Man arrested for dangerous driving resulting in death

A pedestrian in the road and in the dark.

What type of road and what were the conditions at the time?

Japanese roads are notoriously narrow and all road users have very little space between them

Sometimes an accident is just that...an accident.

Again...how does one define dangerous driving in Japan?

Given the conditions and propensity for pedestrians to not give a second thought to their surroundings, I side with the driver not being liable.

S

Spidey

Given the conditions and propensity for pedestrians to not give a second thought to their surroundings, I side with the driver not being liable.

Given the lack of information, the fact that we do not know the conditions on this specific road, and the propensity for both pedestrians and drivers in Japan to behave recklessly, I do not side with either party, at this juncture.

Considering the time of the accident, 1am on a Saturday night, it could have easily been a case of dunk salaryman on his way home from the bar.

Or, a common case of a pedestrian wearing dark clothing at night, walking on a narrow road. (Even when there are sidewalks, such as in my neighborhood, some people will still walk in the road instead of the sidewalk!)

There's no way to know who was at fault with the info provided.

How do we know "that the woman was walking along the side of the road"? There is no witness cited in this report. The unfortunate victim may have been crossing the road when struck, making the driver responsible.

Speeding on a narrow road is no excuse! Some Japanese drivers are shameless for speeding on narrow roads. This guy is obviously one of them! Needs to be more arrests and more police stopping this sort of behaviour!

Spidey......

Sometimes an accident is just that...an accident.

No, there is always a cause. This is why in the UK they are referred to as road traffic incidents and not accidents. In this case I assume the driver was at least driving without due care and attention as he stated he did not see the woman.

Mr Kipling

Spidey......"Sometimes an accident is just that...an accident.

No, there is always a cause. This is why in the UK they are referred to as road traffic incidents and not accidents.

Correct.

In this case I assume the driver was at least driving without due care and attention as he stated he did not see the woman.

What if the street was unlit, and the woman was wearing dark clothing? What if she suddenly crossed in front of him without looking?

In this particular case, with the information given, it is wrong to assume fault of either party. After all, Japan's roads tend to not be conducive for either safe driving or safe walking. (cycling, too).

Police said Ogino has admitted to the charge and quoted him as saying he didn’t see the woman.

Because he was looking at his smartphone.

People commenting with zero experience of driving and living in Japan don’t have a valid opinion

Don't you "love it" when you're walking on the sidewalk and the sidewalk suddenly ends, to force you to walk on the road and then continue another sidewalk a few meters away? So many of those in Japan.

Blindspots of tall concrete walls next to road turns. Houses built right next to the road with close to no space between road and house (no sidewalk).

Here's a link to messed up Japanese traffic engineering that not even Japanese people understand:

https://youtu.be/ePyM5eH96FE

Not enough details to have an opinion, but I will note this: Roads are so narrow here that any driver can end up hitting a pedestrian at times. Unless they never pass them. When I pass by pedestrians or slow bicyclists, I am reminded that any sudden movement on their part will mean an accident. What if the bike suddenly blows a tire, or the pedestrian stumbles?

Seems the pertinent part here is that he admitted he did not see her at all, which puts more blame on his side.

Garypen....

In this particular case, with the information given, it is wrong to assume fault of either party. After all, Japan's roads tend to not be conducive for either safe driving or safe walking. (cycling, too).

This is Japan. Fault is always allocated to one or proportionately, both parties. In this case, the driver has the responsibility to drive without hitting walkers, cyclists or other road users. Sometimes this can be difficult as they may not be helping themselves by wearing dark clothes or running into the road. A case a while back had someone lying in the road.... Driver still at fault.

Many of times i have driven past someone walking in the dark on unlit streets and many of times i did not see them till the last second when i barely missed hitn them. People walking on streets at night need to wear reflective belts / gear and have a flashlight/smartphone to avoid such accidents.

wtf...

Many of times i have driven past someone walking in the dark on unlit streets and many of times i did not see them till the last second when i barely missed hit them.

I have also had this experience both driving and on a bicycle. But guess what? You hit them driving and YOU will be at fault in Japan. EVERYTIME!

This is Japan. Fault is always allocated to one or proportionately, both parties.

When really a lot of the blame often times lies with the planners, designers and engineers. For unsafe, unlit, unmarked roads, pedestrians crossing at the same time as turning traffic, intersections with no line of sight one or both ways, narrow roads filled with obstacles, no sidewalks. And the cops for not enforcing traffic and cycling rules; red light running, stopping at pedestrian crossings, keeping left and so on.

When really a lot of the blame often times lies with the planners, designers and engineers. For unsafe, unlit, unmarked roads, pedestrians crossing at the same time as turning traffic, intersections with no line of sight one or both ways, narrow roads filled with obstacles, no sidewalks. And the cops for not enforcing traffic and cycling rules; red light running, stopping at pedestrian crossings, keeping left and so on.

Many times I had tried to put these thoughts into words. You did it quite succinctly. Well done.

S

Some roads in japan are really substandard to say the least. The roads are very narrow and there is white line made just to pass the road road construction rules to say there is space for walking. However there are all the power poles on them and cars parked along that force pedestrians to walk on the road beyond the white line. I can imagine it is a major hazard for pedestrians at dark.

fatrainfallig.....

When really a lot of the blame often times lies with the planners, designers and engineers. For unsafe, unlit, unmarked roads, pedestrians crossing at the same time as turning traffic, intersections with no line of sight one or both ways, narrow roads filled with obstacles, no sidewalks. And the cops for not enforcing traffic and cycling rules; red light running, stopping at pedestrian crossings, keeping left and so on.

All completely correct and true but will not matter when the courts are assessing who is at fault. The driver is responsible for driving in a manner that doesn't hit anyone. Simple, not fair sometimes but welcome to driving in Japan.

Mr. Kipling,

Sad but true. Even a dash cam won't save you. Worth having one though, for mitigation, if nothing else.