Video Series “Only in Japan”: Part 4 - Where’s Your Helmet?
Blue on Nov 12 2006 at 12:00 am | Filed under: Japan: Video, TV, Movies
Here we are again, with the fourth installment in the Stippy “Only in Japan” Video series. This time we will explore a mysterious trait of Japanese cyclists - the fact that they fail to see the safety benefits of using bicycle helmets!
Note: If you have only tuned in to this series on stippy.com recently, you really need to catch up on the first, second and third parts also. Check them all out, they are well worth the laugh..!
In many countries around the world, cyclists are obliged (sometimes forced by the law) to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle. Throughout South East Asia it is common to see people without helmets, but this can be attributed to a lower level of safety consciousness than in more developed nations. Japan on the other hand has no excuse to not be more helmet aware, and through this video, we hope to bring the current state of helmet wearing in Japan to the surface! (The video does provide for a good chuckle also..). Even though proposals to make helmets mandatory for children to some local and prefectural governments have been made by various community action groups for some strange reason these have historically been rejected in early stages, long before votes are taken by local parliaments to enforce them as law.
Bicycle helmets are 85 to 88 percent effective in mitigating head and brain injuries, making the use of helmets the single most effective way to reduce head injuries and fatalities resulting from bicycle crashes. Despite the fact that nearly 70 percent of all fatal bicycle crashes involve head injuries, it is very difficult to find bicyclists that wear helmets here in Japan.
One article on asahi.com (Asahi Newspaper) dated 22nd Dec 2004 titled, “Working to get Helmets on Kids while Riding with Mum” (ママチャリ乗せるなら子にヘルメット 広がる普及の動き) showed the reason why mothers of kindergarten children refuse to even use a helmet on their kids. The following mother’s example was a representative of most other parents that were interviewed:
４歳の長男を乗せていた主婦（３３）はヘルメットを持っているが、使っていないという。「幼稚園の送迎時に使ったら、まだ珍しいから、ほかの親に『何でかぶせているの？』という目で見られた。もっと普及すれば使いやすいんですが」(Translation: One mother who had her 4 year old son with her on the bike said that she does have a helmet for her child, but never uses it. “When I take him to kindergarten, a helmet would deviate from the norm, and other mother’s would look at me, as if to say, ‘what is that on his head!?’. It is embarrassing so I don’t use it. If only it would become more common to wear helmets..”)
It seems that the Japanese are so concerned with how they appear to others, that they are willing to risk the safety of themselves, and more worrying their children, by continuing to repel the practice of wearing bicycle helmets.
Simon Adams and Andrew Johnson decided to find out why, by hitting the streets of Tokyo and asking, “Where’s your Helmet?”. Enjoy the video, and send it on to some friends!
QuickTime is required for this video, in order to view in full H.264 Quality.
Enjoy “Where’s Your Helmet” in Quicktime (click image above) for best quality, or there is a (bad quality) 
version here.
Other stippy.com articles possibly of interest:
8 Responses to “Video Series “Only in Japan”: Part 4 - Where’s Your Helmet?”
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Relative to distance travelled pedestrians are more likely to be invovled in an accident with a car than cyclists are. In addition, while helmets for cyclists are “85 to 88 percent effective in mitigating head and brain injuries,” they are even more effective for pedestrians due to their nasty habbit of being pulled under the bumper in a collision.
There is no logical reason for someone to wear a helmet when they’re on a bike but not when they go out for a stroll. Except, you know, for not wanting to look like a complete tool. I guess people are “so concerned with how they appear to others, that they are willing to risk the safety of themselves.” Maybe we should have a helmet law for pedestrians as well. Yay for the nanny state.
It’s not quite the same, but the other day one of my friends started teasing the driver of our car when I put my seat belt on (I was sitting in the back seat). Apparently it was a sign that I didn’t trust his driving and he should feel ashamed that I was wearing a seat belt. Which bit don’t they get about the phrases “head injury” and “easily prevented”? My friend was saying that even seat belts in the front seat weren’t compulsory until a little while ago in Japan.
What made this video so funny is the very last scene, after the “credits” have finished.
“Do you have any bikes, other than girl’s bikes…?” What a classic comment!!
Japan is full of bikes, but yes, they are all “girls bikes”. Anyone know why this is? They have the hottest and sexiest motorbikes in the world, but ride around on girl’s push-bikes. Just doesn’t make sense.
You reckon its similar to most of the umbrellas in Japan being those cheap plastic jobs? If you lose it, you can just flog another and no-one would even know…
Has anyone seen those small fold-up titanium pushbikes? I used to know a Russian dude, who used to ride it into the bar in the evenings, then would through it in the back of the taxi he took home. Kind of defeated the point of biking I thought. Pretty cool bikes though.
I think I was the only parent who bicycled his kid to the hoikuen wearing a helmet - him, not me. I should have been wearing one, too.
The reaction from everyone was funny. They thought it was just play or fashion.
I can’t believe parents don’t put helmets on little kids. If the bike goes over the parents can reach out and break their fall. Little kids are strapped in and the fall is relatively higher, compared to the child’s body size.
Just my thoughts.
Of all the 8 years living in Japan, I have never thought of taking my helmet off during a bike ride. That might be due to the fact that I stayed in the States too long when I was a kid.. or.. who knows?
I even wear one when I ride those girly bikes (mama-chari). Hey, safety doesn’t change when you switch bikes! Duh.
Most of my friends think it’s funny for me to wear a helmet. They always ask me “Why do you wear a helmet? Bicycles are safe!” Niet niet, Bicycles are D-A-N-G-E-R-O-U-S. Not Safe! What kind of education did they receive in grade school anyway? This is off topic, but they don’t teach you the dangers of drug abuse either. (Not that schools don’t teach you, but only for a few pages and one lesson at maximum)
After all these years, not one of my friends are convinced to wear a helmet. They still say things like “Mendokusai” “Hazukashiii”.
I am Japanese by the way, but I don’t understand how people prioritize their appearance over safety.
[...] I came across the following video a couple of days ago. It is from Stippy, a blog I’ve now added to my blogroll. You can check out their original post here. [...]
Speed kills, and I think the same goes for cyclists. However, when you think about the fact that most cyclists in Japan ride on the footpaths, and most of those cheap ‘girly’ bikes are single-geared, those factors combined together make it quite impossible for bikes to be travelling at more than 20 kph. Therefore, less chance for you to be involved in a serious prang, and youre likely to stop in time to avoid danger. (unless of course, you’re texting your mate while riding! That is more dangerous than not wearing a helmet, if you ask me)
Those on faster road bikes ride on the road, and they generally wear helmets.