"Running Boy" was born in 1973, when road fatalities in Japan had soared to an all-time high. The social welfare office of Higashi-Omi, a city of about 100,000 outside Kyoto, asked a local sign ...

These signs are reminders for local drivers ... Combined, the measures have been effective. Road fatalities in Japan have declined to just 25 percent of peak 1970 figures, according to the NILIM.