Latest news with #MiePrefecturalPolice
Yomiuri Shimbun
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Honda NSX Police Car Debuts in Mie Prefecture; To be Used for Highway Patrol
The Yomiuri Shimbun The donated Honda NSX police car on Monday at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture. A Honda NSX police car, known as a luxury sports car, was donated to the Mie Prefectural Police on Monday. It will be assigned to the highway patrol unit and used for publicity and education, as well as for traffic enforcement on highways. The donor is a 43-year-old man from Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture, who works in the real estate industry. At the donation ceremony held Monday at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture, the man explained his motivation, saying, 'When I saw various sports car-type police cars, I thought that having such a police car would bring joy to more people.' He enjoys watching races at Suzuka Circuit and driving on the circuit, and owns multiple sports cars. The donated vehicle is the second-generation Honda NSX. According to the Mie Prefectural Police, this is the first time this model has been used as a police car nationwide. The total cost, including modification expenses, is approximately ¥25 million.
The Mainichi
22-04-2025
- Automotive
- The Mainichi
Luxury NSX patrol car donated to police in Japan's Mie Pref., roars around Suzuka track
SUZUKA, Mie -- A patrol car converted from Honda Motor Co.'s NSX luxury sports car was donated to Mie Prefectural Police by the president of a real estate company on April 21. The NSX police car, painted in black and white and bearing the emergency phone number "110" as its license plate, sped around the Suzuka Circuit where the donation ceremony took place. This is the second instance nationwide, following Tochigi Prefecture, where an NSX patrol car has been donated. The latest donor is Toshiya Kobayashi, 43, president of the real estate company Smart based in Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture, who is an enthusiast of motorsports. He learned about patrol cars converted from sports cars and thought that many people would be delighted to see one at the Suzuka Circuit, where the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix is held. In June last year, during a visit to watch a race, Kobayashi directly proposed the idea to prefectural police officials engaged in public relations activities, leading to the donation. Kobayashi said, "It looks even cooler than I imagined, and gets me excited. I hope it will be used in enlightenment activities so that children will be attracted to the police." According to the prefectural police, the total cost, including purchase and modification, was about 25 million yen (roughly $177,000). The engine has a displacement of approximately 3,500 cc, and the vehicle measures 4.49 meters in length, 1.94 meters in width, and 1.215 meters in height. Yoji Tsurusawa, head of the prefectural police, expressed gratitude for the donation, saying, "We gratefully accepted the offer to use the vehicle for police activities. We will operate it effectively to ensure it is widely recognized by the citizens of the prefecture." (Japanese original by Nene Haseyama and Masaya Shibuya, Tsu Bureau)
