Japan’s safety campaign warns against using phones while walking

Japanese rail company JR East and three mobile phone carriers have launched a campaign in Japan to caution commuters about the perils of walking while using a mobile phone.

Commuters at Shinagawa station, Tokyo. Image by David Pursehouse / CC BY 2.0

The practise of ‘aruki smaho’ (walking with a smartphone) has been blamed for a number of accidents and incidents on train station platforms recently. According to JR East, there were more than 100 complaints about mobile phone users on station platforms in 2014, with issues including being bumped into, fights breaking out, and belongings being damaged due to people not looking where they are walking. Read more: newsonjapan.com