Overview
- On March 12, the National Police Agency told an LDP traffic-safety committee it plans to add a 0.5 mg per liter breath-alcohol threshold to the Road Traffic Act’s definition of drunken driving.
- The government plans to submit a bill this session to amend the criminal dangerous-driving statute so the same 0.5 mg/L standard applies to cases causing death or injury.
- Officials say a clear numeric cutoff will make recognition and prosecution easier, replacing reliance on signs like unsteady gait or slurred speech.
- Police data for 2025 recorded 19,515 cases of driving under the influence versus just 884 drunken-driving cases, underscoring the enforcement gap the change targets.
- The 0.15 mg/L limit for driving under the influence remains unchanged, and the new measures require Diet approval and implementation before taking effect.