Eric Takabayashi wrote:

> Neither could I believe you digging this thread up about what Ernest
> said two years ago.

I was struck by your willingness to accept a sea-change in statistics on
child pornography, and wondered if there was any shift in your perception of
this other issue.

> Why don't you ask him?

This is Usenet. Anyone can comment, me, you, him or anyone else. You were
the one who defended his position so strongly at that time and you are the
one responding now.

> I usually assume people mean what they are saying or telling the
> truth, you see.

Then take a closer look at what I said. It is equivalent to saying, "*If* it
is true that 'in Japan chikan is the rule for men' *then* I have been living
a sheltered life". But since it is *not* true that in Japan chikan is the
rule for men then I have *not* been living a sheltered life. Get it?

> that small and flawed survey agrees with what you believe, yet you
> ignore your other figure.

I think it's more a question of common sense than of belief, Eric. If
millions of women do not use the trains, or only use them infrequently, and
not during the rush hour or late at night, then they are not at a high risk
of being groped on the trains, are they?

By the way, why do you say that survey is small and flawed? Do you have
information about how large it was and what margin of error it has?

I trawled up another very recent statistic, from an article dated February
9th. This time it's a high one:

"A recent survey suggested nearly 64 per cent of Japanese women in their 20s
and 30s had been groped on trains, subways or at transit stations in Tokyo."
(http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=149732005)

I know you'll love that one, but like all the surveys that present figures
of over 50% it leaves me perplexed. Perhaps there's something in the way
these statistics are being reported. Surely it must be "64 per cent of
Japanese women in their 20s and 30s *who use the trains*"? If not, then it's
basically tantamount to saying that *every* woman of that age who uses the
trains regularly is a victim of chikan.

--
John
http://rarebooksinjapan.com