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U.S. editionOn the 20th the Tsu District Court sentenced the former truck driver, Mizuyo Mizutani (55), to 7 years’ imprisonment, matching the sentencing request, in the accident that killed 6 people on the Shin-Meishin Expressway (NHK, Jiji Press). Judge Hiroaki Deguchi said, “The negligence is grave” (Nikkei). The sentence is the maximum statutory penalty for negligent driving causing death (Asahi Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun). Prosecutors had said the defendant looked at his phone for about 13 seconds to capture a TikTok screen. The defendant was driving at about 82 km/h while looking at his phone (TBS NEWS DIG). The victims’ families called for a change in the law at a press conference (TV Asahi). The lawyer said the defendant is “considering” an appeal (Nikkei).
The maximum for negligent driving causing death is 7 years’ imprisonment, and however great the harm, a negligent accident cannot go beyond that frame. Because the maximum itself was handed down this time, the question has moved from the sentence to the ceiling set by the law.
Just a few seconds of looking at your phone while driving is, at 80 km/h, the same as driving several hundred meters with your eyes closed. It is a familiar danger for people who use a car for work or carry family members.
The families say that 7 years for 6 lives taken is too light, and they are calling for a revision of the law that would review the ceiling itself. Bengo4.com reported that many voices online also say the sentence is too light.
The court, for its part, chose the heaviest sentence within the statutory range. There is also caution about punishing a negligent accident as heavily as an intentional crime, and a view that this should be handled as a debate over the scope of the offense of dangerous driving causing death.
We could confirm that the sentence matched the request at the maximum and that the families called for a change in the law. Whether to appeal has not been decided. We will watch the defense’s decision before the appeal deadline and the Diet debate over penalties for distracted driving.
NHK (ruling, 10/20) · Jiji Press (ruling, 10/20) · Nikkei (reasons for the ruling and appeal, 10/20) · Asahi Shimbun (ruling, 10/20) · Mainichi Shimbun (ruling, 10/20) · TBS NEWS DIG (about 82 km/h, 10/20) · TV Asahi (families’ press conference, 10/20)
Shin-Meishin Crash That Killed 6: Ex-Truck Driver Who Looked Away at His Phone Gets 7 Years in Prison, as Prosecutors Sought; Tsu District Court Hands Down the Statutory Maximum
After the ruling, the victims’ families said at a press conference, “Seven years for 6 lives is too light,” and called for a change in the law.
In March this year, on the Shin-Meishin Expressway in Kameyama, Mie Prefecture, a large truck rammed into a line of congested traffic and 6 people died. On the 20th the Tsu District Court sentenced the former truck driver, Mizuyo Mizutani (55), who was charged with negligent driving causing death, to 7 years’ imprisonment, matching the sentencing request, NHK and Jiji Press reported. According to Nikkei, Judge Hiroaki Deguchi said in giving his reasons, “The negligence is grave.” Seven years’ imprisonment is the maximum statutory penalty for negligent driving causing death under the Automobile Driving Punishment Act, and Asahi Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun also reported the same sentence. At a hearing in September, prosecutors said the defendant had looked at his smartphone to take a screenshot of a TikTok video and had taken his eyes off the road ahead for about 13 seconds. TBS NEWS DIG reported that the defendant was driving at about 82 km/h while looking at his phone. The defendant had admitted the charges.
After the ruling, the victims’ families held a press conference. According to TV Asahi, they said they “cannot accept it” and called for a change in the law. Nikkei reported that the families voiced, in essence, “Six lives were taken and 7 years is too light. Is a maximum necessary?” The defendant’s lawyer said of an appeal that “the defendant is considering it” (Nikkei). In connection with the accident, the Chugoku Transport Bureau has imposed a 30-day business suspension on the transport company the defendant worked for. Distracted driving means looking at a mobile phone screen while driving, and it is also punishable under the Road Traffic Act. Nikkei reported that this ruling falls among the heaviest of past comparable cases.