“I Didn’t Know a License Was Required”: The “Price” a Handsome 20-Year-Old Suspect, Accused of a Hit-and-Run on a Moped, Will Pay

Alleged hit-and-run while driving on the sidewalk without a license

At 8:00 a.m. on September 10, suspect Ryuto Onishi (20) emerged from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Ikebukuro Precinct. Even with his long bangs hanging down and wearing a mask, he was unmistakably a handsome guy.He had a bold tattoo on his neck and gave off the vibe of someone who might appear on Netflix’s delinquent romance reality show *Love Is Fine*. When he arrived at the Ikebukuro Police Station the previous day, he had appeared relaxed—even using the window of a patrol car as a mirror to fix his hair—but on this day, he seemed somewhat restless.

Onishi, whose occupation is unknown and who resides in Itabashi Ward, Tokyo, is suspected of causing an accident while driving a “moped”—an electric bike with pedals—without a license, injuring a man in his 50s and then fleeing the scene.

“Around 8:30 a.m. on August 22, while riding without a license on a sidewalk in Kami-Ikebukuro, Toshima Ward, Suspect Onishi collided head-on with a bicycle ridden by a man.He caused the man to fall, inflicting a head injury requiring two weeks of recovery, and then fled the scene. He is suspected of violating the Act on Punishment of Motor Vehicle Drivers (negligent driving without a license resulting in injury) and the Road Traffic Act.

Suspect Onishi appears to have been on his way home from a friend’s house. He stated, ‘I didn’t know a license was required or that I had a duty to provide aid,’ and denies the charges.

However, according to the police, when he purchased the moped around last fall, he signed a terms-of-use agreement at the store stating that a driver’s license is required to operate the vehicle. “The police believe that suspect Onishi was routinely driving the moped without a license and are investigating the case,” said a reporter from the social affairs desk of a national newspaper.

Mopeds are equipped with pedals, and their frames are thinner than those of standard mopeds, so at first glance, they look like bicycles. However, they differ from bicycles in that they can be propelled by the motor alone.It is particularly confusing because it resembles an “electric-assist bicycle” in appearance, but it is an entirely “different thing.” Since it is classified as a moped, a driver’s license is required, and wearing a helmet is mandatory. A license plate and compulsory automobile liability insurance are also required. Because it is classified as a moped, riding it on the sidewalk is a violation.

“There’s nothing more convenient than this,” but…

The Road Traffic Act, amended in November ’24, explicitly stipulates that mopeds are classified as “light motorcycles” even when operated solely by pedaling. In fact, they had been treated this way even before the amendment, but the law was likely restated to explicitly clarify this due to a sharp increase in accidents and traffic violations involving mopeds starting around ’22.Since then, enforcement against mopeds has been stepped up. While the number of accidents involving personal injury—which stood at 57 in ’23—rose only slightly to 68 in ’24, the number of traffic violations cited skyrocketed from 345 to 2,538.

Mr. Munenori Kumagai, a former traffic investigator and representative of the Traffic Accident Investigation and Analysis Office, explains the difficulty of enforcing moped regulations as follows:

“Mopeds are equipped with pedals, and when riders are pedaling, it’s quite difficult to distinguish them from electric-assist bicycles, making it hard for police officers to pull them over.I’ve heard that some models can now reach speeds of 60 km/h; at that speed, you’d need a motorcycle license, let alone a moped license. However, the misconception that you can ride them without a license has spread, and from the perspective of those without a license, there’s nothing more convenient—which is likely why the number of unlicensed riders shows no sign of abating.

However, if you’re caught driving without a license, you face ‘imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 500,000 yen,’ and you’ll be barred from obtaining a license for two years. Additionally, hit-and-run (violation of the duty to render aid or the duty to report the accident) carries a penalty of ‘imprisonment for up to 10 years or a fine of up to 1 million yen.’In this particular case, it’s likely that the total penalty would result in a five-year suspension from obtaining a driver’s license.

“Don’t just ride one ‘because it’s convenient’ without thinking—you need to use your own head to properly understand what’s legal and what’s illegal before you ride, or you’ll end up paying a heavy price.”

It’s only natural to face the consequences of your own actions, but it’s no fun for the people caught up in it.