An intersection in Chiba Prefecture has been called a "devil's intersection" after more than 50 car collisions, and footage of the crashes shows that most of the drivers involved did not stop. Police say 53 accidents have occurred there in about six years.
The junction sits on prefectural route 79 in the town of Yokoshibahikari. Security camera video shows cars spinning half a turn from the impact, and one head-on collision after another on different days. The road has a stop sign and a stop line. The cars in the footage enter without stopping.
Residents near the corner say the crashes are a fact of daily life. "Every time I pass I feel like I've seen an accident," one said. Another said he takes a detour to avoid driving through it.
A wall rebuilt again and again
The resident who lives on the corner said four or five accidents have happened this year alone. "They've destroyed my block wall and fence about 10 times," he said. Cars have often run into the block wall of a field facing the intersection, and in some cases knocked down the fence with it.
The wall and fence have been repaired each time through the other driver's insurance, at about 200,000 to 300,000 yen a time. Repairs have cost close to 2 million yen in total. He said he lives with the fear of what would happen if he were standing there.
Drivers who think they have the right of way
The road crossing the prefectural route has a stop sign. Reviewing the crash footage, drivers were not only failing to stop at the line but entering the intersection without slowing down, then hitting cars on the priority road.
The resident said drivers who ran the stop sign told him they believed they had the right of way. Many appear to mistake the crossing road for the priority road and miss the stop sign, he said.
A 3D road marking that looks raised is painted on the approach to slow traffic, with the stop line beyond it. Driving the road, the painted block gives the impression that the lane narrows.
The same television report covered the 2004 Niigata Chuetsu earthquake, when helicopters evacuated more than 1,200 Yamakoshi cattle. People involved at the time described the rescue as an unprecedented operation.