A The answer should be phrased, they read on trains and elsewhere because they like to read books and magazi11es, and not because they like to read on trains.

The reason why the Japanese are able to casually read in public is because of the ready availability of various weekly magazines catering to both adults and children alike, and the diffusion of paperback books that can easily fit into a pocket.

Many people eagerly look forward to each new issue of these popular weekly comic magazines. They are snapped up the day they are put on sale and read avidly whether it be by the roadside or on a train.

No matter how congested a train may be, reading a paperback will not inconvenience anyone as long as there is room enough to raise the arms in order to hold the book. Paperback books are inexpensive and contain a variety of genres of quality reading. It is indeed a most useful form of a book.

Recently, many of these books are sold from the onset as paperbacks. It is significant to add that Japan is a safe country even on trains. One can be engrossed in reading and not have any belongings stolen. There are many Japanese who claim they feel more comfortable in the time spent on a train than at home, work or at school.