Law & Order

The other day, I was in the car with M's son and I see a car make a left turn on a red light. Since the Japanese drive on the left side of the road--like the British--this is similar to making a right turn on a red in the US. But, whereas this is legal in most of the US, in Japan it is not. I was going to ask my son-in-law to confirm this legal point when suddenly I hear a loud whistle and see a police officer run past us at high speed.
　Yes, he was running.
　The police office obviously observed the same thing I did and went after the violator. I turned around to follow him and saw him catch up to the vehicle at the next red light down the block. He knocked on his window to, I presume, write up a citation.
　As our lane began to move and we left the traffic violator in the rear view mirror, I couldn't help but marvel: Only in Japan would a police office even imagine to pursue on foot--let alone catch!--a perpetrator driving a car. They obviously take law and order very seriously here in Japan.