A police office conducts an alcohol breath test during a crackdown on riding under the influence of alcohol, in Fukuoka’s Chuo Ward in December 2024. (Mainichi/Yuki Kurisu)
The Mainichi answers questions readers may have about punishments that cyclists could face in Japan for riding a bicycle under the influence of alcohol.
Question: Is riding a bicycle after drinking alcohol forbidden?
Answer: Bicycles are classified as “light vehicles” under the Road Traffic Act, and just like with cars, riding under the influence of alcohol is prohibited because it impairs the judgment and attention necessary for safe travel. Previously, penalties only applied to “drunken riding” where there was a risk of being unable to operate the bicycle properly due to alcohol. However, a revision to the act came into effect in November 2024, under which riding under the influence (defined as a breath alcohol level of 0.15 milligrams or more per liter of breath) also became subject to a penalty of up to three years imprisonment or a fine of up to 500,000 yen (around $3,380).
Q: Has anyone actually been apprehended under this change?
A: According to the National Police Agency, people were apprehended for riding bicycles under the influence of alcohol in 4,542 cases between November 2024 and June 2025 across Japan. By jurisdiction, Fukuoka Prefectural Police recorded the highest number of cases, at 949, followed by Saitama Prefectural Police at 331 cases and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department at 326 cases.
Q: Why are there so many cases in Fukuoka Prefecture?
A: In 2006, a rear-end collision caused by a driver under the influence of alcohol claimed the lives of three young children in the city of Fukuoka. The prefectural police have made “eradicating drunk driving,” including on bicycles, a key policy. A senior prefectural police official suggested that the high number “may be due to a proactive clampdown.”
Q: Are there any penalties for allowing someone else to ride a bicycle under the influence of alcohol?
A: The revised Road Traffic Act, which came into effect in November 2024, also penalizes providing a bicycle to someone who may ride it under the influence and offering alcohol to someone who may ride a bicycle. The former act carries a penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 500,000 yen, and the latter up to two years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 300,000 yen.
There were 417 fatal accidents involving drunk cyclists in Japan from 2015 to 2024. It’s essential to abandon the lenient mindset of “it’s just a bicycle” and create an environment where such tragedies can be prevented.
(Japanese original by Jangrae Kim, Kyushu News Department)