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Law Council Subcommittee Adopts Numeric Standards for Japan’s Dangerous-Driving Law

The Justice Ministry plans to seek an amendment in the next ordinary Diet session based on the new outline.

Overview

  • The outline sets the drink‑driving threshold at blood alcohol 1.0 mg/ml or breath alcohol 0.5 mg/L for applying the dangerous‑driving offense.
  • It establishes speed criteria of exceeding the limit by 60 km/h on roads with limits over 60 km/h and by 50 km/h where limits are 60 km/h or less.
  • The draft retains the current fallback allowing prosecution when alcohol effects make normal driving difficult even below the numeric cutoff.
  • A national victims’ group criticized the alcohol limit as too high and urged adopting a breath standard of 0.3 mg/L, citing WHO findings on impairment.
  • The group also called for written operational guidance and legal measures to prevent drivers from avoiding harsher penalties by fleeing crash scenes.