Fast Train to Gropeville

2,201 cases of gropings have occurred on Tokyo commuter trains in last year, Tokyo police report. More than half committed during the jam-packed morning rush hour, police said Tuesday.

Groping has long been a problem on Tokyo's crowded subways and other commuter trains. The morning and late-night rush hours are the worst. Passengers are often tightly pressed against each other, a veritabal R.S.V.P. for potential gropers.

Teenage girls, many of them in miniskirt school uniforms, are the most frequent targets, accounting for about one-third of the victims.

Arrested suspects ranged from 14 to 80, with men in their 30s making up more than one-third. Gropers can be imprisoned for up to seven years.

The use of more single-sex train cars has been proposed but the number of cars and service hours are largely limited. While train authorities encourage women to report groping to authorities, many still call it a "nuisance" rather than a crime.