By TOMOKI MIYASAKA/ Staff Writer
June 27, 2024 at 18:50 JST
A Chinese international student's electric suitcase that was confiscated by Osaka prefectural police in Osaka's Fukushima Ward after she was stopped for riding it without a license (Tomoki Miyasaka)
OSAKA--Turns out, electric suitcases count as vehicles.
A Chinese international student learned this fun bit of trivia firsthand. The not-so-fun reason was that she was being pulled over for not having a license to ride it on a sidewalk.
Police stopped her in Fukushima Ward, which neighbors Konohana Ward, where she resides.
“I didn’t think that the electric suitcase was a vehicle, so I didn’t think that I had to have a license,” said the 30-something-year-old, who has denied the March incident charge.
It is the first case of its kind in Japan.
Prefectural police referred the woman to prosecutors on suspicion of violating the Road Traffic Law.
Police classified the luggage as a motorized bicycle after noting that it has all the traits of a vehicle.
Electric suitcases are intended to be ridden in airports and are typically sold in electronics stores.
The woman's suitcase can reach a maximum speed of 13 kph.
Electric suitcases do not meet public safety standards and cannot be ridden on a public road.
Man arrested for rare hit-and-run by electric scooter in Osaka
June 4, 2021
Arrests made in probe over death of child, abuse of grandmother
June 24, 2023
Suitcase murder suspect snapped over videos victim posted
May 28, 2024
Wanted Chinese held at airport returned to load up on face masks
February 13, 2020
2 arrested at salon for not having licenses as hairdressers
May 16, 2023
Police data: 74 electric scooter accidents over past 3 years
March 6, 2023
Stories about memories of cherry blossoms solicited from readers
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
A series on the death of a Japanese woman that sparked a debate about criminal justice policy in the United States
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
