ETC Failure: Lack of Preparedness Caused Widespread Disruption

Editorial

14:59 JST, April 8, 2025

This was a serious situation in which expressways — the main arteries of Japan — were disrupted for a long time over a wide area. It is essential to reexamine preparedness for dealing with issues.

On Sunday, a failure occurred in the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system at some tollgates on expressways managed by Central Nippon Expressway Co.

The incident affected tollgates at over 100 locations on 17 routes across eight prefectures, causing traffic congestion and rear-end collisions in various places. It was a major blow to people who had planned to travel for pleasure on the last Sunday of schools’ spring break and to the distribution industry. The system was finally restored on Monday.

This is thought to be the first time that such a large-scale ETC system failure has occurred since the privatization of the Japan Highway Public Corporation in 2005.

The company said the failure was caused by a glitch in the software that was introduced in preparation for a review of the late night-early morning toll discount program scheduled for around July. Central Nippon Expressway should investigate to identify where the problems lay and take steps as soon as possible to prevent a recurrence.

During the early stages of the incident, tollgate staff guided drivers to the non-ETC lanes and pay the tolls. However, as the traffic jams continued to grow, the ETC lane gates were left open from Sunday afternoon and drivers were asked to pay the tolls later.

There is no denying that the company’s response was slow. System glitches are inevitable. The company must have failed to prepare sufficiently, such as by creating a detailed response guidebook, for the possibility that an issue might escalate into a major incident. The expressway company should rethink its crisis management framework.

As for the deferred payment of tolls, the company is asking drivers to report the section of the expressway system they used and pay the tolls via a special form on Central Nippon Expressway’s website. It is questionable whether drivers will accept the company’s approach of making them deal with consequences of its failure.

The ETC system was fully introduced in 2001 for such purposes as alleviating traffic congestion. The usage rate is as high as 95%, and it is now an indispensable means of payment on expressways. In recent years, the number of so-called smart interchanges — ones with only ETC gates — has been increasing.

The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry has announced a plan to abolish cash tollbooths at expressway tollgates and switch to only having ETC gates by fiscal 2030. Expressway companies other than Central Nippon Expressway should also make efforts to improve the security of their systems and the smoothness of their response in the event of a failure.

Last summer, worldwide system failures involving Microsoft Corp.’s Windows operating system occurred due to an error, and flights of major airline companies were disrupted. Cyberattacks targeting corporate systems are also becoming more frequent.

How can the vulnerabilities of a society that relies on digital technology be reinforced? This is a major issue in the current era.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 8, 2025)