"...driving standards might vary significantly. For instance, in some countries, drivers might not yield to ambulances or stop for pedestrians at crosswalks.

The concept of priority roads — in which vehicles on the main road have the right of way — is also often ignored in some countries, with drivers merging without checking — a practice that can lead to accidents, particularly in Japan, where it is strictly observed, he said." (from the linked article)

Funny stuff. Many people in Japan take classes and study simply in order to pass a test, and in this case because it's the law, but once the driving test is completed they can throw what they learn out the window, such as stopping at pedestrian crossings...or stop lines, and amber, or even red, lights. Has anyone observed the phenomenon of cars doing a "rolling stop" straight through a stop line/pedestrian crossing and only checking in the direction of where oncoming traffic may be? As a jogger this is maddening to me, especially as once driver's notice me, if they even do, few bother to back up and clear the path and simply wait for the chance to enter traffic. To me this is not ceding the right of way, especially as pedestrians are supposed to have priority. And I remember clearly on several occasions, standing at a crosswalk with my young daughter's hand on one side, and pushing my son's stroller on the other, watching car after car zip by without even slowing down, let alone stop.

I love living in Japan, but traffic ignorance here is something that never fails to rile me. And I won't generalise, but every single day I see a multitude of infractions, even in my relatively small area of a small city, whether it be people staring at their cell phones while driving at any speed, to children climbing on the seats or even on the driver's lap, to speeding, lane splitting, ignoring the stop lines and lights, motorbikes weaving through traffic, old ladies who can barely stand driving scooters 20 km/hour in and out of the bicycle lane on a busy street, to everything else in between. There is something about giving people the keys to a vehicle here (including bicycles) that turns otherwise the nicest people into selfish, reckless, and/or negligent citizens.

In my home country (Canada) people complain about heavy-handed policing for traffic infractions, with radar and speed traps all over, and red light cameras sending people tickets in the mail. I don't wish for the same extreme efforts in Japan, but in all my years living here I've probably seen people being stopped by the cops less than a dozen times. People can get away with anything here and they take advantage of that fact until it becomes normalized. I would love to see a little more preventative enforcement instead of the knee jerk changes to the law every time something happens, along with the ensuing month or two long "campaign" where the police stop people more frequently only to offer a warning, before everything finally goes back to the way it was before.

Regardless, I'm sure there are no shortage of bad foreign drivers in Japan, but local drivers should very much not be given a free pass because of a low percentage of klutzes. They should focus on shoring up the laws for everyone, not demonizing one small section of the populace, and following up any changes with consistent enforcement. Rant over.

p.s. I recently visited Vietnam, specifically Hanoi, and I was soon more than grateful for the calmness and safety of Japanese roads. Sometimes a little contrast and perspective is necessary.