Biker gangs—the notorious bosozoku “speed tribes”—have long terrorised highways up and down Japan. To the dismay of Tokyoites, they have a particular love of the Wangan expressway, which links the capital with Yokohama. But bosozoku members are no longer simply angry teenagers. The Tokyo-based National Police Agency (NPA), which has been compiling data on the gangs since the 1970s, found that in 2006 the majority were not teenage tearaways but, for the first time, adults. It seems adults (defined as those aged over 20) now make up 51% of the gangs' national membership. The NPA's explanation is not that bikers are lingering in the gangs for a few more years, but that one-time “speed tribesmen” are returning to their old ways in their late 20s and 30s. These ageing bikers seem to be driving with zeal: reckless-driving incidents involving bikers rose 4% in 2006.
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