A veteran Japanese bus driver has lost his retirement payout worth $84,000 after Japan’s Supreme Court upheld his dismissal for stealing just $7 from passengers’ fare.
The driver, who had worked for Kyoto City’s transport system for 29 years, was fired in 2022 after onboard security footage showed him accepting a 1,000-yen bill by hand from a group of five passengers and failing to properly report it. The group had paid a total of 1,150 yen, but only 150 yen was deposited into the fare box.
Despite initially denying the incident during an internal investigation, the footage contradicted his claims. The man, whose name was not disclosed, had also previously received warnings for other infractions, including vaping on the bus during his shift—even when no passengers were on board.
While a lower court had ruled in favor of the driver, calling the dismissal “too severe,” the Supreme Court overturned the decision, siding with Kyoto City and reinstating the full penalty, including the forfeiture of his retirement benefits amounting to over 12 million yen.
The city welcomed the final ruling. “Each one of the bus drivers works alone and handles public money. We took it very seriously that embezzlement related to this area of our work took place,” said Shinichi Hirai of Kyoto’s public transport bureau, in an interview with AFP.
He added, “If our strict measures were not accepted, then our organisation could become careless and it could result in eroding the public’s trust.”
