Changes in Traffic Safety Policies andRegulations in Japan(1950–2010)

Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in 7 Countries (1950-2010)
Copyright(C) 2012 International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences, All rights reserved.

Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Japan (1950-2010)

Kojima, Goto, Kato

1. Introduction
Japan’s economic recovery in the aftermath of the Second World War and its rapid economic
development thereafter have been called “an Asian miracle,” placing Japan in a position of leadershipin the world economy and bringing unprecedented prosperity, both materially and spiritually, to theJapanese people. Road transportation has undergone extensive motorization and played a major role inJapan’s economic growth by enabling movement of both people and goods.
Improvements to Japan’s roadway infrastructure, however, have not always kept pace with rapid
increases in traffic volume. In 1956, a report submitted to the Japanese government by a group of
experts headed by Ralph J. Watkins characterized Japan’s roadways with the frank statement: “Theroads of Japan are incredibly bad. No other industrial nation has so completely neglected its roadsystem. ”
With economic growth comes increased traffic volume, which in turn leads to increased traffic
accidents. This is a pattern that has been observed in all countries worldwide. Any country thatexperiences rapid economic growth as Japan did will be hard pressed not to repeat this experience. Yet,
within this process are elements unique to Japan’s situation. Despite the rapid pace at which Japan’s
traffic volume increased, not only were the existing roadway infrastructure and traffic safety facilities
woefully inadequate, a lack of financial resources meant that only a limited number ofslowly-proceeding improvements could be made. Tax revenues earmarked for roadway construction
was first established in 1954, and in 1957 financing from the World Bank enabled the start ofconstruction for a series of expressways that were intended to open in time for the Tokyo Olympics in
1964. Despite all this, however, there was little funding available for improvements to traffic safety
facilities. The result was rapid increases in both injuries and fatalities due to traffic accidents.
This trend was finally reversed around 1970, at which point injuries and fatalities due to traffic
accidents in Japan began to decrease. With the allocation of funding specifically for the enhancementof traffic safety, programs to improve traffic safety facilities nationwide were at last implemented.
Additionally, law enforcement throughout Japan also continued its efforts, which had begun during the
1960s or even earlier, to stem the sharp increase in traffic accidents. In these efforts can also be seen aresourceful approach by postwar municipal police departments toward the adoption of policies thatwould contravene the draconian image created by the Peace Preservation Police and the Security
Police during the prewar era. In fact, it is difficult to overstate the extent to which traffic safety policy
is associated with postwar democratic law enforcement. This particular point, which municipal police
departments nationwide struggled incessantly with at a time when the image of prewar police
remained ingrained in much of the general public, is something that many developing countries would
do well to consider in the formulation of traffic safety policy.
Throughout the rest of this paper, I will use a variety of statistics to illustrate historical trends in traffic
accidents and the effect they had on the development of Japan’s traffic safety policies up to the present time.

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2. Basic Traffic Safety Statistics
2.1 Japan’s Population
According to the National Census, Japan’s population in 2010 was 128 million, including
non-Japanese residents, which is a slight increase over the previous census taken in 2005. Looking
only at Japanese nationals, we see a slight decrease during this same time frame of approximately
37,000 people. This is the first time since the National Census began that the native population has
shown a decrease, and as many have noted, Japan’s population has peaked and is about to enter an eraof negative growth.
Figure 1 shows Japan’s population and growth rate during the postwar era. Although Japan’s
population during the prewar era did not reach the 80 million mark, the influx of postwar returnees
helped boost it over that figure in 1948, after which it continued to grow rapidly, reaching 90 million
in 1956, 100 million in 1967, and 1.2 million in 1984.
In contrast, even as the population continued to grow, the population growth rate showed a tendency todecline, and although it averaged approximately 1.1% throughout the 1970s, it fell to 0.5% in the
1980s, 0.2% in the 1990s, and to 0% during the first decade of the 21st century.
Looking at demographic age distribution, we see that Japan’s population is aging faster than any othercountry in the world. The graying of Japan’s population, as measured by the percentage of the
population that is 65 years of age or older, had reached 23.1% in the 2010 National Census, andstatistics issued by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research indicate that thisis expected to reach nearly 40% by 2050, as shown in Figure 2. In fact, protection of the elderly is amajor topic of concern in the planning of traffic safety policies in Japan, and in the not too distantfuture, Japan’s initiatives in this area could serve as models for similar policies in other countries thatmust deal with declining populations.

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Figure 1

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Population growth and growth rate in Japan from 1950 to 2010

Source: Japan Statistical Yearbook 2011 published by the Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications pp.
34–35

Figure 2

Historical population age distribution in Japan from 1950 to 2010 with predictions to 2055

Source: National Institute of Population and Social Security Research Website(http://www.ipss.go.jp) Population Statistics II,

Population by Age, Table 2-9 Actual and Projected Population by Age: 1920–2055(in Japanese)

2.2 Road and Highway Lengths
Figure 3 shows the total length of public roads and highways in Japan, which comprises
nationally-maintained highways, prefecturally-maintained roadways, and municipally-maintainedroads. In the 1950s, the total length of all public roads and highways had exceeded 900,000 km andhad been extended to over 1.2 million km by the end of FY2009. Since 1954, maintenance andimprovement of these roads has been provided for by tax revenues earmarked for roadway
construction, which is a major factor in this growth.

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Figure 3

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Public road and highway construction from FY1952 to FY2009

Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Website, Road and Traffic Yearbook 2011,(http://www.mlit.go.jp/road/ir/ir-data/tokei-nen/index.html) (in Japanese)
Note: The figures used do not reflect lengths of overlapping routes, routes not in service, or ferry routes.

Figure 4 shows the total length of expressways in service. Starting with the 1963 opening of the
Meishin (Nagoya–Kōbe) Expressway, construction of new expressways in Japan has continued
steadily year by year and reached a total length of 7,642 km by the end of FY2009.

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Figure 4

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Expressway construction from FY1963 to FY2009

Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Website, Road and Traffic Yearbook 2011,(http://www.mlit.go.jp/road/ir/ir-data/tokei-nen/index.html) (in Japanese)

2.3 Number of Motor Vehicle Ownership
Figure 5 shows changes in ownership of motor vehicles during the period from 1956 to 2009, andTable 1 shows the rate of change over most of that period expressed in five-year increments. In
consumer theory, motor vehicles are generally considered to be superior goods, which means thatdemand increases as income rises, but increased income from Japan’s sharp economic growth meant
that, irrespective of slight disruptions such as the 1974 oil shock, ownership of motor vehicles
increased rapidly during this period.1
Ownership of automobiles saw double-digit growth annually until 1970, as did motorcycles until 1965.
1966, in particular, became known as the First Year of the Family Car, with Japanese automakers
launching new-model mass-market cars one after the other, vastly expanding car ownership in Japan.
Entering the 1970s, however, car ownership began to grow more slowly, and growth from 1990
onward has declined steadily, with annual averages of 2.11%, 1.09%, and 0.57% for the three five-year
periods from 1991 to 2005.
Although mopeds were extremely popular as an inexpensive mode of transportation during the late1970s and early 1980s, motorcycle ownership in general has declined steadily over the course of thefour five-year periods since 1986. Rapid increases in the number of accidents involving mopeds led to
mandatory use of helmets starting in 1986.
1

In 1956, the Annual Economic Report contained a passage that has become famous as an example of the rhetoric of era:
We have left the “postwar” behind and are now about to face an entirely new situation. Our economic recovery is now
complete. Future growth will be supported by modernization. The advances of modernization will in turn be achieved throughrapid and stable economic growth. From this time on, the Japanese economy has undergone multiple cycles of expansion andcontraction but has continued to grow rapidly

