Japan’s Annual Traffic Deaths Hit Record Low In 2020 – Or Perhaps Not…

Japan’s National Police Agency announced Monday that the nation’s total number of traffic deaths in 2020 hit a record low of 2,839 individuals – the first time the number has fallen below the 3,000 mark since record keeping began in the late 1940s.

Year on year, when compared to 2019, the number of deaths on Japan’s roads throughout 2020, dropped 376, leaving the overall figures at a mere sixth of the highest rate announced by media reports today in Japan of 16,765 in 1970.

In all, the deaths occurred as part of almost 310,000 accidents injuring almost 369,000 people the Japanese police announced.

Tokyo remained the deadliest region with 155 of the recorded deaths in 2020, although nationwide annual death rates were still as high as 10,000+ as recently as the late 1980s.