Japanese ‘groper insurance’

In Japan, where train travel can often be a perilous ordeal for women, an insurance company is reporting a sudden run on a policy that protects men falsely accused of groping. The spike in takers for the 6,400 yen ( US$ 57) ‘ false groping accusation benefit’ plan was triggered by a spate of incidents where men suspected of molesting female commuters fled the scene along the railway tracks. Japan has made efforts to tackle the problem of rush-hour sex pests with posters on trains and television campaigns, while railway operators provide women-only carriages for the busiest times of day. But the plan, devised by the Small Amount and Short Term Insurance company in 2015, covers legal costs for policy-holders who find themselves on the wrong end of such a charge. It was initially set up as a fringe benefit under which fees for any legal consultation, including domestic or traffic accidents, were covered, Japan’s Mainichi newspaper reported. But the firm’s helpline service — which alerts lawyers practicing in the vicinity of the alleged groping incident — has proved a hit with customers. Contracts for the policy, which hitherto totaled less than 50 a month, have soared to several hundred in the past month.