TOKYO: Across Japan, a total of 896 people nationwide had their driver’s licences suspended for riding a bicycle while under the influence of alcohol between January and September 2025, up from just two people during the same period last year, according to the National Police Agency (NPA).
Since the revised Road Traffic Law took effect in November last year, making cycling at or above a certain blood alcohol level a punishable offence, there has been an increase in the number of cases in which police have determined that drunk cyclists were “also likely to pose a significant danger when driving a car”.
