Surprised by behavior around priority seats & elevators in Tokyo — do locals also notice this?

Hi everyone,
I’ve been in Tokyo for a week now with my wife and our one-year-old daughter. We’re absolutely loving a lot of things here, but there’s one aspect that really surprised (and honestly disappointed) us: the behavior around priority seats and elevator access in public transport.

Even when the trains aren’t crowded, we’ve had several situations where people rushed to sit in the priority seats before my wife and daughter could, sometimes even pushing past us. The same thing has happened at elevators — people squeezing in ahead of us despite us clearly having a stroller.

I’m not saying this to bash Japan at all. I’m French, and although the French have plenty of flaws that Japanese people generally don’t, when it comes to priority seating everyone is extremely respectful back home. People almost always offer their seat to someone with a baby, often without needing to be asked.

That said, outside of public transport, most Japanese people have been absolutely lovely with our daughter — smiling at her, waving, interacting with her in the street or in shops. It makes the transport experience feel even more unfortunate in contrast.

I’m wondering: is this something Japanese people themselves complain about? Is it a known issue among locals too?

Thanks for any insight!