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Figure 5

Motor vehicle ownership from 1956 to 2009

Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Motor Vehicle Ownership Monthly

Table 1

Rate of change of motor vehicle ownership (%)

Year

Total Motor

Automobiles

Motorcycles

1956–60

15.72

18.11

17.09

1961–65

23.16

13.21

17.72

1966–70

14.72

1.65

9.53

1971–75

6.54

-0.13

4.79

1976–80

4.69

6.20

5.03

1981–85

2.98

6.81

3.95

1986–90

3.59

-1.04

2.41

1991–95

2.11

-2.09

1.25

1996–2000

1.09

-1.71

0.62

2001–05

0.57

-0.77

0.37

Vehicles

Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Motor Vehicle Ownership Monthly

2.4 Number of Individuals Holding a Driver’s License
According to the National Police Agency, 81 million people held a driver’s license in Japan during
2010, which is 3.3 times the number of license holders there were when the driver’s license
management system began collecting statistical data in 1969. Except for a brief rise in the late 1970s,
however, the growth rate has been declining steadily, and it has fallen to nearly 0% in recent years.
Figure 6 shows the number of individuals holding a driver’s license and the growth rate of that number
from 1969 to 2010.

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Looking at age distribution, in 2010, 16% of all individuals holding a driver’s license were 65 years ofage or older, and this number is expected to increase. It will become increasingly important to takemeasures to reduce the opportunity for the elderly to drive, such as a program to encourage voluntary
relinquishment of driver’s licenses, as part of traffic safety policies specifically for elderly drivers.
Moreover, there are currently two programs for the elderly: markers for elderly drivers and courses forthe elderly. The former program has been proven to contribute to traffic safety, but the effectiveness of
the latter remains unclear (Sugimoto, 2012)

Figure 6

Number of individuals holding a driver’s license and growth rate from 1969 to 2010

Source: Page 1 of Driver’s License Statistics 2010, published in 2011 by Driver’s License Dept., National Police Agency

2.5 Number of Fatalities and Injuries due to Traffic Accidents
Figure 7 shows fatalities due to traffic accidents in Japan from 1950 to 2010. The rapid increase inmotor vehicle ownership that began in the 1950s was accompanied by a rapid increase in fatalities due
to traffic accidents. For example, there were 8,200 traffic fatalities in 1958, more than 10,000 in 1959,
and more than 12,000 in 1960. Despite a brief respite immediately thereafter, the number of traffic
fatalities generally continued to escalate rapidly, reaching a record high of 16,765 in 1970, which still
stands as the worst year ever in Japan. The latter half of the 1960s in particular, which became known
as the “First Traffic War” witnessed dramatic increases in the number of both traffic accidents, as seenin Figure 11, and fatalities.
This led to a public call for policies to reduce traffic accidents, which resulted in the Traffic Safety
Policies Basic Act being passed into law in 1970.2 This Act also served as the basis on which the2

The objective of this Act, as given in its first article, is to contribute to the enhancement of public welfare throughcomprehensive and systematic promotion of traffic safety policies, by clarifying the responsibilities of national and local
public service organizations as well as of both passengers and operators of motor vehicles, marine vessels, and aircraft withregard to traffic safety, establishing basic structures needed for traffic safety through national and local public service

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Central Traffic Safety Policy Council issued the First Traffic Safety Basic Action Plan in 1971. Since
that time, new plans have been drafted every five years, and 2011 saw issuance of the Ninth Traffic
Safety Basic Action Plan.
With the issuance of Traffic Safety Basic Action Plans and the joint cooperation of the public andprivate sectors in implementing traffic safety measures, the targets specified in each five-year plan had
helped reduce traffic fatalities to just over 8,000 by 1979, or roughly half of the figure for 1970. The
effect was temporary, however, and traffic fatalities began to rise yet again, reaching the 10,000 markfor a second time in 1988 and continuing to rise until 1992. But the trend has been downward sincethat time, reaching 4,863 in 2010 and 4,611 in 2011, which marked the 11th consecutive year in which
traffic fatalities had declined.

Figure 7

Fatalities (within 24 hours) due to traffic accidents from 1950 to 2010

Source: Traffic Accident Statistics published annually by the Traffic Bureau of the National Police Agency

The 9th Traffic Safety Basic Action Plan, drafted in 2011, identified the following characteristics oftraffic fatalities in recent years:(1) As shown in Table 2, traffic fatalities in which the victim was 65 years of age or older continue
at a high rate, comprising half of all fatalities. In more than 60% of these, the elderly victim
was a pedestrian or was riding a bicycle. Also, the number of fatal accidents involving elderly
drivers has increased in recent years.
(2) Fatalities of youths between the ages of 16 and 24 have dropped significantly, especially interms of deaths of passengers.
(3) Compared with North America and Europe, the percentage of traffic fatality victims who werepedestrians or riding bicycles is high.
organizations, and providing for the establishment of traffic safety planning and other measures to be implemented bynational and local public service organizations .

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Japan (1950-2010)(4) The number of fatal accidents involving speeding violations or driving under the influence ofalcohol is declining.
Other reasons given for recent declines in traffic fatalities include the effects of improvements toroadway and traffic control facilities, diffusion and thoroughness of traffic safety education, greaterawareness and implementation of defensive driving techniques, enhanced safety features on motor
vehicles, continued enforcement of and compliance with traffic safety laws, and improvements toemergency response. Major factors that can be defined quantitatively include the following:(1) Reduced incidence of malicious or irresponsible behavior such as driving under the influenceof alcohol(2) Reduced incidence of fatalities among automobile passengers, attributed to increased use ofseat belts(3) Enhanced hazard perception at lower speeds (vehicle speeds immediately prior to accidents)(4) Reduced incident of jaywalking and other violations by pedestrians(5) Enhanced safety features on motor vehicles
Table 2 Traffic fatalities by age for 2010
15 yrs. or

65 yrs. or
16–24 yrs.

25–29 yrs.

30–39 yrs.

40–49 yrs.

50–59 yrs.

60–64

yrs.

younger

Total
older

111

469

198

378

395

489

373

2,450

4,863

2.3%

9.6%

4.1%

7.8%

8.1%

10.1%

7.7%

50.4%

100%

Source: Page 10 of the Traffic Safety Report, published by the Cabinet Office in 2011

In 1993, the National Police Agency, recognizing a need both to track fatalities caused by traffic
accidents for more than just 24 hours and to make accurate comparisons with statistics from othercountries, began to compile statistics on fatalities after the first 24 hours but within 30 days of theaccident. Total fatalities from 1993 to 2010 are shown in Table 3 and classified as being within 24
hours (A) and within 30 day (B). Although B is naturally larger than A, the ratio B/A has been
relatively steady at a value of between 1.15 and 1.20.

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Table 3 Traffic fatalities within 24 hour and within 30 days from 1993 to 2010
Fatalities within 24 hours (A)Fatalities within 30 days (B)

B/A

1993

10,942

13,2691.21

1994

10,64912,768

1.20

1995

10,67912,670

1.19

1996

9,942

11,674

1.17

1997

9,640

11,254

1.17

1998

9,211

10,805

1.17

1999

9,006

10,372

1.15

2000

9,066

10,403

1.15

2001

8,747

10,060

1.15

2002

8,326

9,575

1.15

2003

7,702

8,877

1.15

2004

7,358

8,492

1.15

2005

6,871

7,931

1.15

2006

6,352

7,272

1.14

2007

5,744

6,639

1.16

2008

5,155

6,023

1.17

2009

4,914

5,772

1.17

2010

4,863

5,745

1.18

Source: Traffic Safety Report, published annually by the Cabinet Office

Figure 8 shows injuries from traffic accidents. As with traffic fatalities, the number of injuries due totraffic accidents reached a peak in 1970, declined until 1977, but peaked again during the early 2000s.3

3

With traffic deaths once again passing the 10,000 mark, the years from 1988 onward, during which numerous traffic safety
policies were implemented, became known as the “Second Traffic War,” just as the 1970s had been known as the “First
Traffic War.” For example, both stronger penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol enacted in 2001 as well as theestablishment of mandatory imprisonment for dangerous driving resulting in vehicular manslaughter in 2007 have clearly had
a major effect.

