Three policemen injured in hit-and-run

"13 officers"

But no one could get a license plate number, or get in a patrol car, and catch them?

13?? what an unlucky group of sods! and the idiot in the van got away??what fools!

Mito, it's close to impossible to read the license plate of a car at speed in the night.they will catch him by the ETC gate cameras.

It appears as though they found the car abandoned.

There should be stiffer penalties for hit and runs whether DUI is involved or not.

t's close to impossible to read the license plate of a car at speed in the night

To be honest, it's difficult enough to read them in the day; there're too many small characters on them, and the layout is difficult (you have to get the prefecture thing at the top, then look down left, then right) - way too much to try to ascertain in the (very) brief time you get.

Japanese number plates need simplifying.

So Japanese policemen were not allow to shoot dangerous driver who attempt to run over them with a car?

Japan has it's problems just like the rest of the world. Hit n runs are extremely common here.

The car was found abandoned.

The 51 year old owner of the car is missing.

The case likely involves drunk driving, the purpose of the police inspection.

Go one minute into this video and you can see the abandoned car.

http://www.fnn-news.com/news/headlines/articles/CONN00210961.html

Well, this is surely an inspection gone wrong, and it IS hard to believe that at a police inspection site with 13 officers they couldn't get a plate number and/or pursue the car immediately and catch it. I'm glad in the end they found it and have identified the driver. Hopefully they find him and get to the bottom of things -- although I have a feeling he'll suddenly say it was stolen or he can't recall anything or something like that if caught.

At any rate, fortunately no one was killed.

it IS hard to believe that at a police inspection site with 13 officers they couldn't get a plate number and/or pursue the car immediately and catch it

I see you were there, were you smith?

The article says nothing about the conditions, whether a vehicle plate number was taken or whether a pursue attempt was made. And it's difficult to read a plate at speed, especially if you're not expecting to have to read it suddenly. Maybe you have a photographic memory but most people don't!

13 officers and none of them could get a license plate, swing on a police vehicle to follow him? Good lord.

Wow...he's got an attempted murder charge on him....funny how the penalty is much more serious when the victims are police. Had it been anyone else, it would probably just be considered fleeing from a traffic accident

13 officers and none of them could get a license plate, swing on a police vehicle to follow him? Good lord.

Sure can happen, we don't know the exact position of the officers, the weather conditions, rate of speed the car was going, any obstructions to the license plate, if you are jumping out of the way of a car trying to ram you, I'd like to see you remember the plate as well.

I think I seen this in a movie before. 13 Keystone Cops climb on top of a patrol car for a chase and it won't start. So they all have to get down and give it a push. By then, the suspect is long gone and no one knows which way he went.

I would like to see this same fool try to run down 13 Mexican police, my amigos back in Mexico are not too shy about using any kind of force to stop criminals, and in this case, I am sure they would not have been so cool as the Japanese police. I do hope they arrest this fool ASAP!! Take this idiot off our streets ASAP!!

Hit n runs are extremely common here.

Sadly yes. I got "hit and run" twice last month.

Inspection? Sounds more like roadside convention! The police officer's cranium rectitis convention! How do you not see a car coming? The side of the road is a really dumb place to chill.

Because they carry cap guns, it does not pay to shoot at a speeding car. Plus there could have been kids in there.

Man, every time I read about a large number of cops in Japan - hillarity insues. Not about the hit-and-run which is a shame in any situation and I'm sorry to hear it but the absolute keystone cops element to the police in Japan. 13 officers, dude drives off - what else is new? Remember how the 9 officers let the murderer walk away barefoot in Chiba? What a joke. Take some training lessons in U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Europe - anywhere else! - maybe the cops are too rough overseas at times but they actually prevent crime or track down criminals from time to time.

Take some training lessons in U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Europe - anywhere else! - maybe the cops are too rough overseas at times but they actually prevent crime

Yeah yeah, the crime rate in Japan is so much higher than in U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Europe - anywhere else! -not.

In terms of crimes like serious assault, rape, property crime, homicide, fraud, car theft, you name it, Japan doesn't even make it into the world top ten, usually not even the top twenty. For drug offences, they just scrape into 10th place, and we all know how strict Japan is when it comes to illegal drugs. Maybe the rough, tough cops of the countries you name could do with taking a few lessons from Japan?

I wish the three injured officers a swift and full recovery.

Readers, please stay on topic. References to the police in other countries are not relevant to this discussion.

What's the follow up story to this?

Did they get the guy?

I think I saw a bit on the news last night of the cops at the guy's house, but then my husband changed the channel!

was the trailing bike rider (who's job is to chase down checkpoint jumpers) sleeping? more incompetence...