Young Japanese women increasingly buying pepper spray
According to a spot on a recent TV show, personal self-defense sprays like mace are selling well in Japan among young woman as people begin to feel unsafe in their lives.
“I keep reading people online talk about how it’s getting more dangerous, so I’m thinking about getting one,” remarks one teenaged girl who was interviewed.
“I think just carrying it will give you peace of mind,” said another female teenager.
Such sprays, known variously as mace or pepper spray, contain a type of tear gas that temporarily blinds an assailant.
The TV report was hardly scientific and did not give any hard numbers, and we don’t have concrete data about who is actually buying the sprays. But an interviewed store manager claimed to be selling significantly more sprays than before, and it stands to reason that young women will be a likely driver of any sales uptick. Some of the sprays look more like fashion accessories than personal defense weapons.
It is not fully legal to carry a self-defense weapon around with you in Japan (don’t conceal it if you want to stay within the letter of the law), but the news is recently full of alarming stories about violent crimes, including by migrants. (Whether or not crime rates are actually increasing is a matter of some debate.)
Given the media onslaught and the growing culture of fear about migrants, it’s little wonder that such anecdotal news reports are also going to increase.
(Hat tip to Eric on X for first posting about this.)
