25 years on, fears of alcohol-linked accidents in Japan linger despite rail safety upgrades

Twenty-five years after the deaths of two rescuers trying to help a drunk passenger at a Tokyo station shocked Japan and spurred safety upgrades, platform doors and other safeguards have reduced alcohol-linked accidents in the capital, but experts say the problem is far from eliminated.“The situation has improved and many stations now have automatic barriers on their platforms to stop people falling onto the tracks,” said Masaki Maezono, a social worker specialising in alcoholism at Kurihama Medical Clinic in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo.“But still there are problems involving drinking and trains, especially in areas where barriers have not been installed,” said Maezono, whose clinic is also the headquarters of the Japan Society of Alcohol-Related Problems.“I think that compared to other nations, Japan’s efforts to prevent accidents linked to alcohol are lagging behind,” he told This Week in Asia.At 7.15pm on January 26, 2001, a man fell onto the tracks at Shin Okubo station, on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district. Two other men on the platform – 26-year-old South Korean student Lee Soo-hyun and Shiro Sekine, a 47-year-old Japanese photographer from Yokohama – jumped down onto the tracks and were attempting to lift the man to safety when they were hit by a train. All three men died.Lee’s efforts have been held up as an example of selflessness that crossed borders and a memorial service was held at Shin Okubo station on Friday attended by South Korean students taking part in a youth exchange programme set up after his death to foster closer bilateral ties.