Deaths in road traffic accidents this year reached 1,011 on Saturday, the National Police Agency said Monday.
The road death toll topped 1,000 five days later than last year, when 9,066 fatalities were recorded in total.
By region, Chiba Prefecture had the most road deaths with 62. Chiba was followed by Ibaraki Prefecture with 55, Saitama and Hyogo prefectures with 52 each and Hiroshima Prefecture with 44.
These figures include only those who die within 24 hours of their involvement in an accident.