This article presents a list of motor vehicle deaths in Japan by year. Deaths are currently defined by those who die within 30 days of the date of the accident, but 1980 and before are one-day accident deaths. Fatalities reached a record high in 1970. The Index base year is 1989. (Index=100)
Per population, fatalities are 1/4 in 2008 of that of 1970, and per kilometer, one-sixth in 2007 of the 1970 rate. The total for 2012 was 4,411 deaths. and for 2017, it has dropped to 3,694 deaths, of 2,020 involved a driver over 65 or 54.7% of the total, with sharply rising rates of deadly accidents with each decade of driver age after 65.http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/1174172/japans-annual-road-toll-lowest-since-1949 Some 36% of deaths were pedestrians, 13% were bicyclists, and alcohol-related deaths were 1/3 at 213 less than a decade earlier, among other statistics. Total deaths have fallen further to 3,215 in 2019, with drivers over age 75 a concern. Total deaths have fallen further to 2,839 in 2020, with drivers. Total deaths have fallen further to 2,636 in 2021, with drivers. Total deaths have fallen further to 2,547 in 2025, with drivers. In 2025 Individuals aged 65 or older accounted for 55.9 % of the deaths, or 1,423 deaths.
year deathsinjuries (1000s)registered vehicles (1000s)population (1000s)vehicle km (blns)number idxnumber idxnumber idxnumber idxnumber idx 1952 4,696 1970 16,765 151 981.1 120 28,390 37 103,720 84 2.26 38 1976 9,734 88 614.0 75 40,890 54 113,094 92 3.097 52 1980 8,760 79 598.7 73 52,250 69 117,060 95 3.891 65 1985 9,261 84 681.3 84 67,040 88 121,049 98 4.494 71 1990 11,227 101 790.3 97 78,110 103 123,611 100 6.286 105 1994 10,649 1995 10,679 96 922.7 113 84,970 112 125,570 102 7.203 120 1996 9,942 1997 9,640 1998 9,211 1999 9,006 2000 9,066 82 1155.7 142 89,250 117 126,926 103 7.757 129 2001 8,747 2002 8,326 2003 7,702 2004 7,358 2005 6,871 62 1156.6 142 91,380 120 127,768 104 7.689 128 2006 6,352 2007 5,744 52 1034.4 127 91,170 120 127,771 104 N/A 2008 5,155 127,700 104 2009 4,914 44 908.9 111 127,600 104 2010 4,863 128,056 2011 4,612 127,799 2016 3,904 – 2017 3,694 – 2018 3,532 – 2019 3,215 – 2020 2,839 – 2021 2,636 – 2022 2,610 – 2023 2,678 – 2024 2,663 – 2025 2,547 – Notes: Death definition before and after 1980 are not exactly comparable (1-day vs 30-day) but have this additional margin of error.
See also List of motor vehicle deaths in Australia by year List of motor vehicle deaths in Iceland by year List of motor vehicle deaths in Thailand by year Motor vehicle fatality rate in U.S. by year
References
Statistics of Road Accidents Japan, National Police Agency Statistics Bureau of Japan, Traffic Accident Data
External links