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April 25, 2024
 

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TRAFFIC

Takuya Matsunaga reads a reply from Kozo Iizuka, imprisoned for killing Matsunaga's wife and daughter in 2019 in a high-profile accident in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district, at his home in Tokyo earlier this month.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 19, 2024
Five years after fatal Ikebukuro crash, bereaved man works to prevent repeat
A man plans to meet with the driver who accidentally killed his wife and young daughter, hoping to learn what went through the driver's mind.
Police officers issue a warning to a person riding a modified bicycle during a traffic crackdown conducted in Tokyo's Nakano Ward in December.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 17, 2024
Police report surge in moped and powered bicycle violations
When questioned, many riders claim to be unaware of the requirement for a license to operate such vehicles.
Tesla says that Autopilot enables its vehicles to steer, accelerate and brake automatically, but that the system’s features require "active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous.”
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 9, 2024
Tesla settles over fatal Autopilot crash on eve of trial
The case centered on a 38-year-old Apple engineer whose Model X veered off the highway and slammed into a roadside barrier on his way to work.
People ride bikes without wearing helmets in Tokyo in March 2023, just before a law revision over helmet wearing on April 1 that year.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2024
One year after road law revision, few cyclists in Japan wear helmets
The helmet wearing rate among cyclists killed or injured in accidents between April and December 2023 was 14.7%, the National Police Agency said.
Tourists ride go-karts on a street in Tokyo's Asakusa area in October.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 19, 2024
Tokyo go-karts draw over 100 complaints in 2023
Common grievances include riders exiting karts at traffic lights for photos and disregarding red lights, according to the police.
In 2019, Japan tightened penalties for the use of smartphones and other mobile handsets while driving.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2024
Record high number of distracted drivers causing death or serious injury
In 2023, 25 incidents were fatal and 97 caused serious injury, with about 10% of drivers using mobile phones to talk and 90% looking at screens.
Police stations in Tokyo's Minato Ward hold a cycling safety event in Tokyo in August.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2024
Japan to introduce 'blue ticket' fine system for cyclists
Fines are expected to be between some ¥5,000 ($33) and ¥12,000, the same as those for traffic violations by motorized scooter riders.
The Tokyo High Court ruled that there was a causal relationship between Kazuo Ishibashi’s driving and the fatal crash that followed, upholding the Yokohama District Court’s findings and 18-year prison term.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 26, 2024
Tokyo court upholds 18-year prison term for driver over 2017 road rage
Kazuho Ishibashi had deliberately slowed down his vehicle in front of the victim’s car on an expressway, resulting in its rear-ending by a truck.
A car is seen wrecked near the Todaiji temple in the city of Nara on Sunday after its 79-year-old owner mistakenly hit the accelerator and hit two people, including a man from Taiwan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 25, 2024
Elderly driver fatally hits Taiwanese tourist near UNESCO temple in Nara
The driver, who runs a nearby souvenir shop, admitted to mistaking the accelerator for the brake pedal.
Kenya's Kelvin Kiptum wins the 2023 London Marathon on April 23, 2023. Kiptum and his coach were killed in a car accident on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Feb 12, 2024
World marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum dies in traffic accident
World marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum and his coach Gervais Hakizimana died in a traffic accident on Sunday.
The Aichi Prefectural Police department holds an event in Nagoya in December to advocate safe electric scooter riding.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 9, 2024
Nagoya man arrested on suspicion of hit-and-run with electric scooter
According to the police, the suspect went the wrong way down a one-way street and hit a 47-year-old man, breaking his collarbone and ribs.
A railway crossing in Japan. A railway crossing gate in Osaka city opened before a train passed through on Tuesday, scraping a car that had proceeded to cross.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 7, 2024
Train scrapes car in Osaka after railway crossing gate opens prematurely
No one was hurt in the incident, which was caused by stray bolts causing a malfunction of a system that detects approaching trains.
A minibus that crashed into a telephone pole in Kasuya, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Thursday
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2024
20 people injured in southwest Japan bus crash
The 13 women and seven men were taken to a hospital following the accident at around 6:30 a.m. They were all conscious and did not have life-threatening injuries.
American President Joe Biden hugs Brittany Alkonis after giving a State of the Union in February. The wife of jailed U.S. sailor Lt. Ridge Alkonis ran a successful pressure campaign to get her husband released from a Japanese prison into American custody. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 24, 2024
Japan owes no apology for U.S. Navy officer’s treatment
The case of Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis is a divisive one, which both the U.S. and Japanese governments have tried to keep quiet about.
Police officers hold a traffic safety lesson for e-scooter users in December 2022 in Tokyo's Meguro Ward.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 24, 2024
E-scooter traffic violations rise fourfold in Japan
Reports of traffic violations totaled 1,879 in the month of December, a significant increase from the 405 cases reported in July of last year.
A screen next to a police station in the city of Okayama featuring a road safety campaign video in November.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2024
Japan sees rise in traffic deaths for first time in eight years
Japan still saw the third-lowest death toll on record, with data dating back to 1948.
Police officers explain bicycle rules during an event in Tokyo last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 21, 2023
Police panel proposes fines up to ¥12,000 for cycling violations
The agency hopes to finalize a proposal at a meeting of the panel in January and submit a bill to parliament next year to amend the Road Traffic Act.
U.S. President Joe Biden hugs Brittany Alkonis, wife of Lt. Ridge Alkonis, on the day of the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in Washington on Feb. 7.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 15, 2023
U.S. Navy officer jailed in Japan transferred to U.S. custody
Lt. Ridge Alkonis has been serving a three-year prison term since being convicted of negligent driving over a fatal car crash.
The site in Furano, Hokkaido, where a tractor trailer hit a bus on Friday. Twelve people were injured.
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2023
Foreign tourists among 12 injured in Hokkaido bus accident
The driver of the bus and nine foreign nationals were sent to a hospital, but their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
Police officers examine the site of a car crash in a square in front of the Hitachi municipal offices in Ibaraki Prefecture on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 7, 2023
Suspect in Ibaraki car crashes admits involvement, citing grudge
The vehicle that was rammed into a square in the city of Hitachi had the suspect's mother in the passenger seat at the time of the incident.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
Over 40% of Japan's municipalities at risk of vanishing, study finds
Of 1,729 local municipalities nationwide, 744 have been identified as being at risk of disappearing.
Tokyo issues strong warning on yen intervention as currency dips further
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks during a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok on the sidelines of IMF and G20 meetings in Washington last week.
Princess Aiko makes debut at imperial garden party
Princess Aiko attends an imperial garden party in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japan's former PM Aso meets Trump for talks on security and economy
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Taro Aso, vice president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in New York on Tuesday. The Japanese government’s top spokesman on Wednesday played down the meeting as one conducted "in the capacity of one lawmaker" and “without the government’s involvement.”
New workers name Shohei Ohtani as 'dream boss' for two years running
Shohei Ohtani has been overwhelmingly voted as the “dream boss” for people who started working in April, according to a survey.
A craft beer crawl through Tokyo’s top bars, brewpubs and dives
If all you drink is Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin, you're depriving yourself of some of the best craft beer Tokyo has to offer — and there sure is a lot of it out there.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
Tsukiji 2030s: A stadium, culinary center and transportation hub
A computer-generated image shows redevelopment plans for the former site of the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo.
Hearing the impact of climate change in Okinawa, one bird call at a time
Toshihiro Kinjo (center), a research support technician at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, inspects an audio recording device in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on April 3 as Masako Ogasawara, a research support specialist at OIST, looks on.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima
Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima

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