Mind the gap — and the shoulder checking: Dealing with pushy people in 麻豆传媒 crowded spaces

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Mind the gap — and the shoulder checking: Dealing with pushy people in 麻豆传媒 crowded spaces

Tokyo’s notoriously crowded trains and train stations can be stressful for many. Unfortunately, the ぶつかり男 (butsukari otoko, bumping man) takes his stress out on others through shoving, elbowing and shoulder checks. | GETTY IMAGES

By Yuko Tamura
Contributing writer

Jan 31, 2025

If you’ve taken a rush-hour train in any major Japanese city, you’ll likely had the experience of 身体的接触 (shintaiteki sesshoku, physical contact) — which can lead to flared tempers.

For the past few months, however, social media has been abuzz with more serious cases of intentional 衝突 (蝉丑ō迟辞迟蝉耻, crash/collision) and 体当たり (taiatari, bodycheck/body slam) assaults by men in station precincts. In such cases, the victims of such incidents are most often 女性 (josei, women), while the attackers are usually 中年男性 (chūnen dansei, middle-aged men).

These 体当たり happen so frequently that the men involved have acquired a nickname: ぶつかり男 (butsukari otoko, bumping man) and ぶつかりおじさん (butsukari ojisan, bumping middle-aged man).