At least 1 Hongkonger hurt in 2-vehicle head-on crash on Japanese island of Hokkaido
- Five people including both drivers reportedly taken to hospital for treatment but none of their injuries are life-threatening
- Hong Kong traveller suspected to have missed stop sign at intersection in Kitami city
At least one Hongkonger has been injured in northern Japan in a head-on crash reportedly involving his rental car and another vehicle on the island of Hokkaido.
The crash at an intersection in Kitami, the largest city in the Okhotsk area of eastern Hokkaido, occurred at about 9am on Monday local time, with the Hongkonger suspected to have missed a stop sign.
Five people including both drivers were taken to hospital for treatment. None of their injuries were life-threatening, according to local media.
Online images taken after the crash show a wrecked car on a roadside slope and the other vehicle flipped onto its side at the edge of the carriageway.
According to local police, one of the vehicles involved was reportedly a rental car driven by an individual from Hong Kong.
The intersection did not have traffic signals, but there was a stop sign for vehicles approaching from the rental car’s direction, media reports said.
A check by the Post found that the stop sign at the intersection was only written in Japanese characters. In Japan, such signs typically only have the Japanese word for “stop” – “tomare” – without including an English translation.
Police said they were investigating the possibility the rental car did not stop at the sign as required. The cause of the accident was still under investigation.
Locally, the Immigration Department said that upon learning of a traffic accident involving a traveller from the city in Hokkaido, it immediately contacted the foreign ministry’s arm in Hong Kong and the Chinese consulate in Sapporo.
The department said it had not received any requests for help from Hong Kong residents over the incident.
