Segregation of men and women in trains have been going on because there are women who get sexually harrassed. Trains in Japan could be very crowded sometimes and it leads to such incidents. That is why there was a need for segregating men and women. However, there are other establishments that now offer segregation. Some of these are spas, convenience stores, bars and restaurants, pachinko parlors and sports clubs, companies and so on. The owners of these establishments saw that there is a market for women who just want to relax or just hang out.
With this trend, men have reacted negatively as shown in the survey by AERA. They see it as discrimination. However, an article in Mainichi also pointed out that for businesses, they see that women are perceived to spend well. That is why it seems that this segregation is pretty good for businesses.
There is a dilemma, however, because this could really be seen as gender discrimination. In the case of trains, it is obvious why it should happen that way. Maybe what some establishments could do is try to study both markets and see how they could cater to both. If for example, in their establishment, more women clients prefer to have a time that would like women’s time or a separate section, maybe that is perfectly reasonable. Although there will also be that dilemma when it comes to implementation. There would be clamor for equal rights one way or another.