Firm Cancels Toll Payments Following ETC System Malfunction in Japan; Refunds, Unpaid Tolls Expected to Total ¥1.2 Bil.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:59 JST, May 3, 2025

Following the electronic toll collection system (ETC) failure at some tollgates in the service area of Central Nippon Expressway Co., the company said Friday that customer who were requested to pay later will no longer be required to pay, and those who have already paid will be refunded in the form of ETC mileage service or Quo cards.

The failure occurred from April 6-7 at 106 tollgates in eight prefectures. The bars at the tollgates were lifted to allow cars to pass, and an estimated 960,000 vehicles passed through the gates.

Of these, about 450,000 vehicles that were in the process of paying the toll with ETC communications functioning properly or paid in cash, while about 510,000 vehicles had no record of passing through the tollgates due to the glitch and could not be charged.

“We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused and will refund toll payments to eliminate any sense of unfairness,” Central Nippon Expressway President Tadashi Nawata said at a press conference on the day.

The amount of the refunds and the unpaid tolls is expected to total about ¥1.2 billion to ¥1.3 billion.