Japanese Women Told Not To Apply Makeup On Public Transport

We might not put it our CVs or make a song and dance about it, but sometimes putting our makeup on during our morning commute (or even before a night out) is necessary. Not to mention a great way to improve our dexterity. But one Japanese rail company, Tokyo Corporation, considers it distasteful and has released a video dissuading people from doing it and shaming women who do, reported the BBC. The video shows two women on a train applying mascara and lipstick. They are interrupted by a watching woman who whispers that what they're doing is "Mittomonai" or "ugly to see", and tells them off. The video, which was released last month, opens with the phrase: "Women in the city are all beautiful. But they are ugly to see, at times". Charming.

It ends with the instruction: "Please refrain from putting on make-up on the train". The campaign has quite rightly got women riled up. Twitter user @ryudokaoruko wrote: "I'd understand if they'd said, if you put make up on the train the powder might scatter, the scent might be strong, things might soil the car or other people's clothing and would cause trouble for others," reported The Japan Times. "But there's no reason I should be told by a rail company whether I look pretty or unseemly," they added. It has since been retweeted nearly 5,800 times.

@tinasuke said: “If the firm wants to clamp down on people who make others uncomfortable, it should create a commercial targeting people with body odors, or people who smell of alcohol or vomit." The video is part of a series released by Tokyo Corporation to raise awareness of passenger etiquette on its trains. Other videos take aim at people using smartphones while walking along the platform, large bags on crowded trains and queue-jumping when boarding a carriage. May we suggest they create another for morons who play loud music through their tinny phones headphones? The media regularly enjoys tackling the questions of Whether It's Acceptable and The Dos And Don'ts of applying makeup on public transport, but really, if you're not harming anyone else or shedding bits of yourself all over the seats, what's the problem?