These days have seen frequent news reports of elderly drivers losing control of their vehicles, slamming into stores, running over pedestrians and traveling in the wrong direction on expressways.

In one case, on the morning of Oct. 28, an 87-year-old man in Yokohama driving a small truck plowed into a group of children walking to school, killing a first-grader and injuring four others.

Masaichi Goda, who was arrested on suspicion of negligent driving leading to death and injury, had left home in Yokohama in a truck loaded with garbage the day before, and drove across Kanagawa and Tokyo all day, passing his home many times. He reportedly told investigators he "doesn't remember where and how I drove," leading them to suspect he has dementia.