Keio Electric Railway introduced surveillance cameras in one of its trains in Japan on Monday in an attempt to combat commuter groping. According to Keio, which runs trains linking Shinjuku with the western Tokyo suburb of Hachioji, four cameras were put in the ceiling of one of the 10-car trains on the Keio Line. The cameras are installed in car No. 6. Keio plans to install surveillance cameras on another train this month. The cameras record images while the train is in operation and could be handed to police as evidence.
The Metropolitan Police Department said 86 known groping cases were reported on the Keio Line last year, making it the worst railway for riders. Keio is the second railway to adopt onboard cameras. East Japan Railway started using them on the JR Saikyo Line in December 2009. Keio is a private railway operator in Tokyo, Japan, and the central firm of the Keio Group. The Keiō railway network connects the western suburbs of Tokyo and Sagamihara in Kanagawa with central Tokyo at Shinjuku Station.