THE FIFTH GLOBAL INTERACTIVE
FORUM ON TRAFFIC & SAFETYEvent

Traffic Safety Initiatives in Japan

Traffic Safety Policies in Japan: Trajectory and Challenges toward the Future
Kyoko Kondo
Director for Traffic Safety Policy, Office of the Director General for Policies on Cohesive Society, Cabinet Office, Government of JAPAN

I will first summarize the changes in traffic accidents over the 30 years of the Heisei period (1989-2019) and then the governance aspect of traffic safety policies through inter-ministerial collaboration. I will then also refer to future challenges.

 

① Changes in traffic accidents throughout the past three decades of the Heisei period
The feature section of the White Paper on Traffic Safety 2020 provides a data-based overview of the trends and backgrounds of traffic accidents during the Heisei period. Today, I would first like to introduce several points from the White Paper.
The number of traffic accident fatalities in 2018 came to 3,532 , about one fifth of the peak in 1970, and less than one third of another peak within the thirty years of the Heisei period; the Heisei period, in particular, the second half, is characterized by a significant reduction of traffic accidents.

 

Before talking about the Heisei period, let me first review the "First Traffic War". For two decades after 1951, with the growing number of privately-owned vehicles, the number of traffic accidents significantly increased, in particular, those harming automobile drivers and passengers, and head-on collisions. In addition, fatalities of pedestrians crossing the roads increased, due to an insufficient number of traffic lights and other facilities. In 1970, the number of fatalities rose to 16,765 and traffic accidents had become a social problem, the Traffic Safety Policies Basic Act was thus enacted in the same year and the 1st Fundamental Traffic Safety Program was formulated in the following year.
The number of traffic accident fatalities once fell to 8,466 in 1979 as a result of national traffic safety policies, but started increasing again gradually, from the late 1980s and reached 11,452 in 1992. This was known as the "Second Traffic War." The White Paper 2020 focuses on the period after this time. The number of automobile driver and fellow traveler fatalities surged particularly in the second half of the 1980s, when the second baby boomer generation reached the age in which they could acquire driver's licenses, leading to an increasing number of young, unskilled drivers. The number of fatalities once again began to decrease from 1992, falling to below 10,000 in 1996.
Regarding the number of traffic accidents by situation during the Heisei period, the number of automobile driver and fellow traveler fatalities, which was the largest 30 years ago, peaked in 1993 and then fell 40% over 10 years, and the number of walker fatalities has exceeded them in the 2010s, thanks mainly to the improvement in the rate of wearing seatbelts, widening use of airbags, and anti-lock braking systems (ABS) becoming standard equipment. By age group, the percentage of fatalities of elderly people aged over 65 rose from about 20% during the early Heisei period to over 50% in 2010 for the first time.

 

Let me then examine the statistics from the three aspects of "people", "road", and "vehicle". Firstly, regarding "people", the Heisei period is characterized by an increase in female drivers. Secondly, by age group, over the last 30 years, the share of license holders aged 16 to 19 has become one third, while the share of drivers aged over 70 has grown by ten times. The aged driver problem, raised since the end of the Showa period, has become an important challenge of a different nature, as today the percentage of the elderly population has reached about 28%.
Lifestyles have also changed during the past 30 years. An increasing number of suburban shopping malls and other facilities has led people to make lifestyle changes and now go shopping there by car. Also, an increase in restaurants and shops open during nighttime has encouraged people to go out in the evening and at night more frequently, leading to the number of fatal accidents during the night exceeding that of daytime from the end of the Showa period to the mid-Heisei period.

 

Secondly, regarding vehicles. the number of privately-owned vehicles, mainly passenger cars, increased dramatically during the 1960s-70s, and passenger cars, compared to trucks and two-wheeled vehicles, thus accounted for the overwhelming majority of vehicles on the roads from the late 1980s and throughout the Heisei period. Regarding the type of primary parties' vehicle, automobiles remains consistently over 70%, although the number of accidents decreased to one third in 30 years.
Thirdly, regarding road infrastructure, road length increased throughout the Heisei period. Large-scale infrastructure improvement progressed, and large-scale projects that had started during the Showa period were completed one after another.
Throughout the 30 years of the Heisei period that saw dramatic changes in all three aspects of "people", "vehicle", and "road", traffic accidents continuously decreased.

