Page 16 - IAV Digital Magazine #600

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Japan Cracks Down On Use of Rideable Electric Suitcases Amid Tourist Boom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbGpaAVJIwM
As record numbers of tourists flock
to Japan to take advantage of the weakness of the Japanese yen, some are running into trou- ble with authorities thanks to the growing popularity of motor- ized, rideable suitcas- es.
Two major Japanese airports have already asked travelers not to ride motorized suit- cases within their
facilities, according to Kyodo news agency, while police are urg- ing domestic retailers to warn customers of the strict laws con- cerning their use.
In recent years motorized luggage, similar to children’s scooters but powered by lithium-ion batter- ies, have become more common among travellers, while also being pop-
ularized by celebrities like Paris Hilton and Shilpa Shetty.
According to Kyodo, Japan currently clas- sifies the electric suit- cases, which are popular in the rest of Asia, as “motorized vehicles that can be ridden on roads only with the required safety equipment and a driving license”.
In June, a Chinese woman in her 30s,
studying in Japan, was referred to pros- ecutors for driving without a license, after she allegedly rode a three-wheeled suitcase on a side- walk in Osaka on 31 March, according to Osaka Prefectural Police.
Under Japan’s traffic laws, the woman’s suitcase, which can travel up to 13km an hour, is categorized as a “motorized bicy- cle”, the same as some mopeds. The police reiterated to the public in June that licenses are required for such mobile luggage.
I
n July, a boy from Indonesia rode a motorized suitcase past pedestrians along a street in Osaka’s bustling Dotonbori shopping district, according to Kyodo, which said his family was surprised to learn that a driving license was mandato- ry for such vehicles in Japan.
According to Takeru Shibayama, a senior scientist at the Vienna University of Technology’s Institute for Transportation, Japan’s broad range of vehicles – which fall under the catego- ry of motorized bicy- cles – may force the country to discuss “whether a new clas- sification should be established” to deal with electric suitcas- es.
Japan has struggled to deal with new forms of transporta- tion lately. Traffic vio- lations involving elec- tric scooters surged fourfold in the six months after restric- tions were eased in July 2023, according to the National Police Agency. The loos- ened regulations allow for people over age 16 to ride them without a driver’s license, and they are now a common sight in big cities like Tokyo.
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