Take our user survey and make your voice heard.
Some people see things in black and white while others tend to judge each incident as a unique situation with its own parameters of right and wrong.
Take drunk driving for example. There are many who would say that under any circumstance getting behind the wheel of an automobile with significant levels of alcohol in the system deserves punishment. And then there are some that say there may be exceptions to the rule.
Luckily for some government workers who got picked up by police for drunk driving, more than a few district court judges appear to belong to the latter camp.
The latest incident that has made headlines began in June of last year. On the evening of June 14, a 40-year-old municipal worker was out drinking in Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture, starting at 9 p.m. Following that he went to sleep in his car, which was parked outside of his house, presumably to avoid stumbling in drunk and getting in dutch with the missus.
However, at about 2:45 in the morning, his car alarm suddenly went off. Not wanting to wake up the entire neighborhood he slowly drove it to a vacant lot about 800 meters away. Apparently a slow moving vehicle with its alarm blaring caught the attention of nearby police who charged the man for driving while intoxicated.
As a result, he had to pay a 300,000 yen fine and in the following September was dismissed from his job. However, he took the matter to trial where Akita District Court Judge Tetsuo Tanahashi reversed the man’s firing from his prefectural government position.
Judge Tanahashi said, “It’s hard to say what he did was right, but he felt he had a compelling reason to do what he did… In terms of his cause, motive, or result there can’t be any maliciousness found.” Taking into account the man’s slow speed, time he had to sober up, and destination of an empty lot, the judge ruled that his termination was excessive for his individual situation.
Akita Prefecture is currently looking into reinstating the man but are awaiting a possible appeal before moving forward. Some suspect that this may have been one in a series of cases where drunk-driving charges have been revoked especially for civil servants. Policy enacted about a decade ago outlined that civil servants caught drunk driving were to be dismissed and it’s suspected that the courts are being used as a loop-hole around this by having them fired but then ordered back to work.
Others deny this pointing to cases such as the Fukuoka City official whose drunk driving accident led to the deaths of three children and got the book thrown at him. Another trial in Akita upheld the defendant’s loss of job after it was determined that in addition to being drunk, the former high school teacher was driving 30km/h over the limit.
So it would seem that judges tend to weigh cases of driving while intoxicated on their individual circumstances. Whether or not one of those circumstances is being a government worker is an issue still under debate.
Sources: : Daily Sports Online, Yomiuri Online
Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- Man found innocent of indecent assault denied 12 million yen compensation by Supreme Court of Japan -- Osaka man wipes away millions in owed taxes by deducting losing horse race tickets -- Subway mini skirt peeping tom found innocent
© RocketNews24
16 Comments
Login to comment
JoiceRojo
I don't buy it. Drunk Driving is still against the law, he may have driven slowly but it is still 800 meters!. And, if he wasn't able to turn the alarm off, it means he was not in any condition to driving.
SenseNotSoCommon
If he was too drunk to turn the alarm off, anything could have happened in those 800m.
nath
sounds reasonable to me.
Nessie
Government workers in my city make well above the average income.
nath
I went home drunk by taxi once but didn't have enough money to make it all the way home. I had the taxi stop at my parking lot 800 meters from my house. I was tired and sleepy so I just got in my car and slept there till morning. It would have looked like I drove home drunk but I hadn't!! :)
Christopher Glen
Missed a digit. My bad. On another note - it seems very rare that judges take extenuating circumstances into account in Japan
Magnus Roe
I assume you mean 0.05%, unless your wine is quite fortified and you somewhat overestimate your driving ability.
Christopher Glen
I think a 0.5 percent alcohol limit for driving (the equivalent of one small glass of beer or glass of wine beforehand) is reasonable
Shaun Johnson
coming home late and drunk is worse than sleeping in the car and making your wife think you didnt come home? interesting relationship
fds
government worker protecting a government worker. what else is new.
Ms. Alexander
Well, I seriously doubt that drunk people get behind the wheel with the intent of purposely hurting others. Whatever the motive or result, drunk driving is against the law. He's lucky he didn't hurt anyone. It sucks that he lost his job (which I think is too extreme) but that's a risk he took when he decided to drive (even though he probably didn't know he was taking a risk....because he was drunk).
descendent
Sounds like a sensible decision by the Japanese courts (for a change).
And for the above posters thinking that Japanese civil servants in rolling in cash ... hahaha! Please.
DaDude
Working as a civil servant means that one wrong move could mean termination. His wife, who lives well and will live well off all of the civil servant benefits her husband gets, should have got off her butt and moved the car.
Amidalism
Why was he not able to just turn off the alarm? If he is a public servant he certainly makes enough money to afford to pay for a daiko home.
I'm pretty sure that could be said of most people who drive drunk. I don't think that people drink and then drive for the sole malicious purpose of getting into an accident and taking other people's lives.
nath
How is this a loophole? If it was a loophole, it wouldn't require having to go to trial.
Any proof he did?
Okinawamike
And how did this car come to be at his home? Any proof that he did not drive home drunk to begin with?