 

② Traffic safety policies through inter-ministerial collaboration
From the viewpoint of traffic-safety related governance, a wide range of ministries are working for traffic safety. The Traffic Safety Policies Basic Act was thus enacted so that the relevant ministries work in close cooperation. In addition to the governmental sector, the private sector and citizens are also important. The Spring and Autumn National Traffic Safety Campaigns are held with the cooperation of numerous supporting organizations. This national campaign is known by about 70% of respondents, but the percentage was smaller among the young generation. I would like to invite you to think together about how to inspire the younger generation to get involved.

 

In order to address traffic safety comprehensively, the Fundamental Traffic Safety Program has been formulated 10 times, and traffic safety policies in the land, sea, and air sectors have been promoted based on the program. The Program is key for diverse ministries to share the same goal, and collaborate closely with each other.
Let me briefly talk about key issues highlighted in the Programs during the Heisei period.
The 4th Program (1986-1990), which spanned from the end of the Showa period to the early Heisei period, anticipated an increasing dependence on automobiles, and stressed that it would not be feasible to curb the increase in accidents, unless integrated policies that could deliver sufficient solutions for further acceleration of quantitative and qualitative changes towards the 'car society', could be proactively implemented in an unparalleled way. Also, the program focused on the increase of accidents by elderly people and used the term "elderly drivers." The 5th Program (1991-1995) highlighted the changes in lifestyles active in the evening and nighttime and countermeasures for evening and nighttime accidents. It referred also to the newly introduced license limited to automatic transmission cars, and paramedics. The 6th Program (1996-2000) described traffic safety education targeting people with disabilities, and foreign people. The 8th Program (2006-2010), at the beginning of the second half of the Heisei period, formulated for the first time after Japan's population began to decline, clearly set the "People-First" philosophy, which has been defined as the goal in the succeeding 9th and 10th programs.

 

The current 10th Program(2016-2020), applies across diverse policies and, first of all defines as "priorities to reduce damages caused by traffic accidents", "securing the safety of elderly people and children", "securing pedestrian and cyclist safety", and "securing safety on local community roads". Secondly, the Program also identifies three "priorities in order to create an environment where traffic accidents are less likely to occur", including "promotion of the use of advanced technologies", "promotion of measures tailored for diverse situations by examining data on traffic conditions", and "promotion of community-based traffic safety policies.

 

③ Recent traffic safety policies and challenges
For these recent years, traffic accidents by elderly drivers have been raised as a challenge facing traffic safety. Fiscal year 2019 saw traffic accidents that occurred one after another, including those with child victims and those caused by elderly drivers, and a meeting attended by ministers in charge of traffic safety policies was held in May 2019, and the ministerial meeting adopted the "emergency countermeasures" in June. It is essential to aim for a society in which elderly people and people with difficulties to move can enjoy independent lifestyles. There is a need for further progress in technology.

 

Another challenge could be the gradual increase in the number of traffic accidents caused by foreign people. Taking the opportunity of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, we need to think about working on traffic safety by carefully considering the increasing diversity of people involved in transportation.
At the Ministerial meeting in June, the Prime Minister issued instructions based on the view that traffic safety policies that can meet the needs of the times are greatly needed, in light of the strong demand for realizing a society that can effectively help progressive aging and warmly supports childrearing. I would like to take the opportunity of today's symposium to think about traffic safety as society changes. Thank you very much for your attention.

