Escalators have been banned in Saitama Prefecture for a year. Actually. Because after a short phase of discipline, people have long since returned to jostling. Why doesn’t the proven Japanese principle of “harmony through obedience” work here?
from
Thomas Hahn, Omiya
The next probation for Japan’s strictest escalator regulation is approaching. A Tobu Noda Line train from Chiba has arrived in the basement of Omiya Station in Saitama Prefecture. Like a timed race, the first passengers rush through the exit barriers and onto the escalators that lead up to the station concourse and JR line interchanges. Nothing seems to be able to stop the arrivals. They want to get to their destination as quickly as possible. They hurry up the moving steps, past the sign that reminds them of their duty to be patient.