Overview
- The girl's family filed a civil suit Monday in Sapporo seeking more than ¥300 million over a 2023 wheel-detachment crash that left her unconscious with irreversible cervical spinal cord damage.
- The suit names the driver and the vehicle’s owner, who were convicted for illegal modification and negligent driving, with the driver receiving a three-year sentence suspended for five years.
- The family is also suing the driver’s spouse’s insurer under an “other car driving” clause on a voluntary policy, a point the parties expect to fight over in court.
- Police reported 5,244 schoolchildren were killed or seriously injured while bicycling from 2021 to 2025, including 63 deaths, with about 80% not following traffic rules and helmet use especially low among older students.
- A new “blue ticket” system that issues on-the-spot fines for bicycle violations without a criminal case begins April 1, and Tokyo police urged parents and cyclists Monday to follow the rules ahead of the April 6–15 safety campaign.