Always concerned to do my civic duty, I sometimes take it on myself to bug the police in the local koban with license numbers and tales of dangerous things I witness on the road. To date, I've reported everything from super hot high beams, to a guy messing with a rifle outside a local school. I wonder what they do with this information, as I usually just get a polite smile and an offer to set me up with one of the single officers. I have always been an anonymous observer... until tonight that is.

Caught up in the usual back and forth with drivers sporting attitude on my way to Ujina I got annoyed at how close a truck pulled up behind me at a red light. I decided to show my displeasure by pausing for a few seconds before moving on when the light turned green. I see this ploy as a way of hinting at my irritation while remaining ambiguous about whether it is on purpose or not. On this occasion, however, I did get the impression that this driver understood the message as he leant on his horn for quite a long time even after I moved forward.

Before we hit the next light (about 100 feet from the first light) the truck swerved into the lane to my right and slowly came past and made a slow but determined cut left into my front right bumper.

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Unfortunately, the truck then turned in the same direction I needed to go. I tried to maintain a safe distance behind him on the narrow two lane road, as I scribbled down his license number on the back of an old receipt.

It was then that I realized that he was moving his truck across across both lanes, completely blocking me and the other drivers from passing. With a car behind, and two on the side I was like a fish in a barrel as the driver got out and came strutting over in his dull yellow construction outfit.

Nani shiteirun daroo ka? he yelled (which roughly translates as "What the fuck are you doing?")
I flipped my hand right back at him and parroted it right back to him in Japanese. At this, he lunged forward, reached through my car window, and smacked me across my face.

Had I been a sensible girl, it was at this point that I would have bowed my head and rolled up the windows apologizing until he went away, but that was the last thing I felt like doing.
Instead I held up the receipt with his license number written on it and taunted him a little saying Wakatta yo!" to say "I got your number pal!"

Funnily enough, this made him even more furious and he frantically grabbed at the paper while I rolled up the window.
Then he seemed confused and started walking away, but soon turned on his heels and tried for my door and started banging on the windows. Thank god for automatic locks on the doors because he was running around trying all of them.

All I got in reply was a pathetic "Eh?" look, so... I bumped him. Then this middle-aged numbskull - keep in mind that there is a screaming madman running around banging on my car - gets out of his car and taps on my window. I'm treated to a sympathetic grin while he gestures that I've hit him, and that he wants me to come out and talk.

Then the most unbelievable thing happens, the irate truck driver and the annoyed dimwit start to discuss how I should speak better Japanese and join forces tapping, thumping my window, and trying to get me to come out with my license... yeah, right!

The drama ends when I whip out my phone and dial the ambulance (I meant to call the police but could only remember 119) which sends the truck driver back to his cab and screeching out of my life. Bringing out the phone also sent the dimwit packing who didn't hang around to annoy me any longer.

The end of this story is no less frustrating as after I explain my story in broken panicked Japanese to the listener of my 119 call, he politely informs me that I need to dial 110 for the police.
Although he was polite enough, it really hit home that this was yet one more person who was not willing to help.
As my finger poised over the final number to connect to the police I hesitated while thoughts raced through my head and finally let my finger fall on the hang-up button instead as I thought "Who the heck is going to believe a foreign woman driver with no witnesses?"
Being actively involved made me feel torn as to what to do without leaving myself open to a more intense meeting if I ever run into those same drivers again. I did feel willing to take that chance and called a female friend of mine who works for the police. Her advice unfortunately ran parralel with my fears, she stated that although what the drivers did was wrong, without corroboration to my story, there is little chance of anyone but me getting in trouble.
I hate where this story leaves me as a victim unable to fight back. The only preventative help I can think of is keeping a video camera in the car with me to be my witness should it ever happen again.
Even though that would be the best way to capture what happened, I hope you never get to see my footage on a future program of "Crime Watch."

Road Rage in Japan
I found the following stories by doing searches on the web about Road Rage, I hope you find them interesting:
In Tokyo last year (2000), a cyclist was run down by a delivery driver because every time he passed the driver at a light he rubbed his "passing" in by tapping on the driver's window. The driver got so agitated that he "eventually lost his temper with the man and had no option but to hurt him" Annanova

Japan's Ichihara Prison (Tokyo) was founded in 1969 to punish dangerously irresponsible drivers, such as those guilty of vehicular homicide, drunk driving, fleeing the scene of an accident and other crimes.
Nevertheless, a movement supporting the rights of auto-accident victims is criticizing the prison and police as being too lenient and failing to convict enough of the dangerous drivers on Japanese roads. The number of criminals prosecuted in fatal traffic accidents in Japan dropped from nearly 80% in the early 1970s to less than 20% in 1995.

Helpful Advice
Mark Pepper writes the following tips on www.drivers.com.

• Don't take traffic problems personally
• Avoid eye contact with an aggressive driver
• Don't make obscene gestures
• Don't tailgate, tap on your brakes, use your horn, flash your lights, or block the passing lane.

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