Man in Japan yells at woman taking phone call on train, presses emergency stop button & causes train delay

Man in Japan yells at woman for taking phone call on train & presses the emergency stop button

An elderly man in Japan decided to press the emergency stop button during a train ride after his confrontation with a woman over her phone use turned sour.

According to J-CAST News, the incident occurred on 5 Nov at around 9pm.

Argument over phone use on train

In a clip that was circulated online, an elderly man with grey hair can be seen yelling at an elderly woman in the priority seat across from him. Eyewitnesses said the confrontation initially stemmed from the woman taking a call on the train.

In Japan, making a phone call while on the train is considered disrespectful.

Despite the elderly man’s insistence, the woman continued her phone call. This prompted the man to begin expressing his dissatisfaction by banging his suitcase on the train floor.

At one point, the woman directly told the man to shut up, which incensed him further. A middle-aged man then stepped in to try and de-escalate the situation.

He told the elderly man to calm down and also requested the woman to put away her phone.

Escalation causes train delay

Despite the man’s best efforts, the confrontation escalated. The woman decided to call the police and the elderly man activated the emergency stop button.

When the conductor arrived to investigate, the elderly man explained the situation to him. After the train arrived at its next stop in Mejiro Station, the pair disembarked along with the man who intervened.

Witnesses reported that the pair continued to argue on the platform.

In response to media inquiries, JR-EAST confirmed that around 9pm on 5 Nov, a train bound for Mejiro Station was delayed by around 5 minutes.

However, they were unable to confirm whether the emergency button was pressed or whether the police were called.

Also read: ‘Don’t give birth again’: Elderly woman tells off pregnant lady who refused to give up seat on Taiwan train