Man arrested over fatal hit-and-run in Ibaraki

Here the driver will be charged with manslaughter no matter what, so no matter what, the drivers try to get away. The whole point of the system in Japan is to scare driver's witless, and they have succeeded brilliantly.

It's true. I remembered reading stories years ago of a driver being arrested after a hitting a guy running across the expressway. He even stopped and cooperated with police but it is his fault though it is illegal to walk across the highway.

CrazyJoe. You seem to be missing the point made by the previous commentators. The point is that you're guilty the moment someone dies or is injured. Regardless of whether it was your fault. Regardless of whether you stop. You are guilty and will be convicted and go to prison no matter what you do. Having gone to prison you will be unemployable in Japan in any but the worst jobs. Your life is over. Your dreams are dead.

The ONLY was you can hope to continue a normal life is to leave the scene and hope there's no evidence linking you to the accident.

Do I think it is moral or right to hit and run? No. However the Japanese legal system is likewise unjust in this case, and I can completely understand how someone involved in an accident like this could choose to act this way, especially if the scooter driver was completely in the wrong, for example if the scooter ran a red light or something.

The law needs to be reformed so that drivers get at least a chance of proving that it wasn't their fault and they are innocent. Of course this just highlights deeper problems with the Japanese legal system, such as the virtual impossibility of proving your innocence even under ideal conditions.

In Japan it is true you will get arrested but only about 9.6% of the traffic accident cases actually goes to court. (indicted) according to the Tokyo Lawyers Law Office. In cases of of dangerous driving resulting in deaths and injuries( DUI, excess speeding) 88.1% are indicted. And if you're not at fault, the chances of going to prison is much less.

http://taiho-bengo.com/article/qa_zaimei/qa4/qa4_1/

"Traces of Isaka’s minibike were found on his car, police said". The entire issue is just that. The driver cannot argue that point away. As stated by many, to leave a human being in the road, and not give aid, that is a crime against mankind! In the USA, as well as many other countries leaving the scene of an accident of any kind is a crime! The guilt lies with the driver knowingly trying to evade his responsibility. Forensic evidence would show conclusively who was at fault, however the driver gambled, and luckily lost trying to evade this terrible crime! Not to mention the horror he has left in the wake of this accident with this boy’s parents! No one should ever have to deal with that kind of anguish!

Whether it's your fault or not, always stop at the scene of an accident. It's (hit-and-run )considered a felony here if a death (or injury) is involved. Call police immediately. Usually the accident will stop you.

Scott. Irrespective of the law and personal consequences, surely any decent human being would have got out and assisted the injured party?

At some point the driver chose to gamble this boy's life against his chance to escape, and now they are both losers.

What a loser!!! Could he have prevented the victims death??? I hope he gets a long jail term to think about that!

Death at 16. Heavy stuff

CrazyJoeJul. 25, 2013 - 12:07PM JST In Japan it is true you will get arrested but only about 9.6% of the traffic accident cases actually goes to court. (indicted) according to the Tokyo Lawyers Law Office.

In other words, in only about 9.6% of cases there's injury or death, and in the overwhelming majority of cases they injury is minor like whiplash, so only 9.6% of cases are ELIGIBLE for court proceedings.

In cases of of dangerous driving resulting in deaths and injuries( DUI, excess speeding) 88.1% are indicted. And if you're not at fault, the chances of going to prison is much less.

Again this term "injuries", which covers everything from whiplash to a broken nose from the airbag, and doesn't necessarily mean anything serious.

And Crazyjoe, there is NO reference to DUI or excess speeding, merely that there is some degree of negligence or culpability on the part of the defendant.

A friend of mine was judged "negligent" because he had parked his car and the back of his rather long car projected about 5cm past the end of the parking spot, so when someone back into his car with such force that they gave themselves whiplash the police maintained that he was partially responsible.

Umm... wtf?? He wasn't even in the car, and the front of his car was right up against the wall... but he was "negligent" because the parking space was too small? He managed an out of court settlement, because the police said they would pursue criminal charges.

The legal system in Japan is broken, and unlike the U.S. (where the civil system is broken) the Japanese CRIMINAL "justice" system is broken.

It's a dog act in any circumstance to leave a fellow human to die in the gutter after hitting him. Rest in Peace to the kid, his parents lives are now over as well.

Immediately call an ambulance for the person then see if you can get your passport, park deep in long term car park at Narita and be gone before you're caught. That's if you are completely sure it was the other person's fault. If you are the one who ran a red light or something clearly putting you in the wrong, then pull over, give whatever help you can, call an ambulance and wait to take responsibility for your actions.

Details are not necessary neither to the press nor the police. I cannot tell you who was at fault for the accident itself, but, where it is possible in any other country that the rider of the minibike would be totally at fault, not here. Here the driver will be charged with manslaughter no matter what, so no matter what, the drivers try to get away. The whole point of the system in Japan is to scare driver's witless, and they have succeeded brilliantly.

And think about this: a minibike? Was it even street legal? What color? Any lights? Wearing a helmet?

Again, I don't know what happened, and I am well aware of that. But I think its quite likely that its less that the car hit the minibike and more likely that the minibike put itself in the path of a car, and the irreversible laws of physics did the rest.

At some point the driver chose to gamble this boy's life against his chance to escape, and now they are both losers.

He probably knew the young man was dead on impact, and his only chance to not be a loser was to run.

As Frungy said, missing the point.