Fearing Crime, Japanese Wear the Hiding Place

Though street crime is relatively low in Japan, quirky camouflage designs like this vending-machine dress are being offered to an increasingly anxious public to hide from would-be assailants.

Evidently in Japan you can disguise yourself as a Coke machine or a fire extinguisher, or carry a purse that unfolds to look like a manhole cover, all to ward off the ever-present specter of street crime.

TOKYO, Oct. 19 — On a narrow Tokyo street, near a beef bowl restaurant and a pachinko parlor, Aya Tsukioka demonstrated new clothing designs that she hopes will ease Japan’s growing fears of crime.

Deftly, Ms. Tsukioka, a 29-year-old experimental fashion designer, lifted a flap on her skirt to reveal a large sheet of cloth printed in bright red with a soft drink logo partly visible. By holding the sheet open and stepping to the side of the road, she showed how a woman walking alone could elude pursuers — by disguising herself as a vending machine.

Click on the link to read more and view a slide show with more products:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/20/world/asia/20japan.html?_r=2&8br&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

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