A malfunction in the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system affected traffic around the capital and beyond on Sunday, making some tollbooths on the Tomei Expressway, the Chuo Expressway and other roads unusable.
ETC, an automated toll paying system, has been affected by technical glitches within the area managed by by the Central Nippon Expressway Co. since around 12:30 a.m.
The cause has yet to be determined and it is still unknown when the system will be fixed.
As a result, the malfunction has caused significant traffic congestion at tollbooths in a number of different locations.
According to the operator, as of 4:15 p.m., the ETC system was unusable at over 90 tollbooths across 16 routes in seven prefectures — Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Yamanashi, Aichi, Gifu, and Mie.
At these locations, ETC dedicated lanes were temporarily closed and toll workers were handling traffic in the general lanes.
The company made it possible on Sunday afternoon for drivers to simply pass through affected lanes, asking them to pay via QR code on its website.
This is the first large-scale problem with ETC for Central Nippon Expressway since the privatization of the Japan Highway Public Corporation in 2005.
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