SoraNews24 —Japan News—

Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.

TOP

» Japan
» Japanese drivers reminded to look out for drunk people passed out on the road this holiday season

Featured

Weird
Studio Ghibli
Jobs

Japanese drivers reminded to look out for drunk people passed out on the road this holiday season

Master Blaster a few minute ago
Tweet

As if driving in Japan isn’t hard enough.

As the year gradually draws to a close, it’s the time for many organizations to hold their year-end parties. Although many younger people have been increasingly distancing themselves from overindulging in alcohol, drinking is still a major part of these year-end festivities.

As a result, this is also the prime time of year to find business people passed out on benches, the side of the road, or, more problematically, right in the middle of roads. People passing out on roads, or “rojo nekomi” as it’s known in Japan, is not new but a lot of attention has been given to it in recent years after people started heading back to the bars in a post-COVID world.

In 2023, about 32 percent of nighttime traffic fatalities involving pedestrians in Tokyo were people who fell asleep on the street. However, alcohol shouldn’t take all the blame for this either. According to the National Police Agency, only 70 percent of rojo nekomi incidents were connected to alcohol, with rising temperatures and an aging population leading to other health issues like heatstroke causing people to faint on the road.

▼ The Japan Auto Federation released a video examining how easy it is for drivers to spot and respond to a person sleeping on the road at night. It’s in Japanese but fairly easy to get the gist of, regardless of the language.

In response, various taxi companies have begun working hand-in-hand with the police forces of 32 prefectures to keep an eye out for unconscious people on the streets. The programs seem to be effective as well, because on 9 November, a pair of Tokyo cab drivers were officially commended for assisting street sleepers in two separate incidents.

Seijo Police Station invited 70-year-old Yoshitatsu Miura and 28-year-old Kazuki Yamamoto to honor their efforts in rescuing two people from potential death. During the ceremony, Miura explained that he encountered the body at about 2 a.m. and shone his headlights on the person to make them highly visible to other motorists while he called the emergency number for help.

In Yamamoto’s case, he felt disappointed that while he was helping the unconscious person, there were other people walking along the street at the time. Some just chose to look the other way.

Online comments were happy everything turned out fine in these instances, while some admitted they might not have the courage to get involved like these drivers had.

“Everyone was lucky this had a happy ending. If the drivers had hit those people, their lives would have been ruined too.”
“Papers are nice and all, but give them some money for that!”
“I saw an elderly man sleeping on the road while drunk. I asked if he was OK, but he just yelled at me, so I just moved him out of the way and left. From now on, I’m going to ignore anyone I see like that.”
“I wonder what the cutoff is for getting commendations? Tons of people report stuff to the police, after all.”
“It’s a common thing in Tokyo near the end of the year.”
“If you get so drunk that you sleep on the road, then alcohol isn’t for you.”
“I don’t want to get involved, so I probably wouldn’t touch them, but I think I could call someone…”
“People who get drunk and fall asleep on the street should be penalized too.”

Punishing those who fall asleep on the streets due to drunkenness is a tricky issue. Unlike in Western countries, being even extremely drunk in public is not illegal as long as the intoxicated person is not harassing, assaulting, or damaging anyone or anything. If someone is passed out due to alcohol, the police will detain them for their own protection rather than to arrest them for a crime.

That being said, obstructing traffic by lying down or sitting on the road is a crime, punishable by a maximum fine of 50,000 yen (US$317). The problem here is that it’s pretty hard to prove intent on the part of the sleeping person if they’re unconscious at the time of the offense.

In Okinawa, where the warm climate has helped to make rojo nekomi a more pervasive problem, the police have been more aggressive and have begun charging repeat offenders with traffic obstruction charges.

▼ This news report features harrowing dashcam footage of a driver stopping right in front of a person sleeping on the road in Itoman, Okinawa.

As far as civil litigation goes, the liability for damages or injuries that occurred is considered 30 percent the sleeper’s if during the day and 50 percent if at night. But regardless of how these incidents play out, no good comes of it for anyone involved, so stay safe either by drinking in moderation and getting a safe ride home or by driving at a reasonable speed at night with the appropriate lights in use.

Source: FNN Online Prime, YouTube/ANNnewsCH 1, 2, Lawyer Koga Office, DE Plus One
Image: Pakutaso
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!