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Japan Cyclists Risk Jail for Using a Mobile

This photo taken on April 10, 2024 shows police officers checking on a bicycle along a street in the Shibuya district of central Tokyo. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP) / Japan OUT
This photo taken on April 10, 2024 shows police officers checking on a bicycle along a street in the Shibuya district of central Tokyo. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP) / Japan OUT
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Japan Cyclists Risk Jail for Using a Mobile

This photo taken on April 10, 2024 shows police officers checking on a bicycle along a street in the Shibuya district of central Tokyo. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP) / Japan OUT
This photo taken on April 10, 2024 shows police officers checking on a bicycle along a street in the Shibuya district of central Tokyo. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP) / Japan OUT

Cyclists using a mobile phone while riding in Japan could face up to six months in jail under strict new rules that entered into force Friday, Agence France Presse reported.

Those who breach the revised road traffic law can be punished with a maximum of six months in prison or a fine of up to 100,000 yen ($660).

"Making a call with a smartphone in your hand while cycling, or watching the screen, is now banned and subject to punishment," a National Police Agency leaflet says.

Some accidents caused by cyclists watching screens have resulted in pedestrian deaths, according to the government.

Although the total number of traffic accidents is declining in Japan, the proportion that involve bicycles is on the rise.

Unlike many other countries, riding a bicycle on the pavement is allowed in usually law-abiding Japan and a common sight.

Under the new rules, cycling while drunk can land the rider with up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 500,000 yen.

Those who offer alcoholic drinks to cyclists face up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 300,000 yen.

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Australian Police Recover 40,000 Stolen ‘Bluey’ Coins

This photo released by the New South Wales Police shows some of the 40,000 stolen limited edition Bluey coins recovered from a suburb in western Sydney, Monday, Oct. 29, 2024. (New South Wales Police via AP)
This photo released by the New South Wales Police shows some of the 40,000 stolen limited edition Bluey coins recovered from a suburb in western Sydney, Monday, Oct. 29, 2024. (New South Wales Police via AP)
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Australian Police Recover 40,000 Stolen ‘Bluey’ Coins

This photo released by the New South Wales Police shows some of the 40,000 stolen limited edition Bluey coins recovered from a suburb in western Sydney, Monday, Oct. 29, 2024. (New South Wales Police via AP)
This photo released by the New South Wales Police shows some of the 40,000 stolen limited edition Bluey coins recovered from a suburb in western Sydney, Monday, Oct. 29, 2024. (New South Wales Police via AP)

Australian police said on Wednesday they had recovered more than 40,000 stolen limited-edition coins based on the hit children’s animated series “Bluey.”

The Bluey coins, with a face value of one Australian dollar (65 US cents) each, were found on Tuesday afternoon in a self-storage business in the Sydney suburb of Wentworthville, a police statement said.

Bluey is the name of a blue heeler puppy whose adventures with her cattle dog family living in the Australian city of Brisbane, where the series is produced, have become popular among children around the globe.

The series premiered in Australia in 2018 and began streaming on Disney+ in 2020.

The 40,061 recovered coins were still in the Royal Australian Mint plastic bags that they had been stolen in three months earlier, police said.

Police were notified on July 12 that 63,000 of the yet-to-be-released series of coins produced by the national mint in Canberra had been stolen from a warehouse in the Sydney suburb of Wetherill Park, not far from where the coins were recovered on Tuesday.

Police formed Strike Force Bandit to investigate. Bandit is the name of Bluey’s dad.

Three people have been charged over the theft.

A 27-year-old woman whom police allege drove two accomplices to the July burglary was arrested on Tuesday hours before the coins were recovered.

Two men had earlier been charged over the theft and police were a searching for a fourth suspect.

Police raided a Sydney property on July 31 and recovered 189 of the coins. They discovered the dealer selling them was a legitimate coin collector who had innocently bought them for AU$1.50 (98 US cents) each. He was paid no compensation for the seized coins.

A Royal Australian Mint spokesperson was not available for comment on Wednesday.