 

Characteristics of Fatal Traffic Accidents, etc. and Police Initiatives
Shinji Hiramatu
Director for Traffic Safety, Traffic Planning Division, Traffic Bureau, National Police Agency of Japan

I will look at changes in the number of fatalities in traffic accidents over 10 years by all age groups and elderly people aged over 65. Although accidents are decreasing for both groups, overall the decrease is slower for elderly people. In comparisons of the ratio of traffic accident fatalities within 30 days of an accident by country and age group, elderly people accounted for the majority at 56.6% in Japan, a considerably higher percentage than major Western countries. For the number of cases of fatal accidents per licensed driver population of 100,000 by age group of the primary party driving a "gentsuki" (two-wheeled vehicle with an engine up to 50 cc) or that with a larger engine, there were 2.4 times more accidents caused by drivers aged over 75 than others.

 

For changes in the number of traffic fatalities by condition, the most fatalities occurred among people walking consistently over 10 years. For comparisons of the ratio of traffic accident fatalities within 30 days of an accident by country and condition, more than half of fatalities occurred among people walking or riding bicycles, a higher number than various countries. Looking at the five year total for ratio of traffic fatalities by condition and age group, elderly people accounted for 71.5% of people killed while walking, which accounted for 25.9% of all fatalities. Elderly people accounted for 65.8% of people killed while riding bicycles, which accounted for 8.7% of all fatalities. In the same way, looking at the ratio of infants and elementary school children in the number of traffic accidents, over half were walking for both groups.

 

For the situation of legal violations by traffic accident victims who died while walking or riding a bicycle, in general there was a high ratio of legal violations. Among elderly people who died while walking, over half of those with legal violations were crossing violations. For traffic accidents related to mobile phone use, etc., accompanying the increase in using smartphones while moving, the number of incidents has soared and there have been about 2.1 times more fatal accidents.

 

Police initiatives based on these conditions have been measures for elderly people, measures for infants and children, and revision of the Road Traffic Act.

 

➀Measures for elderly people
Publicity/awareness raising as well as traffic safety education for elderly walkers and bicycle users. 1) Lectures, advice and guidance on traffic rules and manners. Awareness raising regarding rules at crosswalks without traffic lights. 2) Traffic safety education using simulators. 3) Hands-on experience on such matters as visibility effects at night. Experience for testing the effects of reflective materials as a countermeasure against the large amount of traffic fatalities that occur around dusk. 4) Promotion of dissemination of "safe driving support vehicles." Promotes consideration of a license system limited to safe driving support vehicles, confirmation of driving abilities when elderly people renew their licenses etc.

 

 

➁Measures for infants and children
Measures for ensuring the safety of children centering on preschoolers. 1) Extraction of hazardous locations in cooperation with related agencies. 2) Traffic safety guidance and control in community roads where many children pass through. In addition, efforts are made to spread awareness of traffic safety by conducting traffic safety education for infants and children.

 

➂Revision of the Road Traffic Act
There are mainly two pillars of the revision in 2019. 1) Strengthening of penalties on the use of mobile phones, etc. These have become considerably severe. If an accident is caused, it is subject to a fine or penalty and there is the possibility of immediate suspension of one's driver's license as an administrative measure. It will enter into force from December 1. 2) Response to automated driving. The automated driving system takes control under certain requirements only, and besides these requirements and failures, it is necessary for the driver to take over driving. This will enter into force next spring. I also believe that it is necessary to have consideration that includes designing a system that responds to tailgating.

 

Priority Items in Road Traffic Safety Measures
Tadashi Hamada
Director, Environment and Safely Division, Road Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

There are about 1.22 million kilometers of roads in Japan. The breakdown is limited highways, arterial (trunk) roads, and community roads. Limited highways and arterial roads account for about 76% of automobile traffic volume, but it is lower in Japan compared to other countries. Within that percentage, the share of national expressways and national highways under jurisdiction of the MLIT is increasing and automobiles are decreasing on community roads, which is effective for reducing pedestrian accidents from a macro perspective.

 

In response to a heartbreaking accident in the first half of this year, attention is focusing on improving the traffic safety environment for preschoolers and other children. This time, road administrators around Japan are being called on to work on not only localized measures but also areal measures and arterial road measures, and are being requested to standardize areal measures in particular. The representative areal measure is 30 km/h zones by police, and there are now 3,700 zones throughout Japan. However, the reality is that speeds do not drop much by only adopting regulations.

