In America, crime prevention is often synonymous with fighting back with the use of weapons. This facet of crime prevention cannot be found in Japanese culture in which it is better not to make a scene. Instead, innovative Japanese inventions use deception and camouflage to allude potential criminals.

Take for instance Tsukioka, a 29 year-old designer, who unfurls her skirt to reveal a large flap that folds over into a vending machine disguise. By moving off to the side of the street, passer byers do not notice her. The design itself is not yet commercially available, but Tsukioka has already sold 20 dresses at $800 each. The design, Tsukioka states, will ease women’s fears of walking alone on the streets at night.

Another design called the “Manhole bag” prevents the thief from stealing the purse or wallet of the person by unfurling in to a circular manhole duplicate and lying flat on the ground. Again, a sense of deception is at play again.

The article is incredibly interesting since it deals with the cultural, social, and inventive norms in Japan.

-Xavier Duran