---
title: "Dodge Challenger Driver Arrested For Doing 145 MPH, Flipping Off Tokyo Speed Cameras"
description: "Police in Tokyo have finally arrested a man who was allegedly spotted driving 145 mph his Dodge Challenger on an expressway—and flipping off the speed cameras that recorded his impromptu Mid Night Club audition—after a two-year search, The Asahi Shimbun reports."
date: "2018-03-03"
modified: "2018-03-03"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/18954/dodge-challenger-driver-arrested-for-doing-145-mph-flipping-off-tokyo-speed-cameras"
categories:
  - "Dodge News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "dodge"
  - "Dodge Challenger"
  - "Japan"
  - "speed cameras"
  - "speeding"
  - "Tokyo"
---

# Dodge Challenger Driver Arrested For Doing 145 MPH, Flipping Off Tokyo Speed Cameras

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/03/dg017_024cl3i7clme5d5dk2nlvsb09lct41p.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Police in Tokyo have finally arrested a man who was allegedly spotted driving 145 mph his Dodge Challenger on an expressway—and flipping off the speed cameras that recorded his impromptu [Mid Night Club](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_Night_Club>) audition—after a two-year search, [*The Asahi Shimbun* reports.](<https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201803020032.html>)

On the night of January 29, 2016, authorities say forty-one-year-old Yoshimune Shirai piloted his muscle car onto the Chuo Expressway and accelerated to nearly 150 mph. The fateful run was tracked by Tokyo's Orbis speed camera system, which captured an image of [the Challenger](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/18044/dodge-challenger-demon-breaks-the-9-second-quarter-mile-barrier>) flying down the road with the driver's middle finger raised proudly in the air. Shirai was arrested on Thursday.

It took more than two years to track him down in part because the Challenger was missing its front license plate. However, the region's extensive network of [speed cameras](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/17785/thieves-steal-80000-speed-camera-system-in-broad-daylight>) eventually captured five more images of the car speeding in various locations, and police were able to piece together a positive identification...of the car, that is.

So far, Shirai [has reportedly proclaimed](<https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201803020032.html>) his innocence, telling investigators that there's no proof that he was the one behind the wheel at the time.

Japan has a strong history of street racing, immortalized in part by the [famous Mid Night Club racers](<https://drivetribe.com/p/midnight-club-inside-japans-most-CaSHzqugT2q3S8z2iZk7dg>) and other crews that were active in the 1980s and 1990s. Unfortunately, you needed to hit 160 mph to join their ranks—so it looks like Shirai missed the mark in more ways than one.

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)