national

Record-low 2,610 traffic-related deaths reported in Japan in 2022

26 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© KYODO

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

26 Comments
Login to comment

The police in Japan have very little to do with a reduction in the number of driving fatalities. My wife got fined ¥6,000 for speaking on a cell phone while driving and every. day I see scores of people watching TV on the dashboard in their cars. Why is it OK to watch TV while driving?

Road design is terrible. Far too many traffic lights. Intersections are where the majority of accidents happen. Not surprising really when people jump the lights or there is a truck blocking your vision. There is no real address system and no indication of what road you are on. People driving along at a snail pace looking for 3 chome are a danger to other traffic and there are idiots who stop their car on a blind corner where there is a double yellow line to chat on a cell phone!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

noriahojanen - Amazing, considering that there used to be over 10,000 deaths per year. It's also another sign of an aging society as more Japanese elderly citizens drive less or quit driving

Interesting theory except for the fact that drivers under 30 are responsible for the most deaths on Japanese roads.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

First off, the death toll has nothing to do with the police or policing. The population is in steep decline, most people don't drive and the ones that do typically drive much shorter distances and times and at much lower speeds than in most Western countries. High gas prices, shaken fees, toll roads etc discourage people from even wanting to buy a vehicle. The system is set up to force people onto crowded mass transit and if you do want to drive to work, there is no place to park. It's great that the death toll is decreasing but the "credit" goes to the varying degrees of the situation.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Its because the pay toll roads are always a traffic jam.

Fewer deaths because average speed is 15km/h on tomei and chuo

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Great news and great job Japan Police. Bringing the death toll down from 16765 to 2,610 is a fantastic achievement.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

Has to decline!

youngsters not acquiring driving licenses

older people are surrendering their ones

less drivers less accidents

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Quite astonishing that 16,000+ were killed in 1970 - and that'd be using the "only those who died within 24 hours of the accident" system.

I guess every modern country had horrific statistics in the past.

But it sure is a positive to see a continuing decline, which as others noted, is more than likely due to less people driving, better public transportation and safer car design.

And as I have mentioned in the past, probably the most relevant stat imo is "how many deaths per 1 billion kms travelled?"

The latest I could quickly find as a comparison were for example

Australia 5.2 fatalities per 1 billion kms

Canada 5.1

Japan 6.4

Holland 4.7

South Korea 13.8

Switzerland 3.2

US 7.3

Of course these need updating but the general trend over time is still relevant.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Glad to hear some positive news. I do believe many people here are pretty darn good drivers considering how they navigate narrow roads and park in tiny spaces with precision. I sometimes look at a car parked in a tiny garage with street lamp poles blocking the path and wonder "how the heck did they park there with no scratch and manage to squeeze themselves out of the car?".

But this doesn't mean there aren't crazy drivers either. Pretty much every day I drive there is always that lunatic who tailgates behind me and speeds right past me only to slam on the brakes at the next red light if there is a car in front of them. If there is no car, they simply go right on through carelessly. I see many of the minivan types driving this way and it is extremely dangerous and irritating to see them drive this way. Considering how I get a traffic violation for the stupidest reason, I always wonder how these people still have their licenses.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

The National Police Agency attempting to take all the credit again, just after all Japanese Domestic Manufacturers fitted automatic braking and a plethora of other new safety features to all their cars, from a lowly Suzuki Alto to a Toyota Crown.

BertieWooster: +100 re. roundabouts.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Here is the statistic the equals the playing field when comparing various countries regarding road safety. Deaths based upon a certain distance travelled. For example, in the USA in 2020 there were 1.46 deaths per 100 million miles driven. I found a statistic from 2016, Japan had 6.4 deaths per 1 Billion Vehicle KM's driven. Under the same parameters the USA was 7.3 deaths in 2018. The UK 3.8, Australia 5.2, Germany 4.2, HK 7.3, Malaysia 16.2, Mexico 27.5, South Korea 13.8... many other countries do not publish the data.

Japan is doing a great job and it is great to see the numbers continue to drop. When I drive Japanese roads and highways, (knock on wood), I feel they are more orderly and the drivers more careful than my home country the USA. My biggest peeve here is the number of people that stop their car on blind curves... people don't do that, wait until there is at least a straight away, it is much safer.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Outside of Japan, it is very dangerous.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

people do not drive!!, no more money....

Oh dear.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

They could reduce this even more with the installation of more roundabouts. Single lane roundabouts are much safer than traffic lights. At a roundabout, there is only one way to go. At a crossroads, a driver has three choices, right, left or straight forward. People can and do ignore traffic signals. You can't ignore a bend in the road. Often, turning right, you cannot see the road you are trying to turn into because of a bus or large truck. This doesn't happen on a roundabout. If you hit something on a cross road, the impact speed is yours plus his. If you are doing a gentle 30kph and he is too, running into each other gives an impact speed of 60kph. This couldn't happen on a roundabout because everyone is going the same way. Roundabouts work after a typhoon or big earthquake when there is a power out and traffic lights don't work. They force traffic to slow down. Why aren’t there more of them?

5 ( +5 / -0 )

If the number is compared 'by capita' to other countries it is not that high.

On per capita basis, Japan is 2.4. The world avg is 12.7

However, considering less than half of the adult population actually drive the number is very high.

Because Japan has a great public transportation system and the numbers are adjusted to reflect the number of drivers on the road.

This number includes cyclist and pedestrian deaths as well.

As is should. If did not include them the number would be lower.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

"We will direct police to take strong action on an array of measures, such as protecting the safety of child and elderly pedestrians, and ensuring that cyclists comply with traffic rules," Koichi Tani, chairperson of the National Public Safety Commission, said in a statement.

I’ve rarely see a cop safeguarding pedestrians from errant drivers on crosswalks here but I often see them hiding to catch drivers exceeding speed limits or at stop signs-it’s not about safety, it’s about taxation.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

This low number of traffic accidents could be attributed to the massive amount of very old people who drive at 25kms per hour.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Amazing, considering that there used to be over 10,000 deaths per year. It's also another sign of an aging society as more Japanese elderly citizens drive less or quit driving.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

people do not drive!!, no more money....

-8 ( +0 / -8 )

But accidents involving elderly drivers as well as pedestrians have continued to occur, and in May the agency imposed measures such as mandatory driving tests for those 75 and over with a record of traffic rules violations in order to renew their licenses.

This is what I am afraid of.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

If the number is compared 'by capita' to other countries it is not that high. However, considering less than half of the adult population actually drive the number is very high. This number includes cyclist and pedestrian deaths as well.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

I've relocated more centrally from the outer burbs, and I'm glad of Tokyo's footpaths/sidewalks, as the 'shared space' concept just doesn't work. Kids bring their playground running-around-and-bumping-into-each-other habits into their cycling and ultimately their driving. As a pedestrian, cyclist and driver this is terrifying.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

It would actually be nice to have a definition of a road accident death. And what exactly are the "road safety measures that have been put in place." And what the "National Public Safety Commission" actually is.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites