Honesty in Action: 24,000 Japanese Motorists Voluntarily Pay Tolls After System Malfunction
Following a toll system malfunction in Japan this past April, approximately 24,000 drivers chose to pay their tolls online despite being allowed free passage. The glitch disrupted operations at 106 toll booths, and operator NEXCO Central eventually waived all charges.
After the toll system failure, drivers were still permitted to pass through without payment, with a request to make their payments later via an online portal. Known for their respect for laws and social responsibility, Japanese citizens once again demonstrated exceptional civic behaviour.
Even though they could have bypassed the fees due to the system crash, the overwhelming majority of drivers opted to fulfill their obligations — reinforcing Japan’s global reputation for discipline and moral responsibility.
As per a report cited by NDTV from Japan Today, the issue occurred on April 8 and lasted well into April 9, affecting the ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) system for nearly 38 hours. Normally, vehicles simply slow down at toll booths where the ETC card is scanned, lifting the barrier for passage.
The fault disrupted 106 toll gates across major highways — the Tomei and Chuo Expressways — which link Tokyo to multiple prefectures, such as Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Nagano, Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu, and Mie. Due to the glitch, the toll booths couldn’t detect the ETC card signals.
To avoid traffic chaos on some of the nation’s busiest roads, Central Nippon Expressway Co. (NEXCO Central) opted to lift the gates and allow vehicles to continue their journey freely, as reported by NDTV.
By 10 PM on April 8, the company had received voluntary toll payments from approximately 24,000 drivers affected by the outage. During the disruption, an estimated 920,000 vehicles with ETC systems traveled on the expressways — though not all may have passed through impacted areas.
In May, NEXCO Central announced that it would fully waive toll fees for vehicles using the affected routes during the ETC failure period. Those who had already paid were promised complete refunds via the ETC mileage reward system or alternative methods.
The incident sparked admiration on social media, with many praising Japan’s culture of integrity and mutual trust.
One user posted, “Japan truly is a high-trust society,” while another remarked, “I’d pay too if I got the same level of service as in Japan.”
A third added, “I drove in Japan last year. The system is so efficient — you don’t even have to stop at toll gates.
