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A Japanse train company is gearing up to deploy “blade-proof” umbrellas in response to a knife attack that occured on one of its trains last year.
Launching the first of its kind in Japan, JR West anounced on Thursday that it will distribute 1,200 “blade-proof” umbrellas beginning in November to its 600 trains in the greater Kansai area. Three people, including two passengers, were reportedly injured in a knife attack on the Kansai Airport Line in July 2023, prompting the company to create a sheild that can be used to deter assailants. A 37-year-old man, identified as Kazuya Shimizu, was arrested for the attack.
The upcoming umbrella is made with a special material resistant to blades and is held like a sheild that offers a critical distance between the holder and would-be attacker. Unlike the company’s current “close-range and heavy” protective sheild, the umbrella is more compact, lighter and easier to store.
“They can be operated to some extent inside a carriage and are strong. In the event of an emergency, we want the crew to respond and have the passengers evacuate safely,” JR West President Kazuaki Hasegawa said.
Trending on NextShark: Train company to deploy Japan’s first ‘blade-proof’ umbrellas against knife attacks
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