Photo/Illutration Long lines of cars at toll booths in Hachioji, western Tokyo, are seen on the morning of April 6 after a system failure halted use of the blue and white electronic toll collection lanes. (Koichi Ueda)

An extensive system failure across central Japan that knocked out electronic toll collection (ETC) booths on major expressways has been resolved, the operator announced on the afternoon of April 7.

The system failure, which began around 12:30 a.m. on April 6, shut down 106 toll booths across 17 routes in the region, according to Central Nippon Expressway Co.

The disruption affected Tokyo and the prefectures of Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Nagano, Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi and Mie before being restored by 2 p.m. the following day.

The operator repaired the ETC system with a temporary fix to the program and is now working toward a permanent solution.

The initial malfunction is believed to be linked to modification work previously carried out on the system.

In response to the disruption, the company temporarily allowed drivers to pass through affected toll booths without paying and deferring the toll charges to be billed later.

According to the transport ministry, ETC usage has surged from 1.6 percent in 2002 to 95.3 percent this year.

With an average of 7.74 million drivers using it daily, the system has become an essential part of the country's transportation infrastructure.

According to a ministry official, the ETC system has become increasingly complex due to repeated upgrades, which likely prolonged the restoration process.

(This article was compiled from reports by Yoichiro Kodera and Shun Niekawa.)

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