5-year-old boy in critical condition after being hit by car on crossing; driver arrested

Not a good read to start the day, I hope the kid gets through this.

Agree with first comment, for love's sake, he's got his whole life ahead. Get well little guy.

Japanese drivers should seriously drop going through the red light. But no, instead of breaking because it's effing red, they floor it and fly through only to stop at the next light 100m down the road anyway.

It happened to me way too many times, I started crossing the street and someone would still try to speed through in front of me.

Put cameras on the traffic lights. ¥20,000 fine and two points off for each offence.

Have to keep your head on a swivel when crossing the street. There are so many people who are not paying attention and are willing to take chances with your life. Hope the young guy pulls through and they start getting tougher on people who drive like this guy. The cops in my neighborhood do absolutely no enforcement.

According to police, a 19-year-old man driving the car has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving resulting in injury, Sankei Shimbun reported. Police said the suspect, who cannot be named because he is a minor, has admitted going through a red light and hitting the boy as he and his mother crossed the street.

A 19 yo boy then. Should name culprits.

Law needs revising...

Unfortunately many more of these disasters will occur in Tokyo due to negligence of drivers who rush through red lights or who fail to stop at the white line in front of many crowded crossings in Tokyo and J cops rarely monitor these moving violations.

Way too many drivers speeding through the red light only to get to the next red light. Where are they going in such a hurry to get to a red light? Is there a contest the rest of us are not aware of? Do we get prizes to see who gets to the red light first or the next red light? hmmm. Is the bento on fire? Is there a shortage of bento's? Seriously what is it with these guys zooming past only to be stopped at the red light? Slow down! The Onsen is going to be open and not closing, call ahead to Lawsons or Family Mart and they will hold your bento for you. No reason to mad dash to the red light and zoom past crosswalks. Yes it is the law to stop at crosswalks for pedestrians no such reason to zoom as fast as your car can go.

Drivers in Japan might be able to park their car to a few cm of a wall, but once the speedo goes over 2km/h, they are pretty careless - especiall oyaji's over 50 who don't want to live anymore.

expatToday  11:43 am JST

I)t's not a crime, it's an accident. Maybe you should start a new header.

Definitely a crime. He blew a Red light and has almost killed a kid on what should have been the safety of a pedestrian crossing.

Do they see how people cross the street in Japan with their kids? They let their kids run out ahead of them! (not all Japanese parents) My 5 year old son knows the CORRECT way to cross the street! Take either of our hands and cross with us. Or I would test him. Have him stand at the crosswalk, look left and right CAREFULLY then cross. If a car stops for him to cross, maintain eye contact with the driver until he gets to the other side of the street then bow! Never would we let our kid cross the road ahead of us. Here's hoping this kid pulls through!

h0nz4 Today 07:50 am JST "Japanese drivers should seriously drop going through the red light. But no, instead of breaking [sic] because it's effing red,"

Coffee BREAKING?

He's a 19 year old "man."

He's a company employee worker.

He hit a human being while driving.

He's cannot be named because he's a minor......................

Well, clearly something doesn't belong here.

Root cause of the problem : too many red lights that psychologically make some people get under pressure. There could be death penalty to cross red lights that even if police do not implement measure, some drivers will still continue bad driving.

Part of the solution : automatic red light speeding detection, round abouts.

In my country where people cross anytime, pedestrians get rarely run over and especially 5 year old kids.

By the way, this is not crime, as there was no intent to kill. Otherwise, would you call all red light speeders criminals ? Millions of criminals in Japan ? I assume no.

When I was driving in Japan, it was common driving from my Japanese family that you don't brake violently because it turns orange and that lets you drive sometimes through full red lights. Even grandma was following that pattern, though rarely.

Wish the kid full recovery and that parent protect their kid instead of letting them take a risk ahead.

19 is not a minor. He can vote, work, pay taxes, get jiggly with the girlies. He is a young man who messed up, treat it as such. Hope the kid recovers.

Its about time the local council or high ways dept started installing cameras at road intersections, each time a driver jumps the red lights, it photographs the car, time, speed, and the driver can be traced through the number plate, and a fine is automatically sent out to the driver, something like 130.000 yen, possibly more. and gain 2 points for each offence, may be a points system where you gain 12 points and you loose your licence for a year and have to resit your test, this will make people think twice about jumping the red light.

So... hang on... people are now legally adults at 18... but they can't be named in crimes because they are still children... but they can vote...

So, Japan lets children drive and vote, but if they commit crimes they can't be named? At least he doesn't really have to worry if the kid dies or not -- which I most certainly hope he does not -- because he can't be charged as an adult and will be out of any kind of reformatory in but a few months either way. Great laws here.

At least he owned up.

Put cameras on the traffic lights. ¥20,000 fine and two points off for each offence.

This is a dangerous road to go down. Enough cameras already. Police state is a bad state.

Today’s top tip for Japanese pedestrians......

When waiting to cross the road, don’t just stare unblinking at the red light then step out as it turns green. Have a look to your left and right to see if any vehicles are still traveling.

It isn’t the light that is going to kill you!

Jonathan PrinToday  02:10 pm JST

In my country where people cross anytime, pedestrians get rarely run over and especially 5 year old kids.

By the way, this is not crime, as there was no intent to kill. Otherwise, would you call all red light speeders criminals ? Millions of criminals in Japan ? I assume no.

He is negligent. Remember that there was a mother as well as a kid, so he can't use that excuse that the kid was too low for him to see. He had to miss the mother, the kid and the lights to not take the correct action.

Johnathon Prin: "By the way, this is not crime, as there was no intent to kill. Otherwise, would you call all red light speeders criminals ? Millions of criminals in Japan ? I assume no."

If they break the law, then yes, there are millions of criminals. You'd make a pretty terrible lawyer.

this is not crime, as there was no intent to kill. 

Negligence while driving is written into the criminal code, and is literally defined as a crime. I’m not sure what you’re on about.

Sorry in my country it is not considered a crime. If you read French : https://www.jurifiable.com/conseil-juridique/droit-penal/homicide

The logical conclusion if criminal negligence considered is that all drivers going through a red are criminals. So there are countries like Japan full of criminals not sentenced to prison. It is a criminal state to leave so many criminals to roam freely.

Hence it is not the case so not crime in my eyes. And I work with high profile lawers but not in the crime field.

Though it's a bit late, since the Comments are still open I'll note what your site said (as Translated by Google):

Manslaughter is the act by which a person brings death to another without having intended to kill . Manslaughter is murder committed without having intended it, "by clumsiness, recklessness, inattention, negligence or failure to comply with an obligation of safety or prudence imposed by law or regulation" (article 221-6 of the Penal Code) . We also talk about accidental homicide, although this term is not a legal term.

Note the presence of the word negligence.

Seems to be a problem in the japanese people, which is that they can´t see the RED color, because i can't understand any other way that japanese can´t figure out that RED MEANS STOP as in step on the brakes and HALT!!!

Its not a suggestion is a MANDATORY THING TO DO, and also a 19yo ass is not a child, nor a kid not a minor... is already an ADULT and should be treated as one... but japanese people thinks anyone under 20 is a baby, a child which is like a kiddy who can´t be responsable for its actions, like if they have some kind of mental disability.

Lacking, conveying the necessary information. and circumstance.

Mother and 5 year old boy.....

Has admitted going through a red light and hitting the boy as he and his mother crossed the street.

This sentence suggest the boy became separated from his mother....

Crossing the street, yet the headline clearly specifies mother and boy....

5-year-old boy in critical condition after being hit by car on crossing....

?