Japanese underground racing is a subject of mystery and controversy. The country's subversive car culture has caused some tragic deaths, but the honor and ethics of the movement are something that even the Tokyo police respect. One of the most famous underground racing clubs in Japan was the Midnight Club, and although they disbanded in 1999, they remain one of the most respected car clubs to ever exist.
Racing has seen a decline in Japan as new technology like traffic cameras and license plate scanners have become more refined by Japanese police. Penalties for illegal car customizations have also increased, and Japanese police have more legal leeway to look for them. Despite the police’s efforts, Japanese underground racing remains a fascinating subculture full of fascinating facts worth learning about.
10 Faking Membership To A Club Will Get Your Car Vandalized
While incidents of vandalism have declined, faking membership to an underground racing club is an invitation for trouble. During the peak of their popularity, the Midnight Club used secretly coded bumper stickers to identify each other. When copycats learned about this, some had stickers made and put on their cars, probably to earn themselves street cred or impress girls.
These poser cars would often be found vandalized to the point they were no longer drivable, sometimes angered Midnight Club members set the cars on fire.
9 If Your Car Can’t Hit 160 Mph, Don’t Bother
One of the stipulations for joining the Midnight Club was your car had to be able to hit 160 MPH. No car in the club was below this threshold. Today, that precedent remains, and even if it did not remain it would still be idiotic to try to join with a slower car because most of the cars on the circuit can easily exceed 160 MPH.
8 There Is Mutual Respect Between Them And The Police
Japanese police and racers do show a degree of mutual respect for a multitude of reasons. The Midnight Club was especially respected because the group was not engaged in illegal activities outside of racing.
While films like The Fast and The Furious paint racers as these hardened criminals who engage in smuggling and nefarious operations, Japanese racing clubs are not arms of the Yakuza.
7 The Midnight Club Had A Code Of Ethics
Another reason that there is mutual respect between police and racers is that racing clubs have a strict code of morals and ethics and those standards apply to all members. The Midnight Club can once again be thanked for setting this precedent.
Although they broke the country's traffic and car modification laws, members were not allowed to participate in any other criminal activities, especially anything that could attract attention to a race. Any member caught in violation was immediately expelled, while the Midnight Club is no more, existing clubs still practice these strict moral codes.
6 Retired Racers Continue To Elude Police
The Midnight Club disbanded in 1999 after a horrible accident killed and wounded 7 people in Tokyo. Although the accident was not necessarily the fault of the racers (see below) police have still tried to can’t track members down The strict secrecy of the group has allowed them to keep their official membership unknown, and even the leaders of the Midnight Club remain unknown to the police to this day.
Anonymous sources have told journalists however that many retired racers are living normal lives as law-abiding citizens, and that many have opened repair shops or begun working for companies like Honda or Toyota.
5 Police Have Cracked Down Hard Since The 90s
After an infamous Midnight Club accident in 1999, Japanese police began cracking down on racers. The crackdown increased after the Fast and The Furious franchise began to reinvigorate a worldwide interest in street racing. Tokyo’s speedways are now equipped with license plate scanners, cameras, speedometers, and the government has increased the penalties for illegal customizations.
However, some racers have gotten equally technologically savvy. Some put their license plate on a hidden spring system that renders their numbers illegible to the cameras when the car is in motion.
4 Trash Talking Is For Americans, Not The Japanese
While Hollywood movies have created this image in people's heads of racers talking smack before hitting the track, in Japan trash talking is just not a thing.
The Japanese strictly believe in demonstrating honor and mutual respect for an opponent in a competition. For Japanese racers, the cars do all the talking.
3 The Kanjozoku Dominate Racing In Osaka
In Osaka Japan, the Kanjozoku has taken over as the premier secret racing league. While their membership numbers are unknown, they are now one of the primary targets of Osaka’s traffic police. But they remain elusive because they only race at night and rarely on city streets.
Most people don’t realize this, but races in Japan tend to happen outside the city in more rural, less densely populated areas. This reduces the risk of innocent bystanders getting involved in a crash. Japanese underground racers might be criminals, but they are not negligent monsters.
2 Like Ships And Boats, The Car Has To Have A Name
Some say it is bad luck to sail on a boat without a name, and that tradition seems to be the same for Osaka and Tokyo’s racers. Cars that are seen in races usually have some kind of nickname.
The most famous car of the Midnight Club was known as The Blackbird, a highly modified Porsche 911 Turbo. To this day, the driver and owner of The Blackbird remains unknown.
1 Street Racers Have Beef With Bōsōzoku (motorcycle)Gangs
As mentioned before, the Midnight Club crash that ended the group’s existence was not technically the fault of the club. It was actually caused by a group of bōsōzokus (motorcycle) riders. Bōsōzokus gangs are a stark contrast to racing clubs in Japan because they are engaged in criminal activities. One of the reasons police respect racers is because racers are seen as moral and ethical, while bōsōzoku gangs are considered violent hooligans.
This prejudice only increased thanks to the Midnight Club crash. Allegedly, a group of bōsōzokus got word that a race was happening nearby and they decided to harass the racers. As a result, several bōsōzoku riders and racers either died or were mortally wounded, causing the Midnight Club’s disbanding. Japanese racers have never forgiven the bōsōzokus for this slight and to this day bōsōzoku gangs remain one of the least respected criminal classes in Japan.