Train company to deploy Japan’s first ‘blade-proof’ umbrellas against knife attacks

A Japanese train company is gearing up to deploy “blade-proof” umbrellas in response to a knife attack that occurred on one of its trains last year.

Launching the first of its kind in Japan, JR West announced 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 shield 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 shield that offers a critical distance between the holder and would-be attacker. Unlike the company’s current “close-range and heavy” protective shield, 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.