 

Therefore, in conjunction with regulations, it is hoped to further increase efficacy of areal measures by promoting installation of physical devices for lowering speeds and issuing alerts. The key for establishing physical devices is forming agreements in areas. This is the extremely difficult part. The example of Niigata City is a good reference model for an areal measure with physical devices, and the agreement was formed with cooperation from the IATSS and local government personnel.

 

However, it is not a situation in which personnel at local governments around Japan with such an ability to reconcile differences can be assigned just for traffic safety. Therefore, when such personnel conduct discussions regarding regional future conditions, such as creating bustling activity and facility management, or conduct formation of agreements regarding issues with high affinity, such as crime prevention and disaster prevention, it is considered that having them conduct discussions on traffic safety in conjunction would be reasonable for promoting consensus building on area measures.

 

When developing familiar policies for enhancing safety of community road areas, rather than having the central government indicate uniform improvement policies and options, it is considered more effective to have people who are motivated by the future conditions in their region consider policies suitable for the regional conditions, and have them support consensus building.

 

Attitudes Towards Traffic Safety in Japan: From ESRA2
Hideki Nakamura
IATSS Member / Professor, Nagoya University

The issue of traffic safety concerns people, roads, and vehicles. Speaking from the people aspect, I would like to report on the awareness of traffic safety among Japanese people.

 

Overview of the ESRA2
The ESRA2 (E-Survey Road Users' Attitudes) is an e-survey of road users' attitudes by a joint initiative of road safety institutes, research centers, public service organizations, and private sponsors from all over the world. IATSS participates on behalf of Japan.

 

The objectives are to collect and analyze comparable data on road safety performance, in particular road safety culture and behavior of road users, and to use it as data providing scientific evidence for policy making at national and international levels.

 

It is implemented in various countries, and compilation is conducted at the VIAS Institute in Belgium. Currently, there is participation from 32 countries centered in Europe. Only South Korea, Japan, and India participate in Asia. Through an appeal by IATSS, it has been decided that Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand will participate from 2019.

 

In ESRA2, examination is conducted on psychological aspects in the backdrop of traffic behaviors through the results of the self-reported survey. The surveys are conducted online, and it is prescribed that the sample size should be over 1,000 in each country. The age range is people over 18 years old, there are editions in 42 languages, it is composed of 28 question themes, and it takes about 20 minutes to answer. It was held in December 2018 in various countries.

 

The major topics and themes are as follows. Support for road safety policy measures, self-reported behavior in traffic, acceptability of safe and unsafe traffic behavior, attitudes towards safe and unsafe traffic behavior, subjective safety and risk perception, involvement in road crashes, and enforcement of traffic laws. In addition, the current survey was characterized by the introduction of vehicle automation and bonus questions set by each country.

 

In Japan, the survey was implemented online from December 14-25 last year. The sampling was made as close as possible to the population composition of Japan. The sample size was 980. Totalization was conducted through use of this sampling.

 

International comparisons regarding basic statistic amounts from ESRA2 are conducted by the Secretariat. Japan is usually compared against the averages in Asia, but taking into consideration the small number of participating countries in Asia and the fact that Japan is a developed country, this time results were compiled comparing Japan with the averages in the EU.

 

Japan's characteristics compiled in the ESRA2 are as follows.

 

Comparison between Japan and the EU averages

•		Feeling of safety about transport modes except public transport is relatively low (there is awareness of risk)
•		Both past frequency and acceptability of driving after drinking alcohol are significantly low
•		Both past frequency and acceptability of use of a mobile phone while driving are low
•		Both past frequency and acceptability of now wearing a seatbelt as a driver are low
•		Both past frequency and acceptability of driving after taking drugs other than medication are relatively high
•		Driving when so sleepy as to have trouble keeping eyes open is relatively frequent
•		Both past frequency and acceptability of not wearing a seatbelt in the back seat are high
•		Past frequency of driving faster than the speed limit is similar to the EU, but acceptability of this is low
•		Number of times having been subjected to an alcohol check is low
•		Highly interested in vehicle automation

 

