On April 1, Aichi eased cycling regulations to let tandem bicycles use public roads, becoming the first prefecture in the Tokai region to do so.
Previously, tandem bikes were only ridable in parks for leisure purposes. The change is expected to greatly benefit people with impaired vision, allowing them to pair up with others to take long rides.
On April 9, two men in their 60s were riding a tandem bike in a park in Kariya. Sitting in the front was 65-year-old Tadao Takahashi, a bicycle mechanic from the city. Behind him sat Hiroshi Yamada, 69, a cram school teacher from Nagoya who is completely blind.