Japan is introducing a new form of defense. It will be a special umbrella (Source: X/JAPON HOY)
KANSAI – Japan is one of the most populous countries in the world. The daily movement of the population for education or work is many times higher than in other parts of the world. A higher crime rate is also associated with this. The Japanese decided to fight against possible attacks in a very subtle way. All it takes is a modified item that almost everyone carries with them.
Japan has been trying to take various measures to prevent an attack similar to the one that took place on a train carrying passengers from an airport in Japan’s Kansai region near Osaka last summer in July 2023. The knife-wielding attacker then attacked several people, three of whom suffered serious stab wounds.
A new form of protection
West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) therefore announced in mid-October that it will equip its carriages with special objects that will save passengers from being attacked by any sharp object. He writes a diary about it The Mainichi.
JR West is the first railway company in Japan to develop special umbrellas to block attackers with knives and other sharp weapons. Umbrellas are made of a special material through which no sharp blade can penetrate. If necessary, the passenger opens it in front of him and thus creates a personal screen. According to JR West, it is about 20cm more rounded than umbrellas at regular vendors. The goal is to provide protection and the possibility of passengers escaping to safety.
According to the manufacturer, the shape of the umbrella allows for better protection, while also storing better than, for example “mother-in-law” (lances with a sharp blade tipped with a fork, used by samurai – in the Middle Ages, police forces). At the end of last year, this spear was also successfully used against a thief from Tokyo. According to preliminary claims, the new umbrellas will be much more efficient.
“The protective elements and objects that have been deployed so far did not provide a sufficient level of defense. Most of them were heavy and difficult to handle. We made a shield that all our employees can easily grasp,” the railway company JR West commented.
They will deploy it soon
The umbrella weighs about 700 grams, so it is significantly lighter than shields and other similar protective equipment. The mesh fabric also allows the holder to look through the umbrella and track the attacker, he reports The Japan News.
From November, around 600 JR West carriages on the route in the Kinki and Kansai area will be equipped with more than 1,200 special umbrellas. “They can be handled directly in the carriage. In case of emergency, our employees as well as ordinary passengers will be able to use them.” said JR West President Kazuaki Hasegawa.
