{"id":355560,"date":"2025-12-18T06:57:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T06:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/355560\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T06:57:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T06:57:09","slug":"nearly-900-drivers-in-japan-have-licences-suspended-for-cycling-while-drunk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/355560\/","title":{"rendered":"Nearly 900 drivers in Japan have licences suspended for cycling while drunk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Japan\u2019s revised law allows suspension of driver\u2019s licence if caught cycling while drunk<\/p>\n

Nearly 900 people in Japan had their driving licences suspended between January and September 2025<\/a> after being caught cycling while drunk, following a revision to the law that criminalised cycling above a certain alcohol level.<\/p>\n

The sharp spike comes after changes introduced last November, which gave police stronger grounds to penalise intoxicated cyclists.<\/p>\n

While officers have long had the discretion to suspend licences if someone posed a serious traffic risk, the revised law has led to a dramatic rise in enforcement.<\/p>\n

\"driver's<\/p>\n

Source: kanzilyou on Canva. For illustration purposes only.<\/p>\n

Drunk cycling suspensions jump from 2 to nearly 900<\/p>\n

According to Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan\u2019s licence suspension system operates on penalty points.<\/p>\n

In 2024, only two licences were suspended for drunk cycling. In 2025, that figure surged to 896 cases.<\/p>\n

Under current regulations, cyclists can be penalised if they are found to have 0.15 milligrams or more of alcohol per litre of breath.<\/p>\n

Major cities recorded the highest numbers. Osaka topped the list with 340 suspensions, followed by Tokyo with 124.<\/p>\n

\"drunk<\/p>\n

Source: mediaphotos on Canva. For illustration purposes only.<\/p>\n

Jail time and hefty fines for drunk cyclists<\/p>\n

Those caught cycling while intoxicated face serious consequences, including up to three years in prison or a fine of up to \u00a5500,000 (about S$4,150).<\/p>\n

The law also extends liability to others involved. People who ride pillion with a drunk cyclist, or knowingly serve alcohol to someone who later cycles, may face similar penalties.<\/p>\n

Beyond criminal punishment, some local governments have announced disciplinary action against their own staff.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

In Chiba Prefecture, for example, any government employee caught driving drunk or cycling drunk will be dismissed.<\/p>\n

Also read: Man drove drunk to Tuas Checkpoint, crashed into gantry post & left auxiliary officer in vegetative state<\/a><\/p>\n

Man drove drunk to Tuas Checkpoint, crashed into gantry post & left auxiliary officer in vegetative state<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at\u00a0news@mustsharenews.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Featured image adapted from kanzilyou on Canva<\/a> and mediaphotos on Canva<\/a>. For illustration purposes only.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Japan\u2019s revised law allows suspension of driver\u2019s licence if caught cycling while drunk Nearly 900 people in Japan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355561,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-355560","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}