A man has been arrested in Tokyo months after he allegedly drove drunk and crashed into a utility pole in the middle of the night. The car he was driving was not, by any official designation, a police vehicle. It only looked like one…
According to The Japan Times (via JIJI), the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department says the 23-year-old behind the wheel had modified the passenger car to resemble an unmarked police unit. He’s admitted to the allegation. Unfortunately, as they say, the damage had already been done when the crash occurred.
The crash actually happened in December, several months ago. But the arrest took place this week, with authorities returning to it. Given that the young woman in the passenger seat was injured, that was enough reason for police to investigate the situation further — and there’s more to the story, now that investigators have done additional work.
The woman was hurt seriously enough that the charges against her boyfriend now carry the weight of injury in addition to the alcohol and police impersonation charges. If you’re going to imitate a police officer, you might also want to make sure you don’t have anything to pile on to those issues. Or have additional vehicles at home that you’ve modified to look official.
What Police Say Happened
According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s traffic investigation division, the crash occurred at about 1:20 a.m. on Dec. 21, 2025. It went down on a local road in Tokyo’s Nerima Ward, close to the inside of the city. Mainly residential, it’s home to several passersby at any given time, making it an even more dangerous area to crash, let alone impersonate an officer.
Ren Nakamura, a 23-year-old resident of Toda in Saitama Prefecture, was driving the illegally modified vehicle under the influence of alcohol when he drove into a utility pole. His 22-year-old girlfriend, described as a female office worker, was in the passenger seat. She sustained serious injuries following the incident.
The Vehicle and Nakamura’s Charges
The car involved was a passenger vehicle that had been illegally modified to resemble an unmarked Japanese police car of the type used for plainclothes traffic and patrol work. Reports say Nakamura drove an estimated 10 kilometers, using a red flasher and siren meant to impersonate police. He allegedly committed 15 traffic violations while operating the vehicle. Tokyo police seized the vehicle after taking Nakamura into custody.
According to The Japan Times, the woman in the passenger seat suffered severe injuries that took three months to heal. The Star also reported, citing investigators, that her injuries included a broken rib and were described as serious. It appears simply being a passenger was enough to significantly impact her life, at least for a short time, while being around Nakamura and in his “police car”.
Police arrested Nakamura on Tuesday, May 19, on suspicion of dangerous driving resulting in injury and driving an illegally modified vehicle. The Metropolitan Police Department’s traffic investigation division confirmed that Nakamura has admitted to the allegations. It looks like a pretty open and shut case with that in mind, with a clear message: don’t imitate police vehicles.