Self-declared behavior

•		Males and young drivers are more likely to drive after taking drugs/alcohol
•		Males and middle-aged and late middle-aged drivers are more likely to drive faster than the speed limit
•		Motorcyclists, particularly young and late middle-aged motorcyclists, are likely to drive faster than the speed limit
•		Many pedestrians, particularly the young generation, check social media or wear headphones while walking

Acceptability of unsafe traffic behavior

•		Personal < Others'
•		Female < Male
•		The younger, the higher the acceptability
•		Acceptability of speeding is high (inside built-up areas < outside built-up areas < motorways)

 

Attitudes

•		Males, young people, and the group aged 45-64 are more likely to speed
•		Males and young people are more confident in their abilities to take unsafe traffic behaviors
•		Males assess contribution of various unsafe traffic behaviors to traffic accidents higher
•		Females are more likely to intend to take safe traffic behaviors
•		Females and elderly people are more likely to respect legal regulations

Support for policy measures

•		Percentage of those who support measures for preventing driving after drinking alcohol is as high as about 80% and increases with age
•		Requiring cyclists under the age of 12 to wear a helmet is highly supported
•		Prohibiting use of earbuds while riding a bicycle is also highly supported

 

Likelihood of enforcement

•

Likelihood of being checked for speeding or not wearing a seatbelt is perceived as high, particularly by males and young people

As an issue going forward, although simple totals, age, and gender were only looked at this time, I believe there is room to compare these results with other statistical data and analyze it. In addition, cross tabulation across themes is also necessary. Furthermore, the essential purpose of such a survey is for attitudes and normative beliefs to turn into intentions and habits resulting in action, and in some cases for analysis of causes and effects leading to accidents to be conducted. It is therefore important to continue to conduct this analysis.

 

Question and Answer Session

 

○It was mentioned that the surveys will be increased in Asia from FY2019. In Thailand, there will probably be completely different statistical results. It is about awareness of protecting pedestrians, awareness of feeling that drivers take priority, and other matters. Is it necessary to conduct this survey with the awareness to be able to say that common sense in Japan isn't common sense in Thailand, and vice versa?

 

Dr. Nakamura: Even though they are in Asia, they are completely different. We wanted Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand to participate precisely from that viewpoint. ESRA2 works to clarify those differences. I hope that IATSS references this survey to consider traffic problems in Southeast Asia.

 

○It was mentioned that it is better to compare Japan with the EU, but I believe that road use conditions in Japan resemble those of Asia more. I learned that it is necessary to compare with other cultures such as the EU to understand Japan's traffic culture.

 

Dr. Nakamura: At first, it was planned to compare Japan's survey results with the averages in Asia. However, they were compared with the EU averages because few Asian countries participated and Japan is a developed country in terms of economic standards.

 

Dr. Kitamura (Chairman): We have said that the three Es (engineering, enforcement, education) are important for approaching traffic safety. Legislation is established amidst various social changes, people's awareness changes, technology improves, and the three Es are involved. That is Japan's traffic culture. We believe that rather than limiting traffic culture to now, it is necessary to look at it continuously.

 

Introduction of IATSS Research Projects in Asia
Atsushi Fukuda
IATSS Member / Professor, Nihon University

The first IATSS research targeting Asia was a study that began in 2002 on the roles and limitations of motorcycles as a means of urban transportation in developing countries.

 

This research actively positioned motorcycles, which tend to be viewed in Asia as problematic due to their rapid increase in number, as an effective means of urban transportation, and examined the current state of motorcycle usage, etc.

 

Following this, multiple projects were implemented within IATSS to determine whether or not it would be possible to apply the results and knowledge obtained in Japan to the increasingly intensifying traffic problems in Asia, particularly in terms of traffic safety.

 

The characteristics of the IATSS research projects targeting Asia are compiled in the following four points.

