Tokyo cracks down on train gropers

In what is being described as "groping prevention week," Tokyo police have begun a week-long crackdown against the scourge of gropers on commuter trains reports the BBC.

The British broadcaster reports that undercover teams have been deployed in a bid to catch offending gropers on crowded trains.

Last year, over 6,000 people were arrested on suspicion of groping or taking unsolicited photographs says The Times of India.

The online paper also says that a poll conducted recently in Tokyo showed that nearly two-thirds of young women in the city had been groped whilst using public transport.

To combat the problem, the number of police patrolling stations has increased. Police are also handing out leaflets, and undercover teams have been deployed on trains to try to catch gropers in the act.

Local reports say gropers are using the internet to co-ordinate their activities.

Several suspects arrested in recent months told officers they targeted particular train lines because of recommendations they had read on websites says the BBC.