[Answer]
First of all, call 110 to file your traffic accident no matter how insignificant
the incident may appear. If you fail to do so, you will not be able to
obtain a Traffic Accident certificate necessary to claim insurance payments
later. When police officers arrive at the site of the accident for inspections,
check the case number allocated to your accident and the police station
that deals with your case, and give them detailed descriptions of the accident
as calmly and logically as possible. You should also gather and write down
as much information about the accident as you can, including the driver’s
name, address, occupation, contact information, insurance company, and
registration number of his/her car. If possible, take photos of the scene
of the accident and get contact information of witnesses of the accident,
if available. Even if your injury appears minor, it is advisable you go
to a hospital just to make sure.
To claim
compensation or partial advance payment from the driver’s compulsory automobile
liability insurance company on your own, you need to submit the Traffic
Accident certificate, which is available at the Japan Safe Driving Center
located in the area the accident took place. If your accident took place in
Osaka, you can contact the Japan Safe Driving Center in Kadoma City
(06-6909-5821).
[Answer]
If you are injured in a car accident, you can be compensated for the following
three major areas of damages:
1)
Economic
damages requiring “out-of-pocket” expenses -- medical expenses, hospital costs,
funeral costs.
2)
Economic
damages resulting in loss -- absence from work and loss of income.
3)
Non-economic
damages -- mental and physical pain and suffering.
Compensations
are taken out from the driver’s compulsory automobile liability or voluntary
automobile insurance policy. A compulsory policy, popularly known as “jibaiseki”
in Japanese, however, only covers bodily injury for up to 1.2 million yen. Any
compensations exceeding this are covered by the driver’s voluntary insurance or
“ni-n-i” in Japanese.
If you are
involved in a car accident with an uninsured driver or an unidentified driver, and
cannot get any financial compensation, you can receive payment from the
Government’s Automobile Liability Compensation Business program which compensates
you in the same manner as you would be by compulsory insurance.
Advice and
consultation on car accident claims is given at the following offices:
Car Accident Advisory provided at Osaka
Prefectural Government 06-6941-7000
Car Accident
Consultation by Osaka Bar Association 06-6364-8289
Insurance
Claim Consultation by The General Insurance Association of Japan 06-6202-2640
The Japan Center for Settlement of Traffic Accident Disputes 06-6227-0277
（Japanese language only）
[Answer]
Traffic offenders are imposed administrative sanctions and criminal sanctions
depending on the scale of violation they commit.
Criminal Sanctions
For minor offenses, police may issue a one-off fine and as long as you
pay the fine no more criminal sanctions are imposed. With the blue-colored
provisional traffic infraction ticket issued by police, you can pay the
fine at a bank or a post office. But if you resist paying the fine or if
you commit more serious offenses, like driving under the influence of alcohol,
or driving without a license, you will be reported for prosecution. If
that happens, you get will summoned by the traffic police office and receive
a sentence during a summary court hearing there.
Osaka Prefectural
Police Traffic Violation Notice Center 06-6904-3010 (Kadoma), 0725-56-181 (Komyoike)
Administrative Sanctions
A points system
is used to assign a point value to different kinds of traffic offenses. If
enough points are accumulated in three years, your driving license can be
suspended or revoked. Your offenses will go on to your driving record. Qualified
offenders may lighten their penalty by attending an Educational Short Course
for Traffic Offenders sponsored by police.
As for illegal
parking, when a driver fails to pay a due parking fine, police can order the owner
of the car to pay the unpaid fine instead. And if the owner refuses to pay the
fine despite the police order, he/she will be refused mandatory car inspection
at the Transport Bureau. Repeatedly ignored police orders to pay the fine will result
in driving restrictions.
Osaka Prefectural Police Headquarters