When a train pulled into JR Odawara Station south of Tokyo on May 11, it was soon discovered that a passenger sitting on a two-person bench seat was actually dead.

In an Asahi Shimbun Digital report it was revealed that Odawara Station staff made the grim discovery at around 7:35 in the evening after the train had completed its last run of the day and was on the way to the depot. Despite calling out to him and attempting resuscitation, the man showed no signs of life.

Subsequent investigations revealed the man had boarded the Shonan Shinjuku line train at Shibuya Station in southwest Tokyo at 8:02 that morning. Over the course of the day the train made multiple trips, travelling over 650 kilometres from Shibuya to Utsunomiya in Tochigi Prefecture north of the capital, before switching lines and heading back south through Saitama, Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefectures towards Odawara.

The train completed its final journey for the day having travelled back and forth a number of times through central Tokyo.

Police have since ruled out foul play, and it appears other passengers assumed the man was merely sleeping as so many do on Japanese commuter trains.

Applying a positive spin to the incident meanwhile, SoraNews24 on July 3, in also reporting the tragedy pointed to the quick turnarounds and minimal checks typically performed on Japan's commuter trains, which famously prioritise efficiency. 

The health and safety of passengers is nominally at least a concern for rail authorities. Throughout any given journey, passengers are reminded in Japanese and oftentimes in English that if they see someone in distress on a train, they should inform the conductor or station staff.

Sadly for the deceased, nobody did.