FG crashes Maserati, nabbed for driving without license

[Captain Japan]

Foreign financers feel they need no license to thrill on Japanese roads
Mainichi
At first, the February car crash in Tokyo's exclusive Minato-ku only seemed out of the ordinary because it involved a black Maserati slamming into a taxi, but it has turned out to be very special indeed. And for all the wrong reasons, Shukan Asahi (4/4) opines.

"The Maserati rammed right into the back of the taxi, probably because the driver wasn't paying enough attention to what was going on ahead of him," a witness to the crash tells Shukan Asahi. "The passenger got out of the back of the cab holding their neck and looking in real pain. A police patrol car and ambulance arrived on the scene and the police took away the white guy who'd been driving the Maserati in their patrol car."

The "white guy" was 37-year-old Jon-Paul Toppino, the Representative Director and Chief Investment Officer of Secured Capital Japan Co....more...

[Mulboyne]

Bottom left:

[Greji]

Bottom left:

Wonder who their source on this was? Sounds like Take...

[TennoChinko]

http://www.globalrealestate.org/retreat/profile.asp?m=c06&rcd=30386&ofn=129207&

SECURED CAPITAL JAPAN CO. LTD
Mr Jon-Paul Toppino - Representative Director & CIO
Toranomon Towers
20F - 4 1 - 28 Toranomon
Minato Ku Tokyo
105-0001
JAPAN (t.) +81 - 3 - 5776 1300

[Captain Japan]

Wonder who their source on this was? Sounds like Take...

Here's how the story ended:

"Loads of foreigners working for foreign-owned companies never get a Japanese license and just drive around on an international driver's license. They've got no idea of Japan's road rules," the banker tells Shukan Asahi. "They figure everything's all right if they just pay a fine. There are more than a few who have no inclination of abiding by Japanese laws."

With this pretty much unsubstantiated quote and the fact that it took place in Minato-ku, it all sounds very similar to the first article Mulboyne summarized in this thread.

[GomiGirl]

Very true - however, I do know a few guys who actually are like this - sadly.

The broad generalisations of these articles and unsubstantiated sources are unfair to the entire FG community but it really goes to show how a few tossers can give everybody a bad name.

[Mulboyne]

Years ago it was fairly common for foreigners to drive on an international licence because the police didn't much care about it even if you were involved in an incident. That all changed some time ago when it the regulations on how long a resident could drive on such a licence were tightened and police began to penalize anyone they found using one beyond their limit. I think that guy's view of legions of foreign financiers driving around without a valid licence is outdated although, as this case shows, there are probably a few who still do. Mostly they would be Americans because they are obliged to pass a driving test to get a Japanese licence while many other nationalities can simply translate their own national licences, take an eye test and walk out with a local licence.

[omae mona]

Tough to know if the article is accurate. It states he was previously on a Japanese license and didn't bother to renew it. If so, well, I don't have a heck of a lot of sympathy.

But don't forget some foreigners may have been renewing International Driving Permits annually under the assumption it was OK to use them in place of a Japanese license. Until the law was tightened up in 2002, this was usually considered OK. I know a few FGs who never heard about the change and were, quite innocently, driving illegally for a while. Hard to imagine that in 2008 anybody could still claim ignorance, though.

[EDIT: while I was typing, Mulboyne beat me to the punch making a similar point, but stating it better than I, as usual]

[TennoChinko]

Years ago it was fairly common for foreigners to drive on an international licence because the police didn't much care about it even if you were involved in an incident. That all changed some time ago when it the regulations on how long a resident could drive on such a licence were tightened and police began to penalize anyone they found using one beyond their limit. I think that guy's view of legions of foreign financiers driving around without a valid licence is outdated although, as this case shows, there are probably a few who still do. Mostly they would be Americans because they are obliged to pass a driving test to get a Japanese licence while many other nationalities can simply translate their own national licences, take an eye test and walk out with a local licence.

The 2002 law that required all residents -FG or otherwise - to convert to a Japanese drivers license if they have been in-country for longer than one year was not because of some FG's with abhorent driving records. (If you think about the fucked-up Mickey Mouse requirements to get a Japanese drivers license - you'd probably agree they have little to do with actual driving ability [/John Rocker] ) The primary reason were Japanese who had their Japanese licenses suspended and found ways to circumvent the law by getting a valid drivers license in another country and then returning to Japan to drive on that and an IDP. Japanese lawmakers in all their infinite stupidity never for a second considered the case of FG's.

[Taro Toporific]

....I think that guy's view of legions of foreign financiers driving around without a valid licence is outdated although, as this case shows, there are probably a few who still do. Mostly they would be Americans because they are obliged to pass a driving test to get a Japanese licence while many other nationalities can simply translate their own national licences, take an eye test and walk out with a local licence....

Until recently, American executives who are in Japan for less than one year very rationally avoid getting the needlessly annoying Japanese drivers license because the fine for driving without a Japanese license after 3 months in Japan but less than 1 year is much less than the price of a couple of Japanese parking tickets.
Now that the tow trucks enforce Japanese parking tickets, an annoying Japanese drivers license is needed to recover your car that has been towed because of a parking violation---Only the most irrational expat would avoid getting a Japanese drivers license.

[ttjereth]

[Iraira]

When I let that lapse and later got a license in Missouri I actually ran over one of the flags during the "parking on a steep slope facing uphill" bit and still got my license

That wasn't a flag, that was my foot! My lawyer will be contacting you tomorrow.cha-ching!

[ttjereth]

That wasn't a flag, that was my foot! My lawyer will be contacting you tomorrow.cha-ching!

So long as you're filing the suit in Japan I should be dead long before it actually goes to court

[Iraira]

So long as you're filing the suit in Japan I should be dead long before it actually goes to court

eh...without punitive damages, it ain't worth it. 30,000,000 dollars is retirement. 30,000,000 yen....nothing to sneeze at, but it sure ain't retirement.

[pbm]

my masarati does 185. i lost my license and i still drive.

[ttjereth]

eh...without punitive damages, it ain't worth it. 30,000,000 dollars is retirement. 30,000,000 yen....nothing to sneeze at, but it sure ain't retirement.

It could be a very short retirement.

Go out with a bang sort of thing

[eddie]

fucking suits...ruining it for all us good eggs