The ratio of car accidents in Japan resulting in death or serious injury that were caused by foreign drivers hit a record high of 2.1% in January-June, National Police Agency data showed Tuesday.
According to the NPA, the number of such accidents in Japan in the first half of 2025 rose by 19 from a year earlier to 258, exceeding 250 for the first time since 2008. It was also the first time for the ratio to exceed 2.0%.
The agency said that accidents caused by foreign drivers are on the rise with the increase in foreign residents and tourists. In response, the NPA plans to tighten the rules for the conversion of foreign driver’s licenses to Japanese ones.
The number of car accidents in Japan resulting in death or serious injury that occurred while drivers were using mobile phones, including those caused by Japanese, rose to 68, the highest according to data dating back to 2007.
Meanwhile, the total number of deaths from car accidents nationwide decreased by 21 year on year to 1,161, the second-lowest figure since the survey began in 1956. The number of drunken driving cases totaled 49 in the first half of this year, the lowest since 2005.
The number of traffic accidents involving electric kick scooters or other specified small motorized bicycles climbed by 29 to 163. Of these, 17.8% were caused by riders under the influence of alcohol, far higher than the shares of alcohol-linked accidents involving bicycles and mopeds.
The NPA said that such accidents occurred mainly between late night and early morning. “It is believed that electric kick scooters are used by drunken people who missed the last train,” an NPA official said, warning against such behavior.
