[/floatl]Yomiuri: Female Shinkansen crew to carry pepper spray
Female train crew members on the Tokaido Shinkansen line are each being given a pepper spray to protect themselves after two high-profile assaults on train staff earlier this year, Central Japan Railway Co. said. JR Tokai hopes to finish distributing the spray to its about 200 female crew members, refreshment cart workers and regular railway line staff by the end of this month. The move follows the rape of a female crew member on a first-class JR Tokaido Line train in April and the attempted rape of another in March, the company said. Female employees will be required to carry the palm-sized device, which dispenses an eye-burning pepper spray at the push of a button, while on duty...more...
