Rest assured, you can bend May 5 at 10:17

When you stop at a red light, the car behind you suddenly honks its horn.
At the intersection in front of you, there is a sign you don't recognize.

You must have learned it at a driving school. It's not a one-way street.
Do you remember?
"Left turn allowed" allows you to turn left even at a red light.

Why is there such a sign?

(Why "Turn Left" Interview Team)

"Have you seen this sign?" we asked 50 people.

Blue arrow on white background.
Suddenly, have you seen this sign?
If you ask in the center of Osaka City ...

A woman
in her 30s: "One-way? What?"

A woman
in her 40s: "I've never seen it, I don't know."

When we asked 50 people, 7% answered "I don't know."
However, there are areas where this sign is more well-known than others.

Does everyone know in Nara?

It is Nara Prefecture.

When I asked a person from Nara Prefecture who works for NHK, he replied, "I know that.

When I actually drove along the roads of Nara, I saw them everywhere.
Even at red lights, more and more cars are turning left.
Some of them are limited to two hours from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.

The purpose of this sign is to alleviate traffic congestion.
It helps relieve congestion by smoothly flowing cars turning left.

NHK interviewed police in 2 prefectures and 4 prefectures in Kansai, and found that as of the end of March, the number of
left-turn installations was 3 in Nara
Prefecture ▽ 26 in Kyoto and Hyogo Prefectures
▽ 11 locations in Osaka Prefecture
▽ 5

locations in Shiga and Wakayama Prefectures It turned out that nearly half of the entire Kansai region is concentrated in Nara.

It ranks fourth in Japan after Okinawa, Okayama, and Tokyo.

Why are there so many left turns allowed in Nara? In order to solve the mystery, we asked the Nara Prefectural Police, which manages the signs.

Nara Prefectural Police Traffic Regulation Division Shinke Tatsudai It is installed to alleviate
traffic congestion, but I don't really understand why Nara has more of them than other prefectures.

In an interview with the prefectural police, I could not find a clear reason.

Can't you find any clues?

We decided to interview a former police officer who seemed to know about the old situation.
One of the testimonies that came out there was the "Nara Silk Road Expo" held in Nara Prefecture in 1988.

Was it the trigger for the "Nara Silk Road Expo"?

The Nara Silk Road Expo was an unprecedented event for Nara Prefecture, which was visited by about 700 million people from Japan and abroad during the period.

I was covering the signs, and I was on the Silk Road.
We were connected by words related to roads.

According to the OB, traffic congestion was expected to worsen, so the prefectural police officer at the time decided to introduce a left-turn permit.

In order to find out more about the situation, we visited an expert who is familiar with the traffic situation in Nara.
I am Professor Emeritus Kazumi Hasuka of Tezukayama University.

According to Professor Emeritus Renka, left-turn was actually seen everywhere in Japan.
It is said that it disappeared before long, but it continued to remain in Nara Prefecture.

He analyzes that there were certain circumstances unique to Nara.

Tezukayama University, Professor
Emeritus Kazumi Renka, Left turn allowed used to be located all over the country, but traffic has increased and accidents involving pedestrians and bicycles have increased. For this reason, the method of widening roads and setting up dedicated lanes instead of allowing left turns has become the mainstream nationwide.

However, Nara Prefecture is a town of ruins represented by Heijokyo.

It is said to be a "treasure trove of cultural properties" where something comes out if you dig a road.
As a result, it was not easy to widen the road, and there were more "left turn" signs than in other areas.

If a fire before the wind... Disappearing left turn possible

It is possible to turn left in Nara Prefecture, which remains like a fossil, but its existence is now a fire in front of the wind.

In March this year, the left turn allowed at the "Prefectural Office East Intersection", which had become a specialty of Nara, was removed.
The Prefectural Office East Intersection is a transportation hub where the main road to the center of Nara converges from various places.
Cars visiting Nara tourist attractions such as Nara Park, Todaiji Temple, and Kasuga Taisha Shrine almost always passed by, and it was one of Nara's specialties.
While we were covering the removal, citizens pointed their cameras at us and said goodbye.

I thought I'd go home with only the last image of the person
captured on camera. When I was driving with people coming from outside the prefecture as a Nara story, I was a little proud of people passing
by
, saying, "You can go here even if it's red."
Lonely when it's gone

As can be seen in this removal, in recent years, the number of left turns allowed has decreased in Nara Prefecture.

According to the Nara Prefectural Police, there were 7 locations between Heisei 9 and 74, but they have gradually decreased and are now less than one-third of the peak.

Why?
If you observe the license plate number of the car passing through the intersection in front of the prefectural office earlier ...

To downgrade the image of Nara ...

In addition to neighboring Osaka and Kyoto, as far away as Fukushima and Kochi.

Many cars with out-of-prefecture numbers come and go.

One day during the long holidays, I observed the intersection for 10 minutes and found that 110 out of 71 cars, more than 6% of them, had numbers outside the prefecture.

On another day, I covered other intersections where left turns are allowed.
There, a car with an out-of-prefecture number did not notice that it was possible to turn left, but it stopped at a red light, and when the following car honked its horn, it was seen turning left in a frightening manner.

According to interviews with the police, in the days when left turns were allowed all over the country, drivers from outside the prefecture could immediately understand that left turns were allowed and turn left without difficulty.
However, with the number of people who can turn left nationwide, the sign is unfamiliar to drivers outside the prefecture.

Left turns, which are commonplace in Nara Prefecture, have become "rare signs" that people from outside the prefecture do not usually see.

Many police have said that they are "confused" or "confused."
It is becoming a presence that could lead to the image of Nara.

In addition, with the advancement of signal control technologies such as arrow signals, an environment is being created to safely prevent traffic jams even if it is not possible to turn left.
Because of this, Nara Prefecture is also removing items that are judged to be unnecessary.

"Good job" You can turn left on Yamato Road

It continued to remain in Nara and was loved by the people of the prefecture as "left turn allowed".
With the passage of time and the advancement of technology, it has become a rare existence before you know it.

It has contributed to alleviating traffic congestion for many years, and it may soon come to an end.

The specialty of Yamato Road is now in twilight.

Nara Broadcasting Station reporter
Yasunori
Terai joined the station in 2017.
Born and raised in Nara. I grew up without any doubt that it was possible to turn left, so I was surprised that there were people I didn't know.

Nara Broadcasting Station reporter
Bartenstein Nagaokami
joined the station in 2017. Born in Tokyo. When I came to Nara Prefecture, I learned for the first time that it is possible to turn left.

Osaka Broadcasting Station Director
Eiko
Fukui joined the station in 2019. Born in Fukuoka Prefecture. I drive a lot, but I haven't encountered a left turn allowed yet. His hobby is visiting high-temperature saunas.