据日本新闻报道，日本现在正在进行一项运动，试图在2020年东京奥运会和残运会前，改变在自动扶梯上站在一侧、让出另一侧让有急事的人先行的根深蒂固的礼仪习惯。该项运动已经渗透到全日本的公共交通中，敦促人们在搭乘自动扶梯的时候并排站着，并且扶住两侧的扶手。这将提高自动扶梯的运输效率和安全性，更为长者和残障人士提供了方便。日本呆难题协会称2008年至2009年自动扶梯因不当使用导致的事故数量从674总增加到2013年至2014年的880宗。江户川大学文化人类学教授Masakazu Toki表示，这种站在自动扶梯一侧的做法是沿袭了二战时期英国就开始了的“旧习”。他认为，新办法能够“让每个人都感受到搭乘自动扶梯的安全”。

　　　EFFORT TO CHANGE ESCALATOR ETIQUETTE UNDERWAY IN JAPAN

　　An effort to change the ingrained custom of standing on one side of an escalator to allow others to pass is underway in Japan ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, The Japan News reports. Taking place at public-transit facilities across Japan, the campaigns urge people to stand side-by-side and hold both handrails. This, according to the campaigns, enhances both safety and efficiency, not to mention accessibility for elderly and handicapped passengers. The Japan Elevator Association says the number of escalator accidents caused by improper usage increased from 674 in 2008-2009 to more than 880 in 2013-2014. Masakazu Toki, a professor at Edogawa University, describes the custom of standing to one side as a “relic of years past” that started in England during World War II. The new approach, he says, “makes anyone feel they can ride escalators safely.”