Hit and run involving ‘Mario Kart’ driver could spell ‘game over’ for popular Tokyo street tours

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‘Mario Karts’ on the streets of Tokyo - but for how much longer? Photo: handout

Published: 4:30pm, 27 Feb 2018Updated: 10:55pm, 27 Feb 2018

A hit-and-run accident involving a Taiwanese tourist may be the final nail in the coffin of go-kart tours that have become one of the most popular ways to see Tokyo and a number of other Japanese cities.

Police on February 23 arrested a Taiwanese man, identified as Zhang Ren Jie, after an accident in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward involving a go-kart that he was driving. Police claim Zhang – who was dressed as a character from Nintendo’s Mario Kart game series – turned left at a junction and collided with a cyclist, who was slightly injured.

Zhang, however, failed to stop and has been charged with hit and run. Quoting police sources, Kyodo news agency said Zhang has admitted the charges against him.

Tourists dressed as Toad, Yoshi, Mario and other characters in the ‘Mario Karts’ on the streets of Tokyo. Photo: handout

The accident was not the first involving drivers of the low-slung vehicles supplied by five operators in Tokyo and there have been calls for the karts – which cost up to 15,000 yen (US$140) for a tour – to be banned from the city’s streets.

Foreign drivers are required to have valid international driving licences, but there has been criticism that they are largely unprepared for driving on Tokyo’s congested streets.