‘Road sleeping’ deaths soar in Tokyo as socialising returns to pre-Covid levels

Officials have expressed concern that the number of people dying after being struck by cars while asleep in the road will rise in the next few weeks. Photograph: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images

The end of Covid-19 restrictions on Japan’s nighttime economy has brought more people out on to the streets of Tokyo – but it could also be contributing to a spate of deaths among people who are struck by cars as they sleep on the road.

The number of deaths among people who sleep where they drop on the capital’s roads has nearly doubled from last year, from seven to 13, according to police.