Saitama Mayor Hayato Shimizu, right, is seen handing out flyers calling for people to stand still on escalators, in the city of Saitama's JR Urawa Station on Sept. 27, 2021. (Mainichi/Mineichiro Yamakoshi)
SAITAMA -- Stop right there!
That's the message Saitama Gov. Motohiro Ono and city of Saitama Mayor Hayato Shimizu were trying to get across on Sept. 27 as they passed out flyers to morning commuters at JR Urawa Station in this city's Urawa Ward, about Japan's first ever non-binding local ordinance urging people to stand instead of walk when riding escalators. The prefectural ordinance is set to go into effect on Oct. 1.
Gov. Ono called for people to pay attention on escalators and prevent accidents caused by walking up or down them, saying, "It's not just elderly people and individuals with disabilities who get hurt. Every year many people are involved in accidents." He also referenced the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games to state that "everyone's consideration is needed for us to live alongside each other."
The ordinance enacted in March, which loosely translates to "ordinance relating to the promotion of safe use of prefectural escalators," carries no penalties, but states that people are obligated to stand while riding escalators. It also requires entities managing the escalators to urge people to stand still when riding them. Saitama Prefecture's initiative is the first in Japan to codify rules on standing on escalators in an ordinance.
But even as Gov. Ono and Mayor Shimizu were stood beside escalators and handing out flyers, many individuals could be seen walking up one side of them. Railway companies and others have long called for safe usage of the escalators, but the practice has yet to catch on.
Speaking to a group of reporters, Gov. Ono said, "Walking on them has become a customary thing, and a quick change seems difficult to achieve, but I want to make the Saitama standard better known."
(Japanese original by Mineichiro Yamakoshi, Saitama Bureau)
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