From the No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Department: A man in Japan was branded a “pervert” because of the manner in which he provided emergency medical assistance to a woman who had been involved in a traffic accident and had no pulse. What was the not-so-good Samaritan’s offense? In order to apply the electrode pads of an automated external defibrillator (AED), he had to cut away the woman’s blouse, exposing her bare chest.
Japan Today explains:
An Automated External Defibrillator … analyses the rhythm of the heart and, if necessary, delivers an electrical shock to help it return to normal. AEDs are provided in public places and are designed to be operated by members of the public, even those with no medical background.
[…]
An AED … requires direct contact between the pads and the skin. Any clothing which is in the way must be removed.
The AED kit even included scissors for this purpose. But when the man began cutting away the woman’s top, horrified eyewitnesses ordered him to stop, calling him hentai, which translates to pervert. Several phoned the police to report a chikan (sexual molester). The man was ultimately taken to the station for questioning.
If the behavior of the Japanese strikes you as prudish, you are likely to be baffled by the seeming mixed signals implicit in this story and the release in September in Japan of a sex assault video game that comes complete with fake breasts for users to fondle.