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Figure 8

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Injuries due to traffic accidents from 1950 to 2010

Source: Traffic Accident Statistics published annually by the Traffic Bureau of the National Police Agency
Note: Data other than Total was unavailable for 1982

Looking at changes in the number of fatalities and injuries due to traffic accidents, we see that, fromthe 1990s on, major reductions in the number of fatalities have been accompanied by increases in thenumber of injuries, and that although the percentage of passengers who become fatalities in traffic
accidents has decreased, the percentage of pedestrians who become fatalities has increased, as shownin Figure 9. Also, the percentage of passengers as well as the percentage of people riding bicycles who
suffer injuries due to traffic accidents has increased, as shown in Figure 10.

Figure 9

Breakdown of fatalities due to traffic accidents from 1975 to 2010

Source: Traffic Accident Statistics published annually by the Traffic Bureau of the National Police Agency

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Figure 10

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Breakdown of injuries due to traffic accidents from 1975 to 2010

Source: Traffic Accident Statistics published annually by the Traffic Bureau of the National Police Agency
Note: Data for1982 unavailable

2.6 Number of Traffic Accidents
Figure 11 shows the number of accidents as well as fatalities and injuries per 10,000 vehicles from1950 to 2010. The number of traffic accidents peaked in 1969 at slightly more than 720,000. Although
this number initially dropped in the following years, from the 1980s on, Japan witnessed a slow andsteady climb that eventually exceeded 950,000 in 2004, which was the worst year on record. Since thattime, there has been a downward trend that dropped to 725,000 in 2010.
Fatalities and injuries per 10,000 vehicles have remained stable at a relatively low level since the1970s, and figures of 0.6 and 113.3, respectively, were recorded in 2010.

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Figure 11 Number of accidents as well as fatalities and injuries per 10,000 vehicles from 1950 to 2010
Source: Page 1 of the Traffic Accident Statistical Yearbook 2010, published by the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data
Analysis in 2011

3. Governments Agencies and Research Institutions
Involved in Traffic Safety
3.1 National Programs for Promoting Traffic Safety(1) Central Traffic Safety Policy Council
Under the provisions of the Traffic Safety Policies Basic Act, which passed into law in 1970, thePrime Minister’s Office established a Central Traffic Safety Policy Council, which was later moved tothe jurisdiction of the Cabinet Office in 2001. This Council, which is chaired by the prime minister,comprises the chief cabinet secretary, the heads of specified government agencies, and other ministers
of state for special missions as named by the prime minister and is responsible for promoting thedrafting and implementation of Traffic Safety Basic Action Plans.

(2) Traffic Policy Institute
In 1960, the Traffic Accident Prevention Policy Institute, which had been a part of the cabinet since its
inception in 1955, was dissolved and reorganized under its present name as part of the Prime
Minister’s Office. Later, in 1984, it was transferred to the Management and Coordination Agency. The
Institute is responsible for promoting policies specified in Traffic Safety Basic Action Plans as well as
for the planning and promoting of other important comprehensive policies related to traffic safety.

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(3) General coordination of traffic safety measures and administration
With the passing into law of the Traffic Safety Policies Basic Act in 1970, the Overland Traffic Safety
Survey Office, which had been established as part of the Prime Minister’s Office in 1965, wasreorganized as the Traffic Safety Policy Office. Later, in 1984, it was transferred to the Management
and Coordination Agency. During reorganization of the central ministries in 2001, most of the duties
performed by the Traffic Safety Policy Office as part of the Management and Coordination Agency
were transferred to the office of the Director-General for Policies on Cohesive Society Planning in the
Cabinet Office. Accordingly, the director-general is now responsible for administration of planningand proposals necessary to promote unification of government measures for ensuring traffic safety as
well as general coordination and administration of the drafting and promoting of Traffic Safety Basic
Action Plans.

3.2 Prefectural and Municipal Programs for Promoting Traffic Safety(1) Prefectural Traffic Safety Policy Councils
The Traffic Safety Policies Basic Act provides for the establishment of Prefectural Traffic Safety
Policy Councils in each prefecture as well as for the voluntary establishment of Municipal Traffic
Safety Policy Councils in municipalities that wish to establish them. These Councils are responsible
for promoting deliberation and implementation of comprehensive measures related to overland traffic
safety as well as the drafting and implementation of traffic safety plans.

(2) Prefectural Traffic Policy Institutes
Prefectural Traffic Policy Institutes are established in each prefecture to function in a mannercorresponding to the national Traffic Policy Institute.

(3) General coordination of traffic safety measures and administration
These prefectural and municipal organizations are to establish traffic policy departments, traffic safety
policy offices, and other agencies as necessary to coordinate administration and comprehensive
promotion of traffic safety policies on their behalf.

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Figure 12

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National, prefectural, and municipal programs for promoting traffic safety

Source: Cabinet Office Website (http://www8.cao.go.jp/koutu/taisaku/suishin.html) (in Japanese)

3.3 Major Research Institutions Involved in Traffic Safety(1) Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis (ITARDA)
Established in 1992 under the auspices of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, ITARDA
performs comprehensive survey research on topics related to traffic accidents and their relationship tohumans, road traffic conditions, and motor vehicles. URL: http://www.itarda. or.jp/english/(2) National Agency for Automotive Safety and Victim’s Aid (NASVA)
Established in 2003 under the auspices of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, NASVA
provides services related to the prevention of motor vehicle accidents and the promotion of aid tovictims of traffic accidents. URL: http://www.nasva.go.jp/mamoru/en/201

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(3) National Research Institute of Police Science (NRIPS)
Established in 1959 as an affiliated organization of the National Police Agency, NRIPS provides awide ranges of services related to forensic sciences, crime prevention, and the prevention of traffic
accidents. URL: http://www.npa.go.jp/nrips/en/index.html

4. Changes in Traffic Safety Policies
Traffic safety policies in Japan can be generally classified into one of four categories: investment in traffic
safety facilities, improvement of the driver’s license system, traffic safety education, and enforcement oftraffic rules. Of these, full-fledged investment in traffic safety facilities began in the late 1960s, whileearlier policies focused on the remaining three categories. The one requiring the most effort, however, wasenforcement of traffic rules. Given that it is the role of the police department to enforce traffic rules, greatcare was taken to contravene any perception of draconian authority.
For example, the Road Traffic Enforcement Act was passed into law in 1947, but when this act wasrevised in 1960, the word enforcement was removed from the name, so that it became the Road Traffic
Act. The reasoning behind this decision had to do with the fact that traffic regulations are not a part ofcriminal law as well as the desire to distinguish postwar law enforcement from its prewar predecessors
and to create legislation that would foster trust between the law enforcement and the general public.
This has become an enduring theme of postwar traffic regulation, and one characteristic of traffic
safety education in this period is cooperation between the public and the private sector, with only
indirect contributions from law enforcement. The following is a roughly chronological all review ofthe history of traffic safety policy in Japan.

