Protecting the safety of passengers without spoiling the convenience of Shinkansen bullet train service -- the difficulty of doing this has been brought into relief by an incident in which one passenger was killed and two others injured by a man wielding edged tools on a moving train.
The culprit is suspected to have slashed at two women and killed a man who stepped in to protect them. It was a tragic incident.
In a police interrogation, the suspect said, "[The target] could have been anyone." About 880 passengers were aboard the train in which the fatal incident occurred. It was a stabbing spree that happened in the confined car space of the train. If the man had not tried to prevent the suspect from attacking the two women, the number of victims would have increased further.
Panic prevailed on the train for a time. Train crew members called out to passengers to remove seats and protect themselves. The chief conductor, using a rolling suitcase as a shield, tried to persuade the assailant to calm down.
A similar case also occurred in a moving Shinkansen train car three years ago when a man burned himself to death in an incident that also claimed the life of a woman passenger. In the wake of this incident, all Japan railway companies promoted installation of security cameras in passenger cabins in addition to train decks.
It can be said that the measure has a certain effect but stops short of preventing criminal acts committed by those who carry hatchets or other dangerous items onto the train by concealing them in luggage, as happened in the latest incident.
If luggage checks as strict as those done at airports are conducted at Shinkansen stations, it would make it difficult to bring weapons aboard the train. But this is an unrealistic measure because it spoils the convenience for Shinkansen travelers. The number of users of Tokaido Shinkansen trains, whose operation schedules are set by the minute, amount to more than a daily average of 460,000.
Bolster surveillance
Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) takes a dim view of adopting a baggage check system. JR Tokai President Shin Kaneko said that the company would "try to ensure the security of passengers in different ways." He mentioned detection of suspicious passengers by making full use of artificial intelligence, among other ideas, as subjects to be studied.
For the time being, there will be no alternative but to strengthen surveillance in cooperation with police by increasing the frequency of patrols at ticket gates, on station platforms and in train cars. If suspicious behaviors or baggage are spotted, station staff or train conductors should check them without hesitation. If passengers spot them, they are called on to report them immediately.
Steady implementation of such measures is called for.
For the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics set for a mere two years away, ensuring security against terrorism and other acts of crime is a top priority. The possibility of danger cannot be ruled out that not only Shinkansen but also public transportation means such as conventional railway lines and subway networks could be attacked. Efforts must be made to bolster the crime prevention system.
On the Sanyo Shinkansen line, a train continued to run after its nose was damaged in a fatal accident. The train's driver noticed an abnormal sound but did not report it and did not conduct an inspection immediately.
The latest incident occurred just after West Japan Railway Co. had announced a policy of confirming safety by stopping a train if something abnormal is detected, a measure taken in the wake of an incident last December in which a crack was found in an undercarriage of a Shinkansen train car.
Railway companies are responsible for protecting the safety of passengers. They are called on to bear this in mind anew.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 16, 2018)
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