Japan's elderly drivers facing safety courses, greater scrutiny as accidents surge

Drivers over 65 were responsible for 965 deadly accidents across Japan -- more than a quarter of the total -- in 2016, according to the National Police Agency. In one of the most shocking cases, an 87-year-old crashed his truck into a group of schoolchildren, killing a 6-year-old and injuring others, prompting demands for action on the issue. In a tranquil countryside setting outside the town of Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture, on a track surrounded by rice paddies and mountains, elderly drivers are taking public safety into their own hands and completing refresher courses behind the wheel. Emiko Takahashi, a 73-year-old taking the course, admitted she had "no confidence" in her driving as she got older. "That's why I came here," she said, adding that she has no choice but to drive her ailing husband, seven years her senior, to a hospital every day.