4.1 Driver’s License System
The basic laws affecting the driver’s license system in Japan are the prewar Regulations for Motor
Vehicle Enforcement of 1919 and the postwar Road Traffic Enforcement Act and Regulations forRoad Traffic Enforcement, both of 1947. In addition, driver’s licenses were originally handled at theprefectural level. A distinction is made between licenses for automobiles and those for motorcycles,with the exception of small-displacement motorcycles that may also be operated by holders of otherlicenses. Since 1965, all two-wheeled vehicles with displacements of 50 cc or higher may be operated
by holders of a motorcycle license. Figure 6 above shows the number of individuals holding a driver’s
license in Japan from 1969 to 2010.
A characteristic of Japan’s driver license system is that 95% of all holders of driver’s licenses receive
driver education at an authorized driving school. Although similar driving schools exist in Europe andNorth America, there is no obligation to undergo class work and training at an authorized institution,
as there is in Japan. Although driving schools existed during the prewar era, there were no unified

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standards. Just as with driver’s licenses, the Road Traffic Enforcement Act and Regulations for Road
Traffic Enforcement of 1947 are the basic laws affecting driving schools, and the Road Traffic Act of1960 provided for the current system of authorized driving schools. The schools must be authorized by
the National Public Safety Commission, and the requirements for receiving authorization include
certified instructors; the construction of a course with a specific area, geometry, and structure; and theuse of educational programs and facilities that conform to criteria given in the Road Traffic Act.
Students are required to pass a driving proficiency test prior to graduation, and a unique characteristicof this system is that those who do graduate are exempted from having to retake the proficiency testwhen they apply for a driver’s license.
Another characteristic is that holders may renew their license at a minimal cost and after only a brief
refresher course even without any actual experience behind the wheel. In fact, since even people who
do not actually drive are able to renew their driver’s license just as long as they are not guilty of any
violation or accident, a driver’s license is automatically “good for life,” and as a result is often
renewed merely for its convenience as a means of identification. Many have pointed out, of course, thedisadvantages of a system that permits so-called “paper drivers” to continue to renew their license
indefinitely in spite of the fact that their proficiency is never retested and thus the level of their driving
skills or their ability to drive safely remains unknown.

4.2 No Honking, Please—Public and Private Sector Cooperationin Traffic Safety Education4
The present day issue of noise pollution due to overuse of car horns that is prevalent throughout Asia
was an issue in postwar Japan, as well. The following case study of the No Honking, Please movementin Japan is presented as an example of how law enforcement can contribute to public awareness of
traffic safety.
The No Honking, Please movement was part of grassroots efforts to reduce traffic noise in the 1950s
that were also known under names like Stop Traffic Noise or Refrain from Honking. Noise came fromthings like trolleys, construction sites, and advertising attractions, but the single largest source was thehorns of motor vehicles. Noise levels in 1953 were 70 to 75 phons.
The use of horns as necessary to ensure safety when passing or when driving slowly had beenrecognized legally. Article 13 of the Road Traffic Enforcement Act that came into effect in 1948
stated that “actions necessary when following or passing vehicles or horses are hereby stipulated.” In
addition, Article 24, Paragraph 2 of the same Act further stipulated that “when overtaking anothervehicle, the following vehicle must whistle, shout, or otherwise signal its presence to the leading
vehicle as a warning to ensure traffic safety when passing.” Moreover, Article 20 of the Road Traffic
Enforcement Act stated that “actions necessary when a vehicle or horse, or railway vehicle must move
4

This section is based on Kato’s contribution to International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences,
Research Project Report H2296 (2011).

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slowly are hereby stipulated,” and Article 29 of that same law states that “a vehicle or horse, or
railway vehicle must whistle, shout, or otherwise signal its presence when passing intersections wherevisibility is poor or the top of slopes, curves, crosswalks or crowded areas.”
Thus, the sounding of a horn was a legal obligation in instances such as these. As reported byTominaga (1993), when movements to mitigate noise began, traffic officers requested clarification as
to whether or not they should enforce laws requiring the sounding of horns, and were told that once
movements to mitigate noise began, there would be no need for enforcement.
In Tokyo, an anti-noise ordinance was enacted in November, 1953, and the Refrain from Honking
movement began on January 1, 1954. The effect, however, was less than hoped for, because theaffected areas included only the area bounded by Hibiya, Otemachi, Nihonbashi, Edobashi,
Shinbashi-ichome, Toranomon, and Keishicho [the Metropolitan Police Department].
The first area to achieve results was Osaka. In the postwar period, rampant use of loudspeakers on city
streets led to numerous complaints to Osaka City Hall. After consultations involving the Osaka
Prefectural Police Department, other related organizations, and citizen’s groups, a Quiet City
movement began on March 1, 1958. The original objective was to reduce noise from car horns andimprove the manners of pedestrians. An early slogan was Go Slow and Pay Attention without Honking,and a Thank You, Drivers campaign as well as an essay and a poster contest were held to publicize theevent to elementary-school students and small children. With the success of these activities in Osaka,
similar programs were seen throughout Japan.
The No Honking, Please movement emphasized the importance of quality of life over the letter of thelaw, and showed that cooperation between the public and private sectors as well as grassroots
movements could achieve change without the participation of law enforcement, and a review of thisera is certain to provide plenty of useful ideas to other countries where there is concern over noisefrom car horns.

4.3 Improvements to Traffic Safety Facilities
4.3.1 Improvements and financing
Article 2, Paragraph 3 of the 1966 Act for Promotion of Improvements to Traffic Safety Facilities
specifies two types of improvements for special consideration. The first is projects for the installation
either of (1) traffic signals, roadway signage, and roadway markers or for (2) traffic control centers,
both of which are undertaken by Prefectural Public Safety Commissions.
The second is projects for the installation either of (1) overhead or underground pedestrian crossings aswell as other emergency measures necessary for ensuring traffic safety within sidewalks, bicycle paths,
and other segments of roadways or other enhancements of roadways as specified by government
ordinance and (2) roadway signage (route number markers and maps for pedestrians), guardrails, street
lamps or other appurtenant devices specified by government ordinance as necessary to ensure traffic

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Kojima, Goto, Kato

safety, and lane markers, both of which are undertaken by the roadway administrator. The funding forthese improvements was also divided into two major classifications, which are explained below.

4.3.2 Road improvement special accounting and improvements to traffic safety facilities(1) Road improvement special accounting and road finances
Article 13 of the Public Finance Act specifies that accounting procedures for the Japanese government
be divided into general accounting and special accounting, but both the Japanese constitution and the
Public Finance Act treat special accounting procedures in the same manner as general accounting
procedures. Moreover, there are transfers from general accounting to special accounting that preventthese two from being completely independent. The difference between special accounting and generalaccounting lies in provisions for itemized reporting of annual revenues and expenditures. Based on
this, a budget specifically for roadway construction must allocate specific annual revenues to specificannual expenditures—in other words, road improvement projects—which are reported under road
improvement special accounting procedures (and later as a road improvement account under social
capital improvement project special accounting procedures).
7,000,000,000

In units of 1,000 yen
5,893,281,719

6,000,000,000

5,000,000,000

4,000,000,000

3,000,000,000

2,000,000,000

1,000,000,000

FiscalYear

65,224,974
0

Figure 13

Road improvement special accounting annual expenditures from FY1958 to FY2009

Source: Table No. 8—Special accounting annual revenue and expenditure since FY1890, published by the Ministry of Finance in 2011 Note:
Using data for road improvement accounts under social capital improvement project special accounting from FY2008 settlements

