crime

President of Fujitsu subsidiary arrested over fatal car accident

18 Comments

Police in Tokyo have arrested the president of a subsidiary of Fujitsu Ltd on suspicion of negligent driving resulting in death after he fatally struck an 83-year-old man while exiting a parking lot.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 1:30 p.m. Monday in Itabashi Ward. Fuji TV reported that Toshikimi Hanaoka, 59, the president of Fujitsu Semiconductor Ltd, was turning left out of the parking lot of a shopping complex when he hit Yoshiei Kagami who was on a sidewalk.

Kagami was taken to hospital where he died of his injuries. Police said Hanaoka, who lives in Yokohama, has admitted to the charge and quoted him as saying he didn’t see Kagami.

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18 Comments
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Zoroto, if you cause a car accident that kills somebody, you will be arrested, regardless of circumstances. At least in Japan.

18 ( +18 / -0 )

Arrested for what?

Standard procedure in Japan. He may be found not at fault later on. But, they arrest first, and ask questions / investigate later.

Sounds like it was just an unfortunate accident.

Or negligent/vehicular homicide, if it turns out he was on the phone, or watching TV, or talking with a passenger, or blood alcohol above the limit, etc.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

This is easy to do. When you are turning left onto a street, you look to the right, up the street in the direction from which traffic is coming. Since no cars are coming from the left, he probably failed to look left or relied on a traffic mirror that may not have been positioned correctly.

As a company president, he probably is well off and will be able to offer a settlement to the family of the victim. In addition to the 30 million yen from the compulsory insurance, the going value for an 83-year old man is another 30-40 million yen (since his productive years are behind him). Should he be able to come up with that and settle (or deposit it with the prosecutors as an offer of good faith), Mr. Hanaoka will likely get a 4 year suspended sentence. And he will lose his driver's license. And probably be forced into early retirement.

Drive carefully. Bicyclists and pedestrians are all over the place.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

It surprises me that you can hit a pedestrian to death on the way out of the parking lot. You supposedly don’t leave the parking lot like pit-box in Formula 1, I guess.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

MirchyNov. 17  06:44 pm JST

It surprises me that you can hit a pedestrian to death on the way out of the parking lot. You supposedly don’t leave the parking lot like pit-box in Formula 1, I guess.

The man he hit was 83. In addition to the fact that he may have been physically frail, it really doesn't take all that much of a blow to the head to result in death. If he fell and his head hit the pavement or a guard rail the driver would not have had to have been going very fast at all. Your average car weighs 1,814 kg. Your average Japanese man weighs 62.5 kg. Considering the weight difference and the man's age, getting hit by a car, even one going slowly, could easily have resulted in death.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Sadly to go to prison or not is entirely to the prosecutors to decide.

Evidence and facts have no height at all.

And the presumption of innocence have no place in this country.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

On the flip side, elderly pedestrians many times don't give a squat about how or what's around them, and just go. Not paying attention at all.

Not only elderly! Primary school kids are running around not looking at traffic. Teenagers and people in their 20's only looking down at their smartphones. Office workers are like zombies never look at anything around them. Therefore drivers are left entirely responsible for road safety and some of them are sending SMS or not seeing things due to blind spots or otherwise occupied therefore chances of hitting someone goes up...

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Sounds like it was just an unfortunate accident.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

Will be following this as I work in the same industry. Rich people with status jobs tend to get off easy in Japan, so I will be keen to see what fate awaits him.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Police in Tokyo have arrested the president of a subsidiary of Fujitsu Ltd

The fact that they put his title in the headline GREATLY implies that he will walk free (suspended sentence for X amount of years)! Because he is of the upper crust. We have all seen it before (that old guy who hit and killed the mother and daughter because he was speeding and ran a light, That Morning Musume member incident and many others)

1 ( +1 / -0 )

People just don't pay attention when they drive in Japan. IDK how many times I've seen people behind the wheel, NOT looking straight forward for a substantial amount of time.

On the flip side, elderly pedestrians many times don't give a squat about how or what's around them, and just go. Not paying attention at all.

Put both together, and you have a bad equation.

I'm actually surprised stuff like this doesn't happen way more often with more fatal accidents. The negligence and incompetence with people is just astonishing. You just can't trust anyone to be attentive anymore.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@timeon

Kozo Iizuka?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Unbelievable, in such a position you usually have or can afford a driver and also a car with sensors that stops automatically when there’s an obstacle , at least at speeds in parking areas. They even probably produce such similar things at a semiconductor company, don’t they? What a strange loser company....

0 ( +1 / -1 )

MlodinowNov. 18  12:06 pm JST

Hitting and killing him is bad enough, but to not stop at all? If you hit someone in your car hard enough to kill them, no way you didn't notice. If he gets off this is a massive travesty of justice.

I'm confused. Where does it say he didn't stop or didn't notice? Is that just supposition on your part or are you basing it on information from another source?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Hitting and killing him is bad enough, but to not stop at all? If you hit someone in your car hard enough to kill them, no way you didn't notice. If he gets off this is a massive travesty of justice.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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