90-year-old Japanese sentenced to 5 years in fatal car crash

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court has sentenced a 90-year-old former senior government official to five years in prison for a 2019 car accident which killed a 3-year-old girl and her mother, in a high-profile case in a fast-aging country where elderly drivers have become a safety concern. The Tokyo District Court convicted Kozo Iizuka, a former top official at the trade and industry ministry, of negligence resulting in death and injury. His wife, who was a passenger in his car, was among nine people injured in the accident. Police say about 17% of Tokyo’s traffic accidents last year involved elderly drivers.