http://www.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/index.html
*Japanese people's average car ownership less than last year* A survey shows that the average number of cars owned by each Japanese household fell in March from a year earlier, marking the first year-on-year decrease. The Automobile Inspection and Registration Association, an affiliate of the transport ministry, says that as of the end of March, the average number of passenger cars owned by each household was 1.107, slightly down from a year earlier. It is the first time that the figure has declined since the survey began in 1975. Among prefectures, Fukui on the Sea of Japan coast topped the list at 1.76cars for 1 household, while Tokyo was the lowest at 0.52. The association explains that a growing number of young people are less interested in cars, resulting in sluggish new car sales. It also says that more households in urban areas opt for not having cars due to high cost for keeping private cars such as parking lot rental fees. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
