced by travelers on trains and at stations in Japan. Selected by 50.5 percent of the respondents, it is the first time for such behavior to have topped the ranking since the association began conducting the survey in 1999.
An increase in the number respondents who feel anxious about the spread of infectious diseases is believed to be behind the high ranking as more passengers are boarding trains without wearing face masks following the lifting of COVID-19-related travel restrictions, according to the association.
Commuters wear face masks on a train in Nakano Ward, Tokyo, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo taken in May 2021. (Kyodo)
Coughing and sneezing ranked ahead of the “inconsiderate ways passengers occupy seats on trains,” selected by 31.9 percent of respondents. “Loud conversation and boisterous behavior” (29.2 percent), “strong scents,” from perfumes, cosmetics, and other products (26.3 percent), and “conduct faced when boarding and alighting trains” (23.8 percent) completed the five most annoying behaviors, among the options available.
The way passengers occupy their seats and conduct faced when boarding or alighting trains remain perennial causes of irritation for train travelers in Japan, often to be found in the top three of the ranking.
Passengers stretching, crossing, and spreading legs (“spreading” included in the survey wording for the first time), and taking up more space than necessary were by some distance the main issues related to seating, according to the survey.
Passengers blocking doors and refusing to move further into the middle of carriages was the most popular choice related to conduct faced when boarding or alighting trains.
The survey was conducted online in October and November, with the aim of improving manners at stations and on trains.
Of the survey’s 5,314 respondents, 17.5 percent said they felt that manners had improved compared to the previous year while 47.4 percent felt that they had worsened.
This article was submitted by a contributing writer for publication on Kyodo News Plus.
AloJapan.com