Improved road safety for Japan

Official figures from Japan reveal an improving situation with regard to road safety. According to data from the Japanese 2343 National Police Agency, traffic accident fatalities in 2012 fell 4.4% compared to the previous year. There were 4,411 deaths on Japan’s roads, the first time the annual road fatality rate has dropped below 4,500 since 1951. There has also been a noted drop in the numbers of fatalities related to people driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) at 252, the lowest this has been since 1990. The police attribute this to tougher enforcement and stricter laws relating to DUI offences. However, road accident deaths involving senior citizens aged 65 and more increased to 2,264 cases, so,e 51.3% of the total in 2012. Meanwhile, Aichi prefecture recorded the most fatal accident cases nationwide with 235 deaths, followed by 200 deaths each by Hokkaido and Saitama prefectures. On the other hand, Tottori and Tokushima prefectures reported the fewest number of road accident deaths with 30 and 32 cases respectively.