Figure 13 shows road improvement special accounting annual expenditures from FY1958 to FY2009.
This figure shows that what was originally a 65 billion yen budget eventually grew in scale to a record

205

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Japan (1950-2010)5.89 trillion yen in FY1995. Naturally, these figures would need to be adjusted for inflation in aserious comparative study, but even the raw data shows us the extent that road improvements in Japangrew in a short period of time.
Table 4 Road finances and administrative authority
National(Road special
accounting)National
taxes

Gasoline tax

100%

LPG tax

50%

Motor vehicle tax

Approx. 13%100%

Motor vehicle acquisition tax
taxes

Municipal

50%

Approx. 53%

Diesel oil delivery tax

Local

Prefectural

Local road tax

Approx. 30%

Approx. 70%

58%

42%

Local motor vehicle tax

100%

Local LPG tax

100%

Source: Excerpted from budget deletions given on page 36 of Goto (2009)
Note: All LPG tax (prefectural rate of 50%) goes to local LPG taxes, and all motor vehicle tax (municipal rate of 13%) goes to local
motor vehicle taxes. Two-thirds of all revenues from motor vehicle taxes go to national taxes, 77.5% of which are used for road finance.

Figure 14

Flowchart for road improvement special accounting annual revenue andexpenditure until FY2008
Source: Excerpted from page 36 of Goto (2009)

Note: The fractions in the chart indicate portions of tax revenue distributed. Also, road improvement special accounting includes
funds from other industrial investment special accounting and NTT finances.

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Road users pay a variety of taxes related to that use, as shown in Table 4. This system is based on theconcept that those who extract benefit from roadway improvement should also bear the cost, and ismodeled on the Highway Trust Fund in the United States. Funds earmarked for roadway construction
include national taxes such as gasoline taxes, LPG taxes, and motor vehicle taxes, which are subject toroad improvement special accounting procedures. As shown in Figure 14, funds from road
improvement special accounting are distributed to local public agencies through prefectural road
improvement interim revenue projects, ordinary supplemental projects, and other projects. The
framework for financing of road improvement in Japan has not changed significantly since 1958, but
the system shown above was discontinued in March of 2009 and road finances were reclassified to fallunder the general budget the following April.
One advantage of specifically allocated budgets is the underlying logic of expecting those who extract
benefit to bear the cost—a relationship that is not always clear when financing comes from the generalbudget. Another benefit lies in the fact that road improvement is an investment with a long period ofgestation, and a specifically allocated budget helps ensure stable financing. Disadvantages include alack of flexibility and the potential for wastefulness or surpluses when revenues are high. Yet many
feel the same disadvantages still exist even under a general budget, and cite difficulties in comparing
systems on a qualitative basis.

(2) Financing for traffic safety facilities
The law that provides the basis for expenditure of road financing on traffic safety facilities is theEmergency Measures for Improvements to Traffic Safety Facilities Act, which passed into law in 1966.
After a number of revisions, this law was revised and renamed Promotion of Improvements to Traffic
Safety Facilities Act in March, 2003. Later, the Traffic Safety Facilities Improvement Five-Year Plan
was integrated together with other long-term social capital improvement plans into the Social Capital
Improvement Priority Plan.
Under this same law, based on the incidence of traffic accidents and other criteria such as traffic
volume, the Japanese government designated “roads recognized as being particularly important toensuring traffic safety” as eligible for “complete or partial funding, or provision of supplemental
funding, from the national government for improvements to traffic safety facilities.” These were called“special traffic safety facility improvement projects.” In addition, the Prefectural Public Safety
Commissions and roadway administrators who were to be responsible for implementing these projects
were required to create traffic safety facility improvement plans based on a national Traffic Safety
Facilities Improvement Three-Year Plan (which was later revised into a Traffic Safety Facilities
Improvement Five-Year Plan and integrated into the Social Capital Improvement Priority Plan Act).
Under this law, the Japanese government would bear one-half the cost of special traffic safety facility
improvement projects undertaken by the roadway administrator of national highways, prefectural
roadways, and municipal roads as well as provide supplemental funding amounting to 55% of the cost207

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Kojima, Goto, Katoof traffic safety projects undertaken on municipal roads designated as school routes by government
ordinance.

(3) Traffic safety policy special funding accounts
A system for traffic fines was instituted as part of the 1968 revision of the Road Traffic Act, andserved as the basis for the collection of fines.5 Accounting procedures for these monies specified thatthey should be used to defray the cost of improvements to road traffic safety facilities. Specifically,
these monies were to defray the cost of the installation and maintenance for road traffic safety facility
projects undertaken independently by local public agencies that were designated by government
ordnance, and were used for traffic signals, roadway signage, pedestrian crossings, and other facilities,
under the terms of special accounting, as described above.
Since FY1983, financing that had previously been handled with general accounting procedures has
been performed as special accounting procedures for distribution of tax revenues. Special accounting
procedures for distribution of tax revenues is a special accounting procedure that was instituted
together with the establishment of a system for distribution of local tax revenues in 1954, and ishandled by the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and the Ministryof Finance.

5

After the Road Traffic Act passed into law, the number of traffic violation tickets issued continued to increase, and in orderto provide prompt processing, a common format for traffic violation tickets was used after January, 1963. The number oftickets issued, however, continued to increase, and to further expedite prompt processing, payment of a fine to a local
government agency in lieu of criminal prosecution was instituted for violations that did not involve criminal negligence. Thus,a system for traffic fines was introduced. Drivers stopped for traffic violations were now given traffic violation tickets rather
than a summons to appear. Summons to appear were thereafter used only for [more serious] infractions that were not subject
to fines. Traffic violation tickets included traffic violation notifications, license storage receipt, traffic accident form, traffic
violation notification, enforcement form, notification form, traffic law violation ledger, and other documentation.

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120,000,000

In units of 1,000 yen
100,863,666
100,000,000

80,000,000

60,000,000

40,000,000

20,000,000

FiscalYear

0

Figure 15 Expenditures from traffic safety policy special funding accounts per special accounting
procedures for distribution of tax revenue from FY1983 to FY2009
Source: Table No. 8—Special accounting annual income and expenditure since FY1890, published by the Ministry of Finance in 2011

Figure 15 shows expenditures from traffic safety policy special funding accounts per special
accounting procedures for distribution of tax revenue from FY1983 to FY2009. As can be seen,
expenditures from traffic safety policy special funding accounts peaked in FY1987 at just over 100
billion yen, but expenditures continue at a rate of approximately 80 billion yen annually. Also, annual
revenue for FY2009 was 79,876,220,000 yen, the majority of which (73,864,300,000 yen, in fact),came from fines paid against traffic violation tickets. A comparison of these figures reveals a shortfall
of approximately 5,191,830,000 yen, which was attributed to “less revenue than anticipated frompayment of fines” in the Ministry of Finance’s Settlement of Special Accounts for FY2009.
A review of traffic safety policies will show the benefits of allocating monies from payment of fines tospecific uses and of having a budget specifically for roadway construction. In Japan, the conversion of
specific budgets to general finance has brought about a reduction in public works projects. In the
United States, as well, even at the state level, allocation of fuel taxes to general finance usually leads
to reduced expenditure on roads. History shows us the necessity for having those who extract benefit
bear the cost and for handling improvements to roadways and safety facilities as a single entity.

