Japanese to Enforce Railway Etiquette

The Japanese are introducing a "manners squadron" to the Yokohama underground railway network. The unit's main duty is to ensure that any seats taken by young, healthy individuals are offered to those who really need them.

Known as the Smile-Manner Squadron, they have been hand picked from a wide field of raw recruits aged 30-80 years old, although the average age is said to be 60. The officers will have no legal authority nor powers to issue fines. Their success will depend entirely on the high visibility of their bright green uniforms, their capacity to charm or shame their quarry and their security guards.

The waning of Japanese manners has been noted by many prominent psychologists; Taizo Kato, of Waseda University, said that the Smile-Manner Squadron "symbolises the collapse of the Japanese mentality, and shows that we have reached a point where citizens are not aware of basic human manners".