19-year-old arrested over hit-and-run death of 22-year-old student in Tokyo

RIP

So much potential snuffed out by one irresponsible idiot

Your fate will be determined by what measures you take after the accident.

Man, i ride a bike everday and so do a millon other people , that sucks , god bless his soul, when he got on his bike he never knew it would be his last, i always have that thought in my head

It's quite depressing to see how often hit and runs occur in Japan. The driver was probably drunk too.

Rest in Peace, young man. I hope the police catch the scumbag who did this - he or she is not fit to live in a society having zero respect for human life. This young man would possibly be alive if quick medical help had been rendered.

night time footage could prove difficult to catch the plate number. may he RIP!

@JA_Cruise

The traffic cameras have impressive resolution levels... even in night time. It is a matter of time for the driver to get caught.

@Disillusiones I get you, it does look lilke Japan has a lot of "Hit and run" death toll... but if you think of it, you know about this hit and runs because it becomes news..... in other parts of the world, hit and run accidents are only part of statistical numbers that never (or hardly) get media attention.

Um, Daniel, that is not correct. Hit and runs are always reported on the news cos it's such a cowardly scumbag act.

Hit and runs are always reported on the news cos it's such a cowardly scumbag act.

Umm, no. News isn't reported based on how it registers on some arbitrary "cowardly scumbag" meter. News generally becomes news because it's unusual and/or noteworthy, not because it's, umm, "scumbaggy."

Daniel may be correct in that these types of traffic fatalities are more widely reported in Japan than in other countries correct because of their rarity. Overall, Japan's traffic fatalities per capita are lower than those of other wealthy nations, particularly those with strong driving cultures like the USA. In fact, it's almost half the average rate of 8.9 per 100,000 for wealthy nations at 4.8 deaths. The overall worldwide average number of deaths per 100,000. You're less likely to die on the roads of Japan than in 166 countries in the world that have reported traffic fatality statistics.

Additionally, the number of pedestrian-related traffic fatalities in Japan has dropped some 31% over the last decade, from 1,157 for in 2004 to 790 in 2003. Pedestrian deaths from hit-and-runs aren't increasing. They're decreasing.

One thing I don't like about living in Hachioji is that it is a college town. Every Fri/Sat/Sun night is like spring break. The streets and the station are packed with coed party-goers. The next morning, there are guys sleping in various public places, and you have to pay attention where you step because of the vomit puddles.

...they have arrested a 19 year old man.

...the suspect, who cannot be named because he is a minor.

Then they shouldn't refer to him as a man then. Neither chronologically nor mentally.

...the suspect, who cannot be named because he is a minor.

The media and the police has to stop using chronological age as an excuse to hide identity, especially a irresponsible criminal like this. If he is old enough to drive and kill another person while doing it, he is old enough to to be identified

Oops, I mean "sleeping". Guess I should have checked before hitting the submit button.

LFRAgain, unfortunately fatality figures in Japan are based on a death certificate being issued on the same day as the accident, making them completely meaningless by international standards. If someone is hit by a car and dies two days later when the machine is switched off, they officially died of natural causes, so we have no idea what the true figure is. We do know the figures more than halved in 1977 when the way of compiling the figures was adjusted to boost Japan's growing auto industry though.

Police said the suspect, who cannot be named because he is a minor, has admitted hitting Shiba.

A 19 year old is a minor in Japan?

Hampton, most deaths occur within 24 hours. This has been addressed in another article. Look it up.

Got him! There is never a valid reason to run and you'll likely get caught anyway.

LFRAgain, unfortunately fatality figures in Japan are based on a death certificate being issued on the same day as the accident, making them completely meaningless by international standards. If someone is hit by a car and dies two days later when the machine is switched off, they officially died of natural causes, so we have no idea what the true figure is. We do know the figures more than halved in 1977 when the way of compiling the figures was adjusted to boost Japan's growing auto industry though.

False. They publish both (within 24 hours and within 30 days).

http://www.e-stat.go.jp/SG1/estat/List.do?lid=000001118016

A 19 year old is a minor in Japan?

Unlike many other countries, the age of majority in Japan is 20.

The age of majority is determined by law.

I have no problem with the law considering people under the age of 20 as minors. I do have a problem with the police or the media seeing a 17, 18, 19 year as too young to publicize just because they are not of age, especially when the commit adult crimes. Bounds of reason...adult crimes should be reported in full regardless of the perpetrator's age.

I understand that the law is there to protect minors who commit crimes because of poor judgement that sometimes come with being a youth. I don't need to know when little Taro shoplifts from the convenient store, or vandalizes a local business. But I do want if he committed rape or murder, especially if he lives near me. In other words, the police needs to start releasing names of ALL people who commit felonies; I couldn't care less about the little misdemeanor crimes.

Mirai,

Again, I can appreciate your anger at the actions of this young man, but along with many other mechanisms in modern law meant to protect the public from abuse of power is presumption of innocence. Just to remind you, this young man hasn't been convicted yet. He's only been arrested. So technically, he isn't actually guilty of anything yet.

With that in mind, until he's convicted of something, I see no point in publishing his name other than to assuage what amounts to a temporary vigilange urge to feel like we're doing something to address a perceived injustice. Knowing this kid's name is not going to make you or society any safer. If he was a repeat drunk-driver who killed someone, then we'd likely be having a very different conversation right now, but as the facts are known at this point, the law preventing the publication of the names of minors accused of crimes is a good one.