Chikan (body contact)

Chikan (痴漢, チカン, or ちかん) is a Japanese term for sexual harassment or other obscene acts conducted against the victim's will, or a person who commits such an act. The term is frequently used to describe men who take advantage of the crowded conditions on the public transit systems to grope women and occasionally also men. While the term is not defined in the Japanese legal system, vernacular use describes acts that violate several laws. The corresponding neologism referring to female molesters is chijo.

In clinical psychology, the desire is called frotteurism. While women on crowded trains in Japan are the most frequent targets of chikan, sexual predators in Japan can take advantage of people in other situations as well. One such situation (warned against in the sign pictured) is bicycle parking lots, where a molester will wait until a victim is bent over, unlocking their bicycle lock, and then grope them from behind. Chikan often features in Japanese pornography, along with other non-consensual themes. As part of the effort to combat chikan, some railway companies have designated women-only passenger cars.

In FY2024, there were 2,254 arrests for molestation, of which 1,321 were in stations and trains, and 1,203 arrests for voyeurism, including 1,000 on escalators and stairs in stations. Victims of molestation may be inhibited from reporting their victimization, psychologically unable to ride the train, and other ongoing harms.