Photo/Illutration The Suminoe Police Station in Osaka (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

OSAKA--Two men from Higashi-Osaka city are facing charges after they were caught driving their motorbikes 180 to 220 kph over the speed limit and causing a collision, according to police.

Police estimate that one of the motorbikes reached a speed of 270 kph, which exceeds the maximum speed of the Hokuriku and Kyushu bullet trains.

Osaka prefectural police on April 20 sent papers to prosecutors on suspicion of dangerous driving resulting in injury.

According to investigative sources, a 22-year-old company employee has admitted to the allegations, saying he “wanted to get a kick from speeding.”

But the other man, a 21-year-old factory worker, denied part of the charges.

“I accelerated because I wanted to go to the restroom, but I just changed course and was not driving at reckless speeds,” he said.

According to the case files, around 9:30 p.m. on May 23, 2020, the two men rode their 1,000cc motorbikes at 270 and 230 kph, respectively, inside the 2.2-kilometer-long Osaka Port Sakishima Tunnel that connects Suminoe and Minato wards.

The two bikes collided, resulting in broken arms and legs.
The underwater tunnel has two one-way lanes and a speed limit of 50 kph.

The two men are acquaintances and were riding their motorbikes with five other friends at the time.

Suminoe Police Station officers calculated the speeds based on footage from the tunnel’s surveillance cameras and concluded that the motorcycles collided when the company employee tried to pass the factory worker who had just accelerated.

Police built their cases on suspicion of dangerous driving resulting in injury, a charge that carries a heavier penalty than negligent driving resulting in injury, because they believe the two men drove their motorcycles recklessly at uncontrollable speeds.

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