Kirk here with some sad news that relates to our discussion of crosswalks in Kumamoto. The English article (linked below) says that the “car, driven by Masanao Yoshida, hit Sueo Yamakawa, 60, and Naoya Hirai, 21” and that the deaths of Mr. Yamakawa and Mr. Hirai were later confirmed after the two had been taken to a hospital. The article does not, however, discuss the events that preceded the fatal accident – the reason that Mr. Yamakawa and Mr. Hirai were together in the road. According to an article published in Japanese by NHK, Mr. Hirai had been hit by Mr. Yamakawa’s car when Mr. Hirai was attempting to cross at a crosswalk. Mr. Yamakawa parked nearby and, to his credit, was attempting to assist the injured Mr. Hirai. That’s when Mr. Yoshida came along – at or near the same crosswalk.
If you are interested, please have a look at the following video:
https://www.news24.jp/nnn/news100byxckfzswas6kl21.html
Although the accident occurred at night, visibility at the intersection would seem to have been fairly good.
https://japantoday.com/category/crime/2-men-hit-and-killed-by-car-in-kumamoto-pref-driver-arrested
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210212/k10012861931000.html