Japan, again

Man oh man, I love those crazy, mixed up islands floating out there in the Pacific Ocean that the world knows as Japan:

Did you just grope me? Shall we head to the police? That's the message women are flashing on their cell phones with a popular program designed to ward off wandering hands in Japan's congested commuter trains.

"Anti-Groping Appli" by games developer Takahashi was released in late 2005 but has only recently climbed up popularity rankings, reaching No. 7 in this week's top-10 cell phone applications list compiled by Web-based publisher Spicy Soft Corp.

The application flashes increasingly threatening messages in bold print on the phone's screen to show to the offender: "Excuse me, did you just grope me?" "Groping is a crime," and finally, "Shall we head to the police?"

Users press an "Anger" icon in the program to progress to the next threat. A warning chime accompanies the messages.

The application, which can be downloaded for free on Web-enabled phones, is for women who want to scare away perverts with minimum hassle and without attracting attention, according to Takahashi's Web site.

I don't know if pepper spray is legal in Japan, but I guess it would be problematic to unleash a cloud of the stuff in a crowded subway car. It's an interesting cultural difference, though, that Japanese women would want to "scare away perverts with minimum hassle and without attracting attention," whereas American women are taught to make noise and attract people's attention when something like that happens. Notice also how polite even the "angry" message is: "Did you just grope me? Shall we head to the police?" If it didn't involve sexual assault, I'd say that was cute.