By MASAHIRO IWAO/ Staff Writer
March 9, 2020 at 08:00 JST
A worker installs a new “stop” sign in July 2017 in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
NAGOYA--A woefully low percentage of foreign tourists who rent cars in Japan understand traffic rules here for stopping, slowing down and parking, a survey by the internal affairs ministry showed.
The results have led to moves to improve safety awareness among tourists before they hit the streets.
The ministry’s Chubu Regional Administrative Evaluation Bureau conducted the survey in October and November last year on 117 non-Japanese visitors from Hong Kong, Thailand and elsewhere about their understanding of roadway restrictions.
Questionnaires were distributed at four car rental offices at Chubu Airport in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture.
The tourists answered nearly 60 percent of the questions correctly on average. But the rate fell to 30 percent for questions about stop, no-parking and slow signs.
Based on the survey results, the regional bureau called on the land ministry’s Chubu District Transport Bureau to take countermeasures, such as urging car rental agencies to provide thorough explanations on traffic regulations in advance to foreign customers.
The government has revised legislation to show both Japanese and English on some road signs. Aichi prefectural police started installing bilingual stop and slow signs in July 2017.
According government statistics, the number of sightseers who rent vehicles after arriving at Chubu Airport doubled to an estimated 52,000 in 2017 from 26,000 in 2014.
Traffic accident numbers have risen across Japan, and a Cabinet Office survey showed that foreign drivers in rented cars caused 158 accidents resulting in death or injury in 2018.
The latest survey also examined whether non-Japanese motorists know what the different colors mean on gas nozzles as more petrol stations are becoming unmanned.
Thirty percent of respondents mistakenly believed the green nozzle, which is for diesel fuel, supplies regular gasoline, which is marked by a red nozzle, according to the survey.
This is problematic given that diesel fuel can cause problems with the engines and other parts of gasoline-powered vehicles.
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