NISHINOMIYA, Hyogo Prefecture--Police here have apologized for a flier that suggests reserved-looking women and those in revealing clothing are easy targets for gropers and thieves.

Authorities removed remaining copies of the handout from a community hall as of May 22 after complaints from residents.

The two-sided fliers urged women to be careful of appearing as "easy prey" for gropers and bag-snatchers.

One side shows illustrations of two women, one uniformed and the other in a short dress, with the words, "Say goodbye to appearing vulnerable."

The literature also described women "with a submissive demeanor looking unlikely to resist," "standing next to train doors," and "wearing revealing or conspicuous outfits" as potential targets.

According to the Hyogo prefectural police's Nishinomiya station, the Nishinomiya crime prevention association that closely works with police ordered 1,000 copies of the flier in June last year. The flier was chosen from a catalog of samples made by a media company in Sapporo.

Police handed out copies during festivals and fireworks events last summer.

They gave most of the 100 remaining copies to guardians and residents during an event urging safety precautions at an elementary school in their jurisdiction and a few remaining fliers to a community hall.

However, police withdrew copies from the community hall after residents called the police station with concerns.

Fumikatsu Maruyama, deputy chief of the police station, apologized for the flier, saying, “It proved to be a poor choice, as some people saw it as blaming women (for crimes committed against them)."

A 45-year-old woman who took exception to the flier has a junior high school-age daughter.

"Many women, including me, have fallen victim to groping," she said. "Police do not understand our additional frustration when we are blamed for appearing defenseless.

"The flier is also useless, as the suggested countermeasures are poor."

In spring last year, the prefectural police headquarters was forced to delete expressions such as, "Revealing clothes look cool, but gropers also like such outfits" from a section on its website urging caution against perverts following a flurry of grievances over the wording.