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4.3.3 Traffic safety facility improvement plans and social capital improvement plans6
Since 1955, motor vehicle traffic volumes in Japan have continued to increase rapidly, as has theincidence of traffic accidents. In response to this, the government established a Traffic Accident
Prevention Policy Institute in 1955. This organization was dissolved and reorganized under the
auspices of the Prime Minister’s Office as the Traffic Policy Institute in 1960. Another measure for
implementing traffic accident policy was the establishment of a Special Traffic Ministers Conferencein 1961, which was dissolved and reorganized as the Traffic Ministers Council in 1965.
Despite these measures, traffic accidents continued to rise, and in order to implement further policies
against traffic accidents, the aforementioned Emergency Measures for Improvements to Traffic Safety
Facilities Act was passed into law and served as the basis for establishment of the First Three-Year
Plan and implementation of traffic safety facility improvement projects in 1966.
Prior to this, improvements to roadway signage and other traffic safety facilities were considered the
responsibility of prefectural Public Safety Commissions, which were authorized to enact traffic
regulations, and because of this, the cost of such improvement projects was borne by the prefectures,with few subsidies from the Japanese government. With the dramatic rise in traffic casualties that
accompanied increased motorization, however, the need for all traffic safety facilities throughout
Japan to conform to a given standard was recognized. Thus, in 1965, with the publication of
Emergency Measures to Effect Thorough Traffic Accident Prevention, the Traffic Policy Institutecalled for prioritizing the upgrading and expansion of traffic safety facilities, thereby paving the way
for the Emergency Measures for Improvements to Traffic Safety Facilities Act.
The purpose of this Act was “to provide for improvements to traffic conditions, thereby preventing
traffic accidents and promoting the smooth flow of traffic, through implementation of traffic safety
facility improvement projects based on comprehensive planning for roadways that are sites of frequent
accidents or that are considered to be necessary to ensuring traffic safety in emergencies,” and it
contained specific provisions for planning, roadway designation, and financing.
With these measures began a system under which the government systematically supplemented
prefectural efforts to raise traffic safety facilities to a specific level. The Emergency Measures for
Improvements to Traffic Safety Facilities Act continued to serve as a basis for government subsidy of
traffic safety facility improvement projects until 2002. Under the provisions of this Act, projects whichwere subsidized partially or in whole were referred to as “Designated traffic safety facility
improvement projects” and all other projects were referred to as “local independent traffic safety
facility improvement projects,” and authorization of subsidies was reviewed each time a new plan was
implemented.
As shown in Table 5, improvement plans based on the Act were three-year plans until 1971, and withthe passing into law of the Traffic Safety Policies Basic Act, all new plans after 1970 were expanded
6

Much of this chapter is based on material from Sumitomo (2008) and pages 551–562 of the Japan Highway Users
Conference (2009).

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Japan (1950-2010)

to five-year plans. In 1996, the need for structural reform of public finance led to a further expansionof two years, resulting in the sixth plan becoming a seven-year plan but without any change in volume(budget) of projects.
Table 5 Traffic safety facility improvement project plans
Designated projects
Description

Plan

Actual99(10 yen)(10 yen)Local independent projects

Achieved

Plan

ActualAchieved

(%)

9

9

(%)

(10 yen)(10 yen)First Three-Year Plan

Roadway administrator

72.19

72.21

100.0

13.40

25.32

–

(1966 to 1968)

Public Safety Commission

6.03

6.03

100.0

3.80

11.20

–

Second Three-Year Plan

Roadway administrator

75.00

50.74

67.7

62.30

45.62

73.2

(1969 to 1971)

Public Safety Commission

4.63

2.85

61.6

23.07

15.11

65.5

First Five-Year Plan

Roadway administrator

229.28238.09103.8

230.41

232.4

100.9

(1971 to 1975)

Public Safety Commission

68.55

72.09

105.2

105.27100.01

95.0

Second Five-Year Plan

Roadway administrator

570.00592.21103.9

411.53452.55110.0(1976 to 1980)

Public Safety Commission

150.00142.4194.9

230.00163.64

71.1

Third Five-Year Plan

Roadway administrator

910.00815.3889.6

687.69614.4089.3(1981 to 1985)

Public Safety Commission

190.00131.2069.0

304.96236.54

77.6

Fourth Five-Year Plan

Roadway administrator

1,350.0

1,159.60

100.8

1,023.50

773.91

75.6(1986 to 1990)

Public Safety Commission

135.00116.50101.3

368.01350.91

95.4

Fifth Five-Year Plan

Roadway administrator

1,850.00

1,763.50

110.9

1,440.00

1,309.10

90.9(1991 to 1995)

Public Safety Commission

165.00167.80108.3

497.00514.90103.6

Seven-Year Plan

Roadway administrator

2,130.00

2,560.60

120.2

1,950.00

1,584.40

81.3(1996 to 2002)

Public Safety Commission

190.00279.70147.2

630.00614.4097.5

Source: Page 552 of the Japan Highway Users Conference (2009)
Note 1: Local independent projects in the First Three-Year Plan include school routes for the FY1967 and FY1968 only.
Note 2: Due to interim restructuring, achieved figures for the Second Three-Year Plan include the FY1969 and FY1970 only.
Note 3: Designated projects in the Fourth, Fifth, and Seven-Year Plans reflect total values that include adjustment costs.

In contrast, based on the Social Capital Improvement Priority Plan Act (2003 Law No. 20), traffic
safety facility improvement projects were incorporated together with projects from eight other fields(roadways, airports, ports, urban parks, sewage systems, flood control, steep slopes, and shorelines)
into a five-year social capital improvement priority plan for the period from FY2003. Table 6 showsmajor changes that came about with the passing into law of the Social Capital Improvement Priority
Plan Act, as compared to roadway improvement five-year plans. These include (1) changeover fromthe conventional project volume base to one of outcome evaluation and (2) integration of plans from avariety of fields into a single, interdisciplinary plan.
Table 7 describes specific traffic safety facility improvement projects implemented as part of theSecond Social Capital Improvement Plan for the period from FY2008 to FY2012. Of these, the “safe211

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Japan (1950-2010)

walking area” was intended for implementation in areas with a relatively high percentage of traffic
fatalities among pedestrians and bicycle riders as a [multi‑]faceted approach to preventing accidents,
which was considered necessary for the 796 locations nationwide designated by the National Police
Agency or the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in areas where policies are
implemented primarily by municipalities. Also, the term “sites of multiple accidents” refers to one of
the 3,956 locations nationwide designated by the National Police Agency or the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism for priority implementation of countermeasures due to a highincidence of accidents.
Table 6 Comparison of conventional roadway improvement five-year plans with social capital
improvement priority plans (typical items)
Conventional roadway improvement five-year plans

Social capital improvement priority plan

Roadway extension, area, improvement rate, or other

Evaluation of resultant impact based on multiple

project volume basis

new indices (increased use of ETC, etc.)

Cost reduction targets

No particular targets

15% reduction compared with FY2002

Tie-ins with other plans

Independent roadway improvements (few tie-ins)

Integration of plans from nine different fields

Targets

Source: Excerpt from page 34 of Goto (2009)

Table 7 Specific traffic safety facility improvement projects implemented as part of the Second Social
Capital Improvement Plan for the period
PolicyMeasuresTo create a safe andImprovement of traffic

secure road traffic

safetyenvironment suitable
for a low birthrate,graying population.

Indices
Rate of casualties in traffic accidents
Approx. 1.09 accidents per million vehicle kilometer in 2007 reduced 10% to 1.0
accidents per million vehicle kilometer by 2012.

