Fans of action and car movies alike watched the third Fast and the Furious movie Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift with a level of scepticism. Not about the actors abilities or the plot (that’s for a different review) but for the realism. High speed car chases are shown all the time in America, but could drifting gangs actually happen in such a place as Tokyo?
Sadly, yes. This isn’t to put a black mark on Japan, many countries have issues with illegal street racing; Japan is merely one among many in this regard. There is nowhere you can go to look up when and where annual street races in Japan so racers have to be covert about where they can race.
Street racing takes place all over the country. Some take place spontaneously, with two drivers eyeing each other off at a stop light. These aren’t ‘official’ amongst the racing members; these are usually done for a bit of a laugh and hold no prize for the winner other than bragging rights.
There are people in Japan who are called the bozozuku, and they “run” the illegal street racing in Japan. Some people have stories about dangerous run ins with this gang, but mostly they are peaceful. Members appear threatening, and they are said to hold weapons like knives and base ball bats to keep pedestrians and motorist off of the roads on which they are racing. The Mid Night Club was an illegal street racing gang in the 80s and 90s. However, they disbanded after a crash killed one of their members.
In Tokyo, highway racing occurs at midnight on Friday and Saturday nights, and they generally occur on the Shuto Expressway. Some racing enthusiasts see it as the government’s fault that they are forced to race on the street. In Japan, a toll pass (a pass that allows you to drive on the highway) is around ¥1,000. A pass to drive on a circuit can cost at least ¥20,000, so legitimate racers feel that they have no choice but to race on the roads.
