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Japan's traffic deaths fall below 4,000 for 1st time in 67 years

TOKYO, Jan. 4 (PNA/Kyodo) -- Japan's traffic death toll fell below 4,000 last year for the first time in 67 years, due partly to improved vehicle safety, the National Police Agency said Wednesday.

In 2016, the number of people who died in traffic accidents in the country dropped by 213, or 5.2 percent, from a year earlier to 3,904. It was last below 4,000 in 1949 and the third lowest since 1948, the first year for which comparable data became available.

The 2016 figure was less than a quarter of the record 16,765 logged in 1970, according to the agency. (PNA/Kyodo)