 Strive to deeply understand the culture and situation of Asian countries
 Based on the outcomes of many IATSS research projects conducted in Japan
 Gain a new perspective and implications for Japan
 Many projects have been conducted based on the community approach

 

For example, support for implementing information sharing-type traffic safety measure schema in Southeast Asia was conducted in Thailand and Malaysia based on expertise from research implemented in Japan, which was the series of research projects related to citizen participation-type traffic safety measures that was a success in Kamagaya as well as the series of research projects related to "near-miss accident" map creation.

 

Currently, although the aim was localization and lateral expansion through development of traffic safety measure tools targeting model areas and creation of guidelines, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and JICA decided to promote full-blown traffic safety measures in the form of introducing results of this research project, and it is expected that this will make major social contributions going forward.

 

Next, for advice relating to community-based planning and design in groups of small-scale Indian cities and social implementation initiatives, street design guidelines targeting communities in Agra were created over three years, which has now entered its second phase. The project is characterized by its system in which the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) takes action and the IATSS provides proposals. In addition, there is strong consciousness of the SDGs, so in addition to street design, analysis is conducted on air pollution and traffic accidents. Through these initiatives, I believe it was possible to recognize the current situation deeply and share the substantial problems.

 

Introducing Case Examples of Analyses of Actual Situation of Use of Two-Wheeled Vehicles by High School and University Students in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Nagahiro Yoshida
IATSS Member / Associate Professor, Osaka City University

This study was conducted in consideration of how to spread the new concept of the safe system approach in developing countries. I would now like to introduce a project searching for clues to reduce the many motorcycle accidents experienced by high school and university students in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

 

A questionnaire survey and behavior survey were conducted using a behavior reason model. With a focus on mental aspects of traffic, it was aimed to hold a workshop to improve the reasons for why people take certain actions. Cameras were installed to record actual driving conditions, and comparisons were conducted on how driving styles changed before and after taking the workshop.

 

The analysis results were that particularly among young people, the trend was that being late due to traffic congestion or other factors leads to rushing, which leads to slight violations, which has the high possibility of ultimately committing a major violation. In addition, according to the workshop that presented content such as risk predictions, it was shown that driving behavior was improved. In other words, driver's education is important in Cambodia, and it is essential to enrich education content and to foster normative consciousness.

 

In conclusion, it is necessary to once again reconsider license systems, instruction systems, and education content. In addition, road infrastructure is insufficiently maintained. There is also absolutely no understanding of the safe system approach, and slight violations often lead to major traffic accidents. Therefore, based on the Sustainable Safety concept, which originates in the safe system approach, it is necessary to suggest measures to divide infrastructure for motorcycles, cars, and pedestrians.

 

Unfortunately, there is a major gap between reality and the current analysis, and much research support is necessary for this. However, this is precisely why the IATSS should carry this out.

 

Some Issues on Urban Transportation and Traffic Safety in Asia
Fumihiko Nakamura
IATSS Member / Vice-President, Yokohama National University

I would like to raise four keywords for considering urban transportation: walkable, reliable, enjoyable, and sustainable.

 

For "walkable," we should consider ensuring safe spaces, appropriate use, sharing with buses, underground roads, waterfront redevelopment, and responses to tropical weather.

 

For "reliable," we should consider elevated railways, bus rapid transit systems, small vehicle use, and online motorcycle taxis. From when public transportation first comes into existence, residents should be aware of it, understand its usability, and know how to use it. If that does not happen, people will use more familiar, private methods such as cars. In that sense, subjective trust is necessary, so it is essential to take into consideration compliance with laws and delays due to congestion.

 

For "enjoyable," we should consider stations with sea views, markets inside stations, markets and bus terminals, morning markets, colonial buildings and streets, and stations with parks and squares.

 

Cities should be centered on people, environmentally-friendly, and considerate of history. Based on this idea, our goal is safe and sustainable mobility building to ensure freedom and mobility choices. The keywords walkable, reliable, and enjoyable I just raised are important perspectives for that.

 

Sustainable means achieving balance with a tradeoff between the environment, the economy, and society. It is necessary to skillfully combine walking, bicycling, and public transportation, efficiently utilize existing methods, and consider elderly people and people with disabilities, which is premised on the education and different traffic cultures. The IATSS should play a major role for this.