Club host held for giving drinks to woman who caused fatal accident

Sunday 13th September, 02:48 AM JST

AICHI —

A male host working at a club in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, was arrested Friday for giving drinks to a female customer who he knew would be driving home, and who was involved in a fatal accident. On Aug 28, the 39-year-old woman crashed her car into another vehicle at an intersection. The driver of the other car was killed and the woman was arrested at the scene and charged with vehicular manslaughter.

Police said that club employee Shingo Hirai, 26, was charged with serving alcohol to the customer, even though she told him she would be driving home. According to police, on August 28, Hirai plied the woman with alcohol from around 1:20 to 3:55 a.m.

News reports

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dolphingirl at 02:05 PM JST - 13th September

It seems very odd to me that Japan has these two laws which are contracting each other: one law says that there is zero tolerance for drinking & driving and other says that the person serving alcohol is partly responsible for another who might drink & drive. If there is zero tolerance for drinking & driving then just by walking into the bar and ordering a drink she was basically breaking the law.
Klein2 at 06:11 PM JST - 13th September

Dolphingirl. More correctly, she was breaking the law by walking into the bar, ordering a drink, and then driving away.

Trying to figure out what the responsibility of the bartender is comes to be a real pain. How did he know she was going to drive, etc.

The point I made above is that alcohol diminishes capacity to make rational judgments. That is what it does. And if you say that people are not responsible for their own actions after they drink, which they are not, then alcohol is the problem. Obviously.

It should be designated as a dangerous drug and should be dispensed as one.
shwettybawls at 07:05 PM JST - 13th September

She was 39 years old WTF ....she knew better ...mot the clubs fault they SELL DRINKS to make money!
kinniku at 07:47 PM JST - 13th September

If there is zero tolerance for drinking & driving then just by walking into the bar and ordering a drink she was basically breaking the law.

There is zero tolerance in Japan for drinking and driving. However, she did not break the law until she attempt to enter her car for the purpose of driving after drinking. Merely entering a bar and drinking is not breaking the law. However, once she stated her intent to drive, she should have been cut off or put in a taxi/daiko upon leaving the establishment.
flatearther at 08:00 PM JST - 13th September

I've never actually been to a host club, but it's my understanding that their job does involve more than simply bar tending. It involves flattery and interaction on a personal and sometimes physical level. If that's the case, then yes, he does have some responsibility if he knew she was driving that night. While I wish it was simply a moral responsibility, it appears that Japan has made it a legal responsibility as well.
Altria at 10:41 AM JST - 14th September

Nonde, nonde nonde!!! Nonde, nonde nonde!!!

This Ikemen♪ is gonna be popular in jail!
Hoolie at 02:18 PM JST - 14th September

He'll just get a hefty fine, and he'll have to get some other desperate women drunk to pay it off.

Nope. The current law allows for up to three years imprisonment, and in a case where someone has been killed by the drunk driver, maximum sentences will be handed out all 'round.

The police are still looking for a few more "enablers" of this sort to crucify, as well. They still need to drive home the potential repercussions for the rest of the populace.

There is no way he's getting off lightly.
Yelnats at 04:15 PM JST - 14th September

Driving a bicycle is illegal now drunk. It actually is pretty dangerous. I know, and I smashed my face up once and ruined a pair of ¥50,000 glasses. The guy should not have been serving her, but I bet the guys boss was pushing him to do so. The boss should be arrested too. One thing great about this country though, is that only the driver has to be alcohol free. Everyone else can get trashed in the car.
dolphingirl at 06:17 PM JST - 14th September

klein2: thanks for your correction. I was exaggerating to make a point but didn't do it well. Anyway, what I meant to express is that if there is zero tolerance for drinking & driving then it really shouldn't have been up to a bartender to decide when to cut her off since she shouldn't have been drinking in the first place: It said he knew that she would be driving home which means SHE also knew she was going to drive home!
kinniku at 07:28 PM JST - 14th September

Anyway, what I meant to express is that if there is zero tolerance for drinking & driving then it really shouldn't have been up to a bartender to decide when to cut her off since she shouldn't have been drinking in the first place: It said he knew that she would be driving home which means SHE also knew she was going to drive home!

I did not see klein2's comments before posting my similar comments. Your point above is interesting. However, the bartender can be considered an accomplice if they knowingly help a patron commit a crime. Of course, the person themselves is the most responsible. However, the bartender knew a crime was about to be committed and did not try to stop it, or so it seems...
Byakko78 at 12:59 AM JST - 15th September

Right, and how is he supposed to stop it ? don't serve drink and get fired ? call the police and then get fired ? Tell me realistically what he could or should have done ... She's 39 and japanese (I add this since as a citizen she's supposed to know the % of alchool she can assume before driving. I know about Italy but am clueless about Japan), supposely she doesn't need someone else to tell her not to drink and drive. The kid was just doing his job, serve drinks and entertain customers, it's not his job to police how and if his customers drink. Good grief people let's stop blame others for your own mistakes! (talking in general here)
kinniku at 06:36 AM JST - 15th September

Byakko78,

Worry about being fired is not an excuse for breaking the law or allowing someone to break the law, at least not in Japan. The bartender should have stop serving her, called the police, convinced her to use a taxi/daiko service, or a million other choices rather than knowingly let her drink and drive.

it's not his job to police how and if his customers drink.

She told him she was going to drive. He did not need to be a detective. Once he knew, and he continued to serve her, he became an accomplice.
Kronos at 04:56 PM JST - 15th September

Sorry, I do not get this. Why did she not take a cab if she knew she was drunk? If she was that drunk, she should have left the car and went home by cab. It does not make sense to blame the host for your carelessness.
Ukhti at 07:33 PM JST - 15th September

I admit I don't care for the club scene myself, neither do I drink, but if I were a betting woman, I'd say that drinking is what usually occurs at these kinds of places? I actually place the blame on both the host and the woman. Sure, the host should have done the good samaritan deed and not plied the woman with as much alcohol as he did, or even offered to call her a cab if she appeared too drunk to drive. At the same time, I'm sure the woman planned on having alcohol beforehand, and therefore should have taken the responsibility to secure a designated driver. Of course I'm basing that on what is available in this article as it does seem to lack details.
mnemosyne23 at 11:42 PM JST - 15th September

I agree the host should bear part of the blame, since he was told that she would be driving home. But the greater brunt of the blame falls on the driver herself. She KNEW she'd be driving home, she told the host that very thing, and then went ahead and let him ply her with alcohol for two hours. It would have been a very simple thing to just say, "No thank you, I'll have water instead." I mean, come on! Personal responsibility!

Hosts get paid based on how much money they're able to fleece off their clients, plain and simple. It's a commission-based business. Just like used car salesmen trying to get you to buy the most expensive car on the lot so they can get a big commission, hosts will talk the talk and walk the walk to convince the customer that they REALLY care about them and REALLY want to make them happy. The better they are, the more money they get their customers to spend, the higher their status rises -- and their asking price as well. Their income is dependent on it. That's what host clubs ARE, and that's what host clubs DO. If you go to one you should be expecting them to wine and dine you, usually with the most expensive wine and food they can get you to accept. If you don't think you'll be able to say no when the host offers you another glass of Dom Perignon, then you're better off not going in the first place.