In April, enforcement regulations for the Road Traffic Law were revised to require companies that use a certain number of noncommercial vehicles to conduct alcohol checks on drivers.
Although such checks can be done visually for the time being, they will be required to use breathalyzers starting in October, with some 8,000 companies in Fukushima Prefecture that are subject to the rules rushing to get ready.
With the obligation coming in four months, they are struggling to cope with various challenges, including the nationwide scarcity of breathalyzers caused by a semiconductor shortage and the difficulty of creating a system that matches the different working conditions of their employees.