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Osaka Police Seek Prosecution in Japan’s First Case Over Ignoring Mandatory Bicycle Lecture

Skipping the three-hour, ¥6,150 course can draw fines of up to ¥50,000 under a 2015 traffic law.

Overview

  • Osaka Prefectural Police on Feb. 12 referred a 40-year-old company employee to prosecutors for failing to attend a court-ordered bicycle safety lecture.
  • Investigators attached a strict disposition seeking indictment, the first known referral nationwide for nonattendance since the program began.
  • The Osaka Public Safety Commission had ordered the course after repeat violations, with a deadline of Oct. 24 last year that the man missed.
  • Police report more than 50 reminders as the man booked 14 sessions but did not appear, at times offering false excuses including a family death and work demands.
  • The suspect has acknowledged the violation, telling officers he took the requirement lightly.