Why does Japan drive on the left, even though they have never been a part of the British Empire?

Question

Why does Japan drive on the left, even though they have never been a part of the British Empire?

In: 9363

Answer 1

Here’s a great resource going into more detail: [https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-do-japanese-drive-left-side-road-vlad-levada](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-do-japanese-drive-left-side-road-vlad-levada)

The summary is that traditionally, Samurai wore their swords on their left, so when they walked or rode through the narrow streets, they kept to the left side of the road, so that they didn’t cross swords and could face oncoming traffic with their (right) sword hand. Then in the late 19th century, the British won the bid to build the first Japanese railway system. So the Brits made all the train tracks run on the left side as well, because that’s how the British system worked. In 1924, an official law was passed to codify that all traffic in Japan, on rails or roads, needs to go on the left.