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14 Comments

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  franz75 at 06:46 AM JST - 3rd January

  that's an average of 14 people a day...

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  flammenwerfer at 09:49 AM JST - 3rd January

  ...and it's inaccurate as IIRC in Japan only deaths within 24 hours of the accident are included in the statistics: If you die 3 days later after succumbing to your injuries - it doesn't count.

  Japan is not that bad compared to other places, despite horrendously crowded narrow roads with low seatbelt use and very distracted drivers.

  Moderator: Comparisons to other countries are irrelevant to this discussion.

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  Patrick Smash at 10:18 AM JST - 3rd January

  Victims of accidents not certified dead within 24 hours died of natural causes. These figures are therefore meaningless, and the true figure will be about double this number.

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  Goals0 at 10:59 AM JST - 3rd January

  Mr. Smash Hardly 'meaningless'. But the fact you pointed out needs also to be considered. The death rate has surely fallen. Unless there's some reason the death rate for people 24 hours after an accident is going up. And from now on the total number of deaths will almost definitely keep falling as the population ages.

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  fazool2 at 11:06 AM JST - 3rd January

  It is probably worth noting that improvements in the cars are more than likely responsible for the drop rather than any improvements in driving and/or traffic regulation enforcement; drivers are just as crappy and inattentive as ever, just the cars stop better, have better crash zones, air bags, etc....

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  nandakandamanda at 11:51 AM JST - 3rd January

  The drivers are protected better, fazool2, yes, but many 'victims' are pedestrians or riders of bicycles and motorbikes. (Although I can be argued that many of the 'victims' actually caused the accident...)

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  Zybster at 12:56 PM JST - 3rd January

  Here the numbers do not compare Japan to other countries, they compare Japan to Japan. As such, the traffic toll is going down, as is the total number of accidents. Whatever the NPA or other agencies are doing, this is actually improvement. Let's just hope they keep doing their safety work, and not just concentrate on catching specific offenses during "no keitai while driving" or "backseat passengers wear belts" campaigns.

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  smithinjapan at 01:56 PM JST - 3rd January

  While this is a good thing, if true, I have my doubts that we're hearing everything about it. The fact that someone who dies after 24 hours after the accident has passed is a little odd, but that would definitely cut the fatality rate down.

  What's more, while we are hearing a cut in the overall death rate, we are hearing a rise in the rate of violent deaths involving cars hitting and dragging people because the driver is either drunk or speeding.

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  bamboohat at 02:12 PM JST - 3rd January

  Just curious, that poor woman a couple weeks back that had an accident, and then was refused entry to six hospitals, and then died. What was her death attritubed to?

  Generally I never trust statistics that make public policy makers look good, as they are alwasy looking for ways to tweak data in their favor.

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  BBLeo at 05:07 PM JST - 3rd January

  I do like Japanese cars, but of what I'm reading daily in JT, I hate Japanese drivers. This issue is a problem all over the world, and how can we stop it, is a very serious thinking with millions of people around the world. Vehicles’ manufacturers should start to produce cars, to eliminate speeding with equipped instrument to read speed signs on the road, and car should be moving according to the speed limit that is displayed on the roads. The other instrument in a car should be installed in a car for drivers that are under influence of alcohol, and every driver should do breathe testing before switched on ignition. There is also problem with majority of cars build with a high speed. What is the point of building such cars, if traffic law is not permitting to drive cars faster than what the speed signs are showing? 'Anyone that is on drugs or alcohol behind the steering wheel should never be driving any short of vehicle again. Japanese population is descending, and human lives are taken away by 'Bodoh' drivers.

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  Statistician at 05:33 PM JST - 3rd January

  Before politicians start applauding themselves let's recall that the 14%decline in traffic volume due to the enormous hike in fuel prices between April and September might have something to do with this.

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  Statistician at 05:44 PM JST - 3rd January

  @Patrick Smith

  Victims of accidents not certified dead within 24 hours died of natural causes.

  Nonsense. I suggest you go and read up exactly how deaths are documented and registered in Japan. The data actually refers to deaths registered within the calendar year and is based on medical assessment. So for example if someone had been injured in a traffic accident in November 2007 and died in a doctors opinion primarily of those injuries in January 2008 then they would be counted as a 2008 fatality.

  Social statistics the world over are hard to compile and compare but that doesn't necessarily mean that deception is intended (though it might). In my experience Japanese social statistics are usually honestly compiled (not something I would say about some Japanese financial data).

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  LIBERTAS at 07:00 PM JST - 3rd January

  This is a Darwinian process, the self-destruction of the bad driver syndrome.

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  helloklitty at 11:38 AM JST - 4th January

  I predict a rise for 2009 as gas has become cheap and will stay that way for a few months.

  Should we expect a decrease in auto premiums?

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