Escalator etiquette
This is a Tokyo Transit Manners Post that began appearing in metropolitan subway stations in October. I took these pictures on Monday, October 7, 2019 after noticing the poster on the previous Wednesday.
I don't like this poster, which is appearing in some commuter train stations. The Japanese government has taken it into its head to try to force (encourage) people not to walk on escalators. I mean, not to pass on the right, which is the side people pass on here, but to have people stand still as they ascend the escalator. Ideally, I suppose the expectation is for people to stand side-by-side. The reason is that they think foreigners don't walk on the escalators and that walking on the escalators is a Japanese thing that will look badly to foreigners during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. But, predictably, it is being framed as bad manners - as a safety and courtesy issue, an attempt to shame Japanese into a new behaviour. And shame is a powerful force here. I disagree with it because I do not agree that standing side-by-side translate into quicker ascension of greater numbers of people, which is the purpose of walking and passing on the right in the first place.