Umbrella Defense

An umbrella is essential during the rainy season for obvious reasons: people don’t want to get wet in a heavy downpour.

Like Filipinos, the Japanese carry umbrellas during typhoons. It doesn’t matter if their feet are submerged in floodwaters, as long as their heads stay dry, that’s good enough.

However, the Japanese have found a new function for the ubiquitous rain shield, which comes in handy for train commuters. West Japan Railway (WJR), for instance, uses this innovative umbrella for its crew and passengers.

Starting in November, WJR will equip about 600 trains running on conventional lines in the Kinki region, which includes Osaka and Kyoto, with two such umbrellas in each crew cabin, according to the Straits Times.

Each umbrella is about one meter long and has a diameter of approximately 1.1 meters when opened. It’s not intended to protect passengers from a leaky train roof, though.

The umbrella, made of a special fabric, was inspired by the July 2023 attack on two passengers on a JR Kansai Airport Line train in Osaka Prefecture.

“We’ll make additional efforts to improve the safety of our passengers ahead of next year’s Osaka-Kansai Expo,” a JRW official told Japan News.

The special umbrella, when opened, is covered with a material that cannot be cut by blades, shielding anyone from a knife attack.

The mesh fabric also allows the holder to see through the umbrella and keep an eye on the assailant, according to the Straits Times.