New Delhi: A Japanese company is set to introduce around 1,200 stab-proof, lightweight umbrellas on 600 trains in the Kansai region to boost passenger safety following a series of knife attacks. These umbrellas are about 20cm longer than standard ones, featuring reinforced canopies and thicker handles for enhanced protection, the South China Morning Post reported.
This initiative by West Japan Railway Co (JR West) comes in response to several violent incidents on trains.
Three passengers were injured in a knife attack in July 2023. In a separate incident last year, a 37-year-old man was arrested after stabbing three people on a train in Osaka. The attacker, who was found carrying three knives, was arrested at Rinku Town station shortly after the assault. The victims, including a train conductor in his 20s and two male passengers aged 23 and 79, were hospitalised but did not suffer life-threatening injuries.
According to Mainichi, the blade-proof umbrellas are designed to act as shields in the event of an attack, extending about 20cm longer than regular umbrellas to help create distance between the user and the assailant. The added length of these umbrellas is intended to provide passengers behind the shield extra time to escape to safety.