Many women taking the crowded train in Tokyo opt for women-only carriages during the rush hour to avoid gropers.

Now, for fear of being accused of groping, some are asking for carriages reserved for men as well.

Ten shareholders of Seibu Holdings, which runs trains in the Tokyo area, have petitioned for carriages reserved for men.

"There have been many cases of groping, as well as false charges of groping, on Seibu Railway," the shareholders said in a notice seeking a vote at the company's annual meeting next Wednesday.

"While measures against groping, such as setting women-only carriages, have been effective to a certain extent, no measures have been taken against false charges of groping... In the spirit of gender-equality, a male-only carriage must be introduced."

False accusations of groping were highlighted when Japan's Supreme Court overturned in April the conviction of a professor for groping a girl on a Tokyo train.

Judges pointed out a need to be careful in such cases when the accuser was the only source of evidence, media said.

But the shareholder request for men's carriages may not be implemented, as Seibu's board of directors opposes the idea.

"The reality is that we have few requests from Seibu Railway users for setting up male-only carriages," the board said in its reply to the shareholder request.

In Tokyo, around 2,000 people were arrested for groping in 2007, data from the police showed. Many crowded train lines, including Seibu lines, designate a carriage just for women during the rush hour.

日本许多女性在乘车高峰期乘坐拥挤的地铁时会选择“女士专用车厢”，以避免遭到性骚扰。

而如今，一些男性由于担心遭到性骚扰指控，要求也设立男士专用车厢。

东京地区的地铁运营商日本西武集团的十位股东已申请设立男士专用车厢。

提出申请的股东们在声明中说：“在西武地铁运营线路内，已经发生了多起性骚扰案件，但有些指控纯属诽谤。”他们希望公司在下周三召开的年度会议上对这一提议进行投票表决。

“设立女性专用车厢等防范性骚扰的措施在一定程度上取得了成效，但还没有防范诬告性骚扰的措施。本着男女平等的精神，必须设立男士专用车厢。”

日本不久之前曾发生一起性骚扰诬告案，一名女孩控告一位教授在东京地铁上对她动手动脚，日本高级法院于今年4月份驳回了这一起诉。之后，性骚扰诬告引起了人们的关注。

媒体报道称，法官指出，审理此类案件时必须格外谨慎，因为控方是唯一的证人。

但由于西武集团董事会反对该提议，股东们设立男性专用车厢的要求可能落空。

董事会回应这一申请时称：“实际上，在西武地铁线路的乘客中，很少有人要求设立男性专用车厢。”

据日本警方的统计数据，在2007年，东京约有2700人因性骚扰被捕。在乘车高峰时段，包括西武地铁在内的许多拥挤的地铁线路都设有一节女性专用车厢。

Vocabulary:

petition：to make a request, especially formally（请求，请愿）

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