22-year-old bar host held over fatal hit-and-run in Osaka

Wednesday 05th November, 11:11 AM JST

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cleo at 09:58 AM JST - 7th November

Turns out scumbag not only had no licence, he was on probation for a driving-related insurance scam.

This is one human being who should never, ever be allowed around cars.
nigelboy at 10:00 AM JST - 7th November

Nigel, from what I have been told accidents are 100% drivers fault when hitting a pedestrian. Not really sure about the link you gave me as it seems to be about prosecutions and not the law itself.

The law itself states the following.

Article 211. (Causing Death or Injury through Negligence in the Pursuit of Social Activities) (1) A person who FAILS TO EXERCIZE DUE CARErequired in the pursuit of social activities and thereby causes the death or injury of another shall be punished by imprisonment with or without work for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than 1,000,000 yen. The same shall apply to a person who through gross negligence, causes the death or injury of another. (2) A person who commits the crime proscribed under the first sentence of the preceding paragraph by driving a vehicle may be exculpated in light of circumstances if the injury is minor.

And as I indicated in another thread, even if the injury is severe, if the driver is deemed not at fault, it does not constitute as criminal offense. For instance, if a pedestrian suddenly ran into a traffic resulting in an accident, the driver is not at fault.

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~ZI3H-KWRZ/law2koujkei.html#keiho

The following link indicates that roughly only 10% of these charges are actually pursued.

http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:rct8VMnEN80J:202.214.11.201/TOUKEI/DB/keiji06.xls+%E6%A5%AD%E5%8B%99%E4%B8%8A%E9%81%8E%E5%A4%B1%E5%82%B7%E5%AE%B3%E3%80%80%E8%B5%B7%E8%A8%B4%E7%8E%87&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=12&lr=lang_ja
tmarie at 10:41 AM JST - 7th November

Thunder, my reply wasn't to yours. It was to the above poster.

Cleo, I agree that he shouldn't ever be allowed to drive again. I wish Japan would actually do something about the drunk-driving problem here. There roadbloacks and whatnot are a sham.
nigelboy at 10:43 AM JST - 7th November

I wish Japan would actually do something about the drunk-driving problem here.

Be specific for a change will ya? Posts like above are just pure whining and nothing else.
nigelboy at 11:25 AM JST - 7th November

I wish Japan would actually do something about the drunk-driving problem here.

As a footnote, there were 7,558 accidents related to alcohol last year down from 11,625 in 2006, 13,875 in 2005, and 15,178 in 2004, 16,347 in 2003. So basically, the number is half of what it used to be in a mere 4 year time frame.

http://www.npa.go.jp/toukei/koutuu48/H19.All.pdf
cleo at 12:32 PM JST - 7th November

nigelboy, thank you for the stats. So it looks like someone is doing something about the drunk-driving problem here. But they haven't got it down to zero like in every other country in the world so obviously they aren't doing enough. (rolls eyes).
tmarie at 12:53 PM JST - 7th November

Nigelboy, and your comment was what? Pure whining and nothing else. How about a zero tolerance law and actually follow through with it. Caught drinking and driving would mean zero chance of being allowed to drive ever again.
frontandcentre at 03:36 PM JST - 7th November

Had he not been crossing a road with no crosswalk he would not have been hit. It is pretty simple.

No - it really ISN'T that simple. The fact that Yoshida was so drunk that he didn't judge it a good idea to stop after running someone over and then proceeded to GRIND HIS VICTIM TO DEATH over 3 km suggests strongly to me that he could well have run over anyone, anywhere given the state that he was in. I still find it unbelieveable that you assume that the drunk pedestrian is equally at fault. The onus - both moral and legal (as nigelboy clearly illustrated) - is on the driver not to drive drunk, and even if he does to not run someone over and then ensure their death by simply carrying on.

Honestly - I am starting to wonder if you have read the original story, or if you are just looking for carte blanche to crash you bike into people on the pavement

(Shaking my head in utter disbelief)

FnC
Nessie at 04:11 PM JST - 7th November

nigelboy, thank you for the stats. So it looks like someone is doing something about the drunk-driving problem here.

High gas prices have probably helped a little bit, too.
Nessie at 05:12 PM JST - 7th November

How about a zero tolerance law and actually follow through with it.

What, like summary execution on suspicion of the offense, with the penalty extending to additional generations of blood relatives. I think were talking about "low tolerance," not "zero tolerance."
cleo at 05:28 PM JST - 7th November

Caught drinking and driving would mean zero chance of being allowed to drive ever again.

How would you enforce that in practical terms? This lowlife had already had his licence revoked.
Nessie at 10:59 PM JST - 7th November

They're charging him for not abandoning a body being dragged under his car.
WilliB at 12:02 PM JST - 8th November

I can somewhat understand that T-marie excuses hit and run. I have been guilt of that myself by driving away after bumbing into a fence. That is one thing. But the idea of scrubbing a person to death on the pavement under your car over the course of 3 kilometers is beyond imagination. That is in an entirely different dimension from the question of driving drunk or hitting someone. That someone would try to relativize that beggars belief.
mikihouse at 06:19 PM JST - 9th November

anyway, the guy never showed any remorse nor issued any apology. He seems to be a hardened self-centered punk and deseved to be given the death penalty. He was caught for reckless driving, driving under the influence of alcohol and other violations, and have even a criminal record (extortion). He knew he hit a man and grind him literally for 3 km and he looks glummy because he was caught and not because of murdering somebody...give him the rope I say.
bushlover at 06:02 AM JST - 11th November

Agreed Mikihouse.