Promotion of policies for

Reduce casualty rates for pedestrians and bicycle riders in safe walking areas

pedestrians and bicycle

20% reduction by 2012 of casualty rates for pedestrians and bicycle riders in areas

riders as well as policies

where policies are implemented

for community roads

Universal access at traffic signals along major community thoroughfares
Increase from 83% in 2007 to 100% by 2012
Universal access along designated roadways
Increase from 51% in FY2007 to 75% by FY2012

Promotion of policies for

Reduce casualty rates at sites of multiple accidents

truck roads and arteries

30% reduction by 2012 of casualty rates at sites of multiple accidents
Reduce casualty rates at locations with advanced traffic signals
Reduce by 40,000 casualties per year by 2012

Policies for

Promotion of policies formaintaining smoothsmooth traffic flow

Reduce waiting times through advanced traffic signal control systems
Reduce waiting time by 220 million person-hours annually by 2012 in areas where

flow of traffic as wellpolicies are implemented

as countermeasures

Lost time at railway crossingsfor environmental

10% reduction from 1.32 million person-hours per day in FY2007 to 1.18 million

issuesperson-hours per day by FY2012
Reduce CO₂ emissions through advanced traffic signal control systems
Reduce by 460,000 tons annually by 2012

Source: Excerpted from pages 33–34 of Policy Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (2011)212

Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Japan (1950-2010)

Kojima, Goto, Kato

With the passing into law of the Social Capital Improvement Priority Plan Act, the Emergency
Measures for Improvements to Traffic Safety Facilities Act was revised and renamed the Act for
Promotion of Traffic Safety Facility Improvement Projects, thereby establishing a framework thatenabled the designation of roadways eligible for subsidies, the drafting of implementation planscompliant with social capital improvement priority plans, the implementation of priority projects suchas special subsidies requiring the coordination of both the National Police Agency and the Ministry ofLand, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Specifically, the following three points are worthy ofmention.
(1) Deletion of provisions related to comprehensive traffic safety facility improvement projectseven-year planning as well as proposals for plans related to traffic safety facility improvement
projects by municipalities(2) Designation of roadways considered to be particularly in need of improvements to traffic safety
conditions as “designated traffic safety facility improvement project roadways” by the National
Public Safety Commission and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
(3) Drafting of plans by Prefectural Public Safety Commissions and roadway administrators per
implementation of designated traffic safety facility improvement projects that are compliant aswell as by agreement concurrent with priority plans

4.4 The Japan Traffic Safety Movement and the Japan Traffic
Safety Association7
4.4.1 Objectives and organization of the Japan traffic safety movement
Japan’s traffic safety movement began with the objective of promoting and promulgating traffic safety.
Based on a general outline for implementation of a national traffic safety week by national and local
law enforcement, it coordinated nationwide traffic safety programs. The original national traffic safety
week began on December 10, 1948. In 1952, similar events were held in both the spring and the fall,
and in 1954 began to use the name “traffic safety movement” in place of “traffic safety week.” In 1961,
national traffic safety movement programs were held in the fall, but in spring of the following year,
the Traffic Policy Institute, which had been established by the Cabinet Office in 1960, took the reins in
the planning and implementation of the movement. Starting in 1976, the Traffic Policy Institute began
holding activities in both spring and fall, a pattern which continues to this day. Festivities include
parades and other promotional activities throughout Japan.
A general outline of the autumn 2010 Japan traffic safety movement is as follows.

7This section is based on Kato’s contribution to International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences,
Reseach Project Report H2296 (2011).

213

Kojima, Goto, Kato

Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Japan (1950-2010)(1) Objective: To promote comprehensively the prevention of traffic accidents by promulgating
traffic safety principles extensively to the Japanese people, encouraging compliance withtraffic rules and proper traffic etiquettes, and fostering initiatives from the Japanese people for
improvements in the road traffic environment(2) Period: For 10 days from September 21st to 30th, 2010. September 30 has been designated a“Day of Zero Traffic Deaths” since 2008.
(3) Sponsoring government agencies include the Prime Minister’s Office and nine other ministries,
prefectural and municipal governments, and 14 private organizations. In addition, more than
150 private organizations participate as cosponsors.
(4) Nationwide priority points include 1. Prevention of traffic accidents involving pedestrians orbicycle riders at dusk or at night (in particular, promote the use of reflective materials), 2. The
proper use of seat belts or child seats by all passengers as well as the elimination of driving
while under the influence of alcohol. Previously, 5 to 8 priority points were featured, but
starting in 1969 were reduced to 2 or 3 at most.

35,000

Accidents,
people件，人

人
People300

30,000250

Fallfatalities (right)
秋・死者(人，左軸)
Springaccidents
春・発生件数(件)25,000200

20,000150

Spring injuries
春・負傷者数(人)Fall
accidents
秋・発生件数(件)
Fall injuries
秋・負傷者数(人)15,000100

10,000
5,000

50

0

0
2000 01

Figure 16

Springfatalities (right)
春・死者(人，左軸)

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

Traffic accidents during traffic safety movement activities for the past 10 years
Source: Traffic Safety Report

Figure 16 shows the number of traffic accidents, injuries, and fatalities that have occurred during
traffic safety movement activities for the past ten years. As can be seen, all these have declined inrecent years. Although there are no significant differences between the figures for spring and fall, we
see that from 2001 to 2002, 2002 to 2003, and from 2008 to 2009, the trend in spring was the reverseof the trend in fall.

4.4.2 The Japan Traffic Safety Association(1) History
The Japan Traffic Safety Association is the centralized coordinating agency for other regional,
prefectural, and local traffic safety associations throughout Japan. It is one of the organizations thathelps organize traffic safety movement activities nationwide and was established for the purpose of214

Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Japan (1950-2010)

Kojima, Goto, Kato

promoting safety policies for the promulgation of traffic safety awareness and the prevention of traffic
accidents.
As ownership of motor vehicles increased in Japan, so did awareness of traffic accidents, leading to
the establishment of traffic safety associations throughout the country. With economic growth camethe widening use of motor vehicles for transportation, and in recognition of a need to unify nationwide
policies for preventing traffic accidents, the Japan Traffic Safety Association was established in 1950.
Membership originally comprised prefectural traffic safety associations, traffic safety associations inmajor urban areas, the National Public Safety Commission, and law enforcement officials.
Reorganization of law enforcement on a prefectural level in 1955 also led local traffic safety
associations to a similar reorganization and to membership in the Japan Traffic Safety Association. As
traffic accidents continued their rapid increase, however, the Road Traffic Act was passed into law,and in 1961 the Japan Traffic Safety Association was incorporated as a foundation.
Within the articles of incorporation of the foundation, as a means to achieve the objectives of
preventing traffic accidents and furthering compliance with traffic safety laws, it was stated that, in
addition to improvements to traffic conditions and the implementation of suitable measures by thegovernment, heightened awareness of the need for traffic safety in each and every individual isparamount. The Japan Traffic Safety Association was established to serve as a central institution forthe organization of public sentiment into a grassroots movement capable of answering the need for
public action through understanding and cooperation at every level of society.

(2) Programs
The Association has undertaken a wide variety of programs since its establishment, including its roleas co-organizer of national traffic safety movement activities, and continues to operate major programs,some of which are given below.
1)

Organization of the Traffic Safety National Movement Central Conference: held annually inJanuary since 1961, this conference includes presentations by special-interest groups (regionaland family working group, traffic safety education working group, and corporate working group)
as well as a general assembly.

