8-year-old girl hit by car in critical condition; driver arrested

was hit by a car driven by Hiroshi Kaito, 31.

So, we should call for a ban on all drivers in the 30's? No doubt this joker was not paying attention or speeding, or both! Kids are kids and kids are everywhere. Drivers have to be aware of kids all the time and drive at speeds that allow them to stop quickly. That is why there are speed limits, not that you would know from watching the ratbags speed along 4 meter wide streets at 50-60kph or more with a speed limit of 20-30kph. I hope this little girl recovers.

Unfortunately not all roads have sidewalks in Japan.

Disillusioned

I agree with everything you said except maybe you could replace "No doubt" with "Very probably".

Anyway, accidents will happen, especially when pedestrians have to share these narrow, sidewalk-less roads with cyclists and cars and so-on.

Poor thing.  I hope she pulls through.

My prayers go to this girl and her recovery.

I recently moved next to Niiza and immediately revised my driving habits which avoided me the following:

-2yrs old boy crossing the street escaping his mom attention

-Teenagers on a bike ignoring lights and crossing an intersection in front of me while I was turning

-Other "close to drama" situations

Driving is about adaptation. But there are environments that make it more difficult like Niiza / Asaka / Shiki (South).

The streets are poorly designed (90degrees angle turns), traffic regulation are bad (many streets should be one-way only but aren't) and some simply lack of lighting. Schools there are in profusion and streets are as narrow as in dense area like Nakano (Tokyo). We don't know much about the circumstances, but for sure I would go easy on the driver without more information.

To me, local administration bears its share of responsibility by not ensuring a proper traffic signalization / optimization in these areas.

I mean, don't look much further "at a three-way junction with no traffic lights".

"8-year-old girl hit by car in critical condition..."

The headline makes it sound as if the car was in a critical condition, although I would wager so on some narrow streets.

Kryptonix: there needs to be better traffic rules on speed and enforced better, but the narrow streets gives it that Japanese feel. I am taken aback by the huge gap between even front fence of opposite neighbours in America and Canada in small towns. In a town of only 5,000, the streets are wide enough for 5 cars side by side, a metropolis width sidewalk for 5 people side by side, an empty grass gap of 3-5 people side by side that is apparently owned by the person yet he can't build or put a fence up on but still expected to mow (think called easement), then an optional fence, and yard. I'm all for big yards, but the towns are REALLY optimistic thinking that they'll ever need a metropolis style boulevard or sidewalk. IMHO.

Hard to make heads or tails on this article. The facts are that a youngster was hit by a Car, and the driver of that Car said she appeared out of nowhere.

From experience, Kids in Japan, are not seriously taught about Road Safety - that's something left for the Parents to do. Back in the UK, the Green-Cross-Code was being hammered into Kids from an early age, with sayings such as "Stop", "Look", and "Listen" resonating everywhere.

Now, I am not blaming the parents here, God help them, for what they are currently going through. But, I do think more attention needs to be paid towards Road Safety within Japan. But, who is going to listen to an old gaijin....

But, who is going to listen to an old gaijin....

I am, because he talks a great deal of sense....

A lot of these tiny roads do not have posted speed limits. That means the limit is 60.

I have seen these types of situations. The kids are not educated well enough about the safety procedures when it comes to crossing the streets. Most people in Japan cross the streets or walk in front of moving vehicles with the belief of "All safety responsibilities lie solely on the driver! I am but a mere pedestrian!" When I was a kid, my generation was taught to look left and right, make eye contact with the driver before you set foot in the street even if you're on a crosswalk. Make sure the driver sees and acknowledges that you're about to cross the street. Or ask an adult to help you cross the street. Kids here sometimes dart in front of cars. I saw an 8yo boy trying to cross the street by just blindly running into the street hoping to make it across safely. He got hit and it affected me very badly.

I agree on most of the comments here. Almost everyday especially on narrow residential roads they would speed up without even considering that a person or a child might be walking or crossing the street. 

Some drivers don't stop on a pedestrian and would speed up even more because (this happens to me all the time) the pedestrian crossers are really taking their time to walk and some are even on their cellphones! Now if the kids sees an adult how they act on the street they would obviously do the same thing!