This White Paper on Traffic Safety in Japan was compiled under the supervision of Traffic Safety Policy Office, Management and Coordination Agency, Japan
　　　The International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences hopes this paper, in conjunction with Statistics of Road Accident Japan, will greatly enhance readers' knowledge of traffic accident remedial measures.


OUTLINE OF WHITE PAPER ON TRAFFIC SAFETY
TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS AND CURRENT TRAFFIC SAFETY MEASURES



Management and Coordination Agency


　　As required by Article 13 of the Traffic Safety Policies Law (Legislation 110 enacted in 1970) the government report titled "The Annual Report on Traffic Accidents and Current Traffic Safety Measures" (known also as the 1999 White Paper on Traffic Safety in Japan) was submitted to the 145th session of the Diet after being approved by Cabinet on June 4, 1999.
　　T he information contained in this year's White Paper, the 29th since the first issue in 1971, is outlined below.
　　The main volume "Traffic Accidents and Traffic Safety Measures in FY1998" reports the latest national statistics on traffic accidents according to categories of land transport (road and rail), maritime transport and air transport, together with an outline of traffic safety measures implemented in FY1998. The number of road traffic fatalities has been decreasing in recent years while the number of traffic accidents and number of casualties (fatalities plus injuries) have both been rising. To throw light on this situation, the report features discussions under the headings "Main Factors Behind the Recent Decline in Road Traffic Fatalities," and "Strategies for Meeting the Targets of the Sixth Fundamental Traffic Safety Program," which analyze the main reasons behind current trends, outline current problems, and identify the tasks ahead.
　　A separate volume of the White Paper, "Traffic Safety Measure Plans for Implementation in FY1999," provides details of the traffic safety measures scheduled to be implemented in FY1999, according to the three categories of land transport (road and rail), maritime transport and air transport.


THE TRAFFIC SAFETY POLICY OFFICE



　　The Traffic Safety Policy Office was established to coordinate and promote the policies and activities related to transport safety conducted by government organizations. In addition to activities such as formulating the Fundamental Traffic Safety Program as provided for by the Traffic Safety Policies Law enacted in 1970 and administering nationwide traffic safety campaigns and events, the Traffic Safety Policy Office promotes a wide range of transport safety activities conducted by government organizations and coordinates policies between ministries and issues guidelines to local public bodies.

Address: 1-1, 3-chome, Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8905, Japan
Tel: +81-3-3581-6361 ext. 4819
Fax: +81-3-3506-1942
URL: http://www.somucho.go.jp



6-20, 2-chome, Yaesu, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0028, Japan
Tel: +81-3-3273-7884
Fax: +81-3-3272-7054
E-mail: iatss@db3.so-net.ne.jp
URL: http://wwwsoc.nacsis.ac.jp/iatss/

Copyright 2000 by International Association of
Traffic and Safety Sciences
August 2000
Printed in Japan


CONTENTS


Volume 1. Land Transport

　Part 1. Road Transport
　　Chapter 1 Trends in Road Traffic Accidents
　　　 Long-term trends in road traffic accidents
　　　 Road traffic accidents in 1998
Overview
haku99e1.htm
　　Chapter 2 Main Factors Behind the Recent Decline in Road Traffic Accident Fatalities .
Outline of the analysis
Analysis of the circumstances of traffic accidents
Trends in accidents involving young people
Influence of economic conditions
Effects of traffic safety measures
　　Chapter 3 Achieving the Targets of the Sixth Fundamental Traffic Safety Program
　　Chapter 4 Principal Policies for Fiscal 1998
Focus on improving traffic safety facilities
Improving road traffic systems with advanced communications technology
Transportation demand management
Traffic safety education policy
Traffic safety education for elderly citizens
Stricter measures for elderly drivers
Aggressive promotion of seat belt use
Education on the risks of using mobile phones while driving
Comprehensive Traffic Safety Inspection
Advanced Safety Vehicle (ASV) and Automated Highway Systems (AHS)

　Part 2. Railway Transport
Trends in railway accidents
Major railway safety measures

Volume 2. Maritime Transport

Trends in maritime accidents
Major measures for maritime traffic safety

Volume 3. Air Transport

Trends in aviation accidents
Major measures for air traffic safety