2)

Traffic Honor and Green Cross Awards (gold and silver awards)

3)

Contests for annual traffic safety slogans and family traffic safety essays

4)

Publication of “People and Vehicles,” and educational traffic safety magazine

These traffic safety programs were even influenced in some small way by student protests of the 1960s.
Hora (1978) points out that, despite a lack of conclusive documentation, the importance of community
relations in establishing close connections with individual citizens became evident in the association’s
activities at that time.
I’d also like to provide a brief explanation regarding the annual traffic safety slogan.
The first national contest for a safety slogan was held with the cooperation of the National Police

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Agency, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Mainichi Newspaper in 1965, and the winning slogans
were used in national traffic safety movement activities the following spring. The winning slogans
received an award from the prime minister, and that year’s choices were “Brake early, and go slow”(for drivers), “Look again and raise your hand before you cross the street” (for pedestrians), and “Theworld prays for traffic safety” (general audiences).
Since that time, these contests of been held annually and the Association’s Website claims that it hasreceived more than 10,000,000 entries all told. Particularity notable were 1967’s “Stay out of thestreet! Cars can’t stop that quickly” (for children) and 1973’s “Japan isn’t that big. Where are you
going is such a hurry?” (for drivers), which became buzzwords in their day. Starting in 1971, a poster
contest featuring the annual slogan was begun, and has garnered 300,000 entries in total.
Each of these slogans are a reflection of the times in which they were created, and popular topics
include speed, driving under the influence of alcohol, keeping proper distance with the lead car,seatbelts, helmets, and other major themes of traffic safety. Themes for FY2010 included the use ofcell phones by drivers, the wearing of reflective materials by pedestrians and bicycle riders, and theproper use of lights, brakes, and helmets by children on bicycles.
While it is true that national traffic safety movement activities are government operated, theireffectiveness can be seen by the decline in traffic accidents during the programs. Given that traffic
conditions and the causes of traffic accidents vary from region to region, it is worth noting that
prefectural law enforcement and local traffic safety associations work hard to develop programs thatare best suited for their localities.

5. Conclusion
At the end of the Second World War, Japan entered a phase of rapid economic growth and equally
rapid motorization. Despite this, there was a notable lack of capital investment in not just good roads
but traffic signals, roadway signage, and other traffic safety facilities. Since the passing into law of the
Traffic Safety Policies Basic Act in 1970, a total of eight traffic safety basic action plans have been
implemented. As a result, fatalities due to traffic accidents in 2001 reached the 4,611 mark after
declining steadily for a 11 years in a row. This is roughly one quarter of the 16,765 deaths recorded in
1975, which was Japan’s worst year ever for traffic fatalities. In the roughly 40 intervening years, wehave been blessed by the efforts of organizations concerned with traffic safety to reduce traffic
fatalities. And although injuries due to traffic accidents have been on the decline for the past several
years, both the number of injuries and the number of accidents continued to rise into first decade of the
21st century. Clearly, our efforts must now turn towards reducing traffic accidents overall.
Trends toward a low-growth, graying population in Japan continue to gather momentum. As thesetrends advance, holders of driver’s licenses, automobile ownership, and the population itself will a216

Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Japan (1950-2010)

Kojima, Goto, Katoeither remain stable or begin to decline, but recent data clearly shows that these things in and ofthemselves will not necessarily lead to a decline in traffic accidents. This suggests an obvious urgency
to emphasize traffic safety to the elderly. The elderly are more likely not just to be victims of traffic
accidents but to be perpetrators, as well, and looking at recent trends in traffic accidents, we see that
traffic fatalities of the elderly remain high and traffic accidents caused by elderly drivers are on theincrease.
In this way, as social conditions change over time, so do public expectations concerning traffic safety
policy. Researchers must demonstrate the effectiveness of these policies. Those responsible for policy
must then apply the research results to improving policies to make them more effective. In other words,
a prompt response to changing times by government and related agencies with farsighted and effective
policies will lead to a reduction in future traffic accidents.

References:
Committee for the 45th Anniversary of the Watkins Report (Ed.) (2001). Report of the Watkins
Commission for the Study of the Kobe-Nagoya Expressway. Keisoshobo. (in Japanese)
Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (2011). 61st Japan Statistical
Yearbook 2012. (in Japanese)
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Automobile Ownership Monthly. (inJapanese)
Driver’s License Department, Traffic Bureau, National Police Agency (2011). Driver’s License
Statistics 2010. (in Japanese)
Cabinet Office (2011). White Paper on Traffic Safety in Japan 2011. (in Japanese)
Traffic Bureau, National Police Agency. Traffic Accident Statistics. (in Japanese)
Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis (2011). Traffic Accident Statistical
Yearbook 2010. (in Japanese)
International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences (2011). Tackling the “Traffic War”: What theJapanese Experience and Knowledge Can Contribute to Developing Countries. IATSS Research
Project Report H2296. (in Japanese)
Goto, Takao (2009). A Framework for Local Road Improvements: Improvement Planning and
Financing, in Research into Frameworks for Roadway Policies. Dokeiken Series, A-160, pp. 27-54. (inJapanese)
Sugimoto, Kazuya (2012). Observations on Traffic Safety Policies for Elderly Drivers: An Analysis of
the Influence on Elderly Driver Traffic Accident Numbers of Markers for Elderly Driver and Courses
for the Elderly.

(National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, master’s thesis). (in Japanese)217

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Kojima, Goto, Kato

Sumitomo, Kazuhito (2008). Toward the Formulation of Next-Term Social Infrastructure Key
Improvement Plan Relating to Traffic Safety Facilities Maintained, Improved and Installed by Police.
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Author:Katsumi Kojima
Associate Professor
School of Tourism
Kobe Shukugawa Gakuin University, Japan

Born in Tokyo in 1965, Kojima is a graduate of the Keio University Faculty of Business andCommerce. After working for an airline, in 2006 he withdrew from the Keio University Graduate
School of Business and Commerce doctoral program after completing all course requirements. Before
taking his current position in 2008, he also worked as a researcher at the Institute of Highway
Economics and a senior researcher at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s
Policy Research Institute for Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. He is a member of the Japan
Society of Transportation Economics, the Japan Society of Public Utility Economics, and the Japan
Society of Logistics and Shipping Economics. Research interests include transportation economics andpublic utility economics.

He is the co-author of “Input-output Analysis in Transportation” (Nippon

Hyoronsha Publishing) and co-translator of the Japanese version (Seizando Shoten Publishing) of
Stephen Shaw’s Airline Marketing and Management.
Co-authors:
Takao Goto
Associate Professor
Department of Commerce, Faculty of Business Administration
Kinki University, Japan

Born in Kanagawa in 1975, Goto withdrew from the Keio University Graduate School of Business andCommerce in 2006 after completing all course requirements. Received his PhD in business andcommerce from Keio University. Before taking his current position in 2010, he worked as a lecturer

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Changes in Traffic Safety Policies and Regulations in Japan (1950-2010)

Kojima, Goto, Katoand associate professor at the Kyushu Sangyo University Department of Commerce. He is a memberof the Japan Society of Transportation Economics and the Japan Society of Public Utility Economics.
Research interests include transportation economics and public policy.

He is a recipient of the“Roads and Transportation Paper Award”, and the “Society of Public Utility Economics
Encouragement Award” for his journal publications.
Kazusei Kato
Professor
College of Economics
Nihon University, Japan

Born in Kyoto in 1964, Kato withdrew from the Doshisha University Graduate School Division of
Economics doctoral program in 1992 having completed all course requirements. Received his PhD in
economics from Doshisha University. Before assuming his current position, he worked as an associate
professor at Kansai Gaidai University. Other current positions include guest professor at the National
Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, board member of the Aviation Policy Research Association, andboard member of the Japan Economic Education Center Foundation. Research interests include
transportation economics and the US economy.

He is the recipient of the 2005 Japan Society ofTransportation Economics Award (Best Paper Award, Co-author).

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