The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has submitted an amendment that would oblige cyclists in the capital to purchase liability insurance policies, following a series of bicycle accidents in which pedestrians were severely injured and secured huge compensation payments.
The revised ordinance would bring Tokyo in line with other municipalities and prefectures that have already enacted legislation mandating the use of such insurance programs. The ordinance, however, does not include penalties for violators.
The revision, if passed by the ongoing session of the metropolitan assembly, would take effect as soon as April 1 next year, Masayuki Ikenoya, a Tokyo official, said Wednesday.
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