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Police closed a 2-kilometer stretch of a national road here to thwart an annual “reckless driving” event of cars and motorbikes, drawing protests from onlookers expecting to witness the predawn spectacle.
About 930 police officers were mobilized to prevent the “Eleven Three Boso” (Eleven three reckless driving) from taking place on the six-lane National Road No. 26 from around 10 p.m. on Nov. 2 to 5 a.m. on Nov. 3, a national holiday.
In addition, a total of about 180 patrol cars, motorcycles and other police vehicles were deployed, six times the figure of last year when the road stayed open.
The national road runs from Osaka city to Wakayama through Kishiwada in the southern Osaka Prefecture.
It is extremely rare in Japan for police to close a major road to deal with reckless drivers. But authorities decided to pre-empt the event because complaints had been made about the noise of the vehicles and the behavior of the spectators.
People who gathered by the road on Nov. 2 protested the closure. Many said they were expecting “something” to happen.
“We will be happy if the road closure this time will lead to a return of quiet nights,” said the head of a neighborhood association along the national road. “We hope that the closure will also improve the reputation of our city.”
The Eleven Three Boso, which had been held for more than 10 years, is believed to be named after “Eleven Three Rengo” (Eleven three alliance), a motorcycle gang formed in Sakai, north of Kishiwada.
In January this year, the heads of eight local neighborhood associations asked the Kishiwada mayor to take measures against the event, saying it was creating overbearing noise and garbage along the road.
In response, the city government distributed 1,500 posters urging citizens not to attend the event.
Osaka prefectural police also asked about 200 stores located on a 3.6-km stretch of the road, including the closed 2-km section, not to operate at night on Nov. 2.
Last year, about 50 cars and motorbikes took part in the event, and about 2,500 people gathered to watch.
Some cars and motorbikes broke through checkpoints, and fights broke out among the spectators.
Nine people were arrested.
(THE ASAHI SHIMBUN)