Comme ça du Japon

In June, the rules defining a parking violation in Japan will change. Until now, the cops had to make sure that the violation lasted for a certain amount of time. With the new law, this will be the job of 駐車監視員 (ChûSha KanShi In) “parking guards”. They will be equipped with a デジタルカメラ (DeJiTaRu KaMeRa) “digital camera” and a 端末機 (TanMatsuKi) “terminal” to directly send the pictures to the central police station. A sticker placed on the front glass of the car will inform the driver that he has been fined. These new jobs will be opened to 民間 (MinKan) “civilians”.

70 millions of worried drivers

Leaving your car for 5 minutes to buy your 弁当 (BenTô) “lunch box” might cost you much more from June. But it is even more concerning for road-workers : delivery clerks, carriers, moving trucks… A lot of these companies are wondering how they will deal with it. Some have already made parking arrangements at the big residences and some restaurants. They are also working with the police on exceptions to the new rule. Notably, this will be the case for レンタカー (ReNTa Ka-) “rent-a-car” agencies. The police will immediately contact the agency so they will be able to claim the fine to their clients. A lot of the delivery companies such as 黒猫宅急便 (KuroNeko TakkKyûBin) “Black cat’s rapid home delivery” or ヤマト運輸 (YaMaTo UnYu) “Yamato carrier” are pursuing their efforts to open サテライトセンター (SaTeRaITo SeNTa-) “secondary delivery center” in the big cities. At first, this was a way to decrease their costs due to the price jump of gasoline. These companies are now pushing new low cost way of transporting the packets from the satellite center to the final destination. They are using bicycle and push-carts. This will also allow them to avoid the parking problem altogether.

The bikes are equipped with a 電動アシスト (DenDôAShiSuTo) “electromotive assist system”. The system is operated by batteries. They are recharged when the bike is moving on a flat road and used to help the biker on steep roads.