Driving Drunk in Japan

[John Lindsey]

With our recent discussion of drinking in Japan (see Racism in Japan thread) I thought it would be interesting on how Japan deals with drunk drivers, specifically those who are involved in accidents. Is it a serious offense?

[Jeff Hamacher]

yes, John, drunk driving is a very serious offense. officially, the acceptable blood alcohol level when driving is ZERO. working as an instructor in the public school system means that i get regular reminders, since public servants in japan are typically held to a "higher standard of behaviour" than other people. my wife and i agree to the safest policy: we never get behind the wheel after we've had a drink, period. even if we weren't involved in an accident and got busted in a roadside check we could still lose our jobs, and my wife's teaching license would likely be revoked. because of the way that human relationships work in japan, our school principals and perhaps even the school board might have to issue an official apology as part of "accepting responsibility" for our crime.

now, this isn't to say that drunk driving never happens in japan; quite the contrary. unfortunately, there are fairly regular reports of serious accidents involving drunk drivers, and i've heard other anecdotal evidence to suggest that not all japanese are especially strict with themselves on this point. the laws are tough, but as you'd expect to find anywhere, people don't always obey the law.

[Daniel Lee]

One of the wierdest things I find is the public notification of police 'blitzes' on motorists over the airways. Tuesday's going to be a seatbelt check, friday drink driving..

Back on topic, Jeff's spot on with reaction to this kind of crime here. While young Japanese men might think it maccho to jump behind the wheel after some drinks, the effects of this kind of decision on a non-Japanese acquaintance were pretty eye-opening: seriously injured a pedestrian, wrote off his car, and now faced with a (from memory) three to five year sentence in a country not even his, has had to give up his university study and side-business. On top of this his wife wants to stay as near him as possible, but considering Japan's treatment of people of their ethnicity, she'll probably only be doing some low-payed menial work while living in an eighty year old house the size of a shoe box for the remainder of his stay in the pen. I guess young people's bravado makes the law appear lenient, but the effects of same are pretty chilling.

Daniel Lee

[red_fists]

It looks like they are finally getting tougher on drunk driving.
Atleast acording to what I read in the Newspaper.

But the Japanese Police way too often ,IMHO , let people off with just a warning word and a gentle slap on the wrist. :mad:
This counts for both drunken driving and other offenses.

Funnily enough a lot of Japanese are nervious about going to a Koban, as they feel that the police will arrest on sight for some minor crime/Law infringement that was commited 30+yrs ago in another region/town.

Said that I also feel that a lot of Japanese think "anything goes" as long as you are not caught.
Or that if you got enough influences/money/position that a different set of rules apply to you.

Just my 0.2 Yen (0.0001 Euro) worth of thought.

[Jeff Hamacher]

i feel inclined to agree with comments from everyone regarding the relative skill level of japanese police as "crime fighters".

i think that this is at least partly to do with the structure of the criminal justice system, which has not been getting rave reviews of late in the media. i've heard stories of suspects being detained for days without any real evidence to their culpability while the cops wait to sweat a "confession" out of the prisoner. during their incarceration, the suspect has no access to legal counsel until the cops are satisfied that they have their confession. often that coerced confession is the only "evidence" presented in court and that in itself leads to a guilty verdict. with the bias so firmly in favour of the police, what incentive do they really have for carrying out a thorough investigation?

and what about confronting crime when it's right in their faces, as Robert pointed out above? i've watched a few of these "investigative reports" on what the police are doing to stop youth gangs, and some of it is almost laughable. in plenty of situations, i've seen these officers on tape letting some young punk actually shove them around. i don't know what the policy is in other places, but if they tried the same stunt with a toronto cop that kid would find themself face-down on the pavement with hands cuffed behind their back before they could tell the cop to, "go to hell". raising your hand to an officer is a sure-fire way to get arrested.

in fairness, most of my contact with the police in japan (lost wallet, routine visits from the local patrol, etc.) have been absolutely pleasant and professional. i've also trained with a couple of officers in my time, at least one of whom was doing plainclothes work during the Nagano Olympics, and they left little to be desired in the way of physical skill and strength. perhaps the best way to put it is that japanese policing is excellent for community service but has yet to catch up with a new era of criminal activity.

[hyaku]

I was told that years ago it was alright to drink and drive in Japan.

There was a particular case where a driver killed a child while under the influence and he got away with it because the law was lax.

After this incident the law was completely over turned and now you officially should not drink anything if you are driving.

Perhaps someone else has more details on this?

In my area the Daiko is popular. Two drivers come in a private car to where you are drinking. One drives your car and you travel as a passenger in the other.

I was going home from work one day (4:30) Just before a set of lights the car in front of me, a large 4x4 weaved about and slammed into a block wall. I rushed to the car thinking the driver might have had perhaps a heart attack. I tapped on the window and a very red inebriated face was raised. He was so drunk he had just come to a standstill.

All the traffic came jammed up and I drove to the nearest police box (Koban) to explain. They said they did not deal with traffic problems and I should call the main police station. After a ten minutes chat I persuaded them that ?they? should make the call. Don't know what happened at the scene. All in all I would be happier if the police showed a little more keenness.

Hyakutake Colin

[P Goldsbury]

I, too, have been repeatedly warned by officials here (from the President downwards), not to drink and drive. A few days ago some new guidelines came round from the Education Ministry warning us that if we (public officials) were involved in a serious accident and were found to have been drinking, we would be instantly dismissed.

But probably every expatriate has stories of how selective the police are in applying the law. Recently there was a kidnapping in Kobe which had fatal consequences. At least one newspaper suggested that the police failed to act more effectively because they knew gangsters were involved. The yakuza have a long and supposedly glorious history here and were once famous for helping a very amateurish police to keep crime under control (with "control" being the operative word).

But when some Greenpeace members unfurled a banner on a building protesting about toys which contained harmful substances, dozens of police appeared with helicopters and arrested the Greenpeace protesters. They were fined and deported. The police clearly were uncomfortable with spontaneous 'crimes'.

It is curious that driving offences involving alcohol seem to be prosecuted relatively severely in a country where conspicuous consumption of alcohol is so much part of the culture.

Regards,
______________
P A Goldsbury,
Graduate School of Social Sciences,
Hiroshima University