A driver of a Shinkansen bullet train left the cockpit to use the bathroom while the train was running at 150 kilometers per hour with some 160 passengers on board in central Japan, Central Japan Railway Co. said Thursday.

The 36-year-old driver was out of the Hikari No. 633 train's cockpit for around three minutes after asking a conductor to take his place during his absence at around 8:15 a.m. on Sunday, with the train traveling between Atami station and Mishima station in Shizuoka Prefecture, said the operator known as JR Central.

The conductor, also 36, was not licensed to drive the bullet train.

JR Central reported the incident to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, saying it was a violation of the ministry's ordinance.

According to the company, which operates the Tokaido Shinkansen Line connecting Tokyo and Shin-Osaka, it is the first case of a bullet train driver vacating the cockpit while running with passengers on board, though a similar case occurred in 2001 with a driver who was moving an out-of-service bullet train.

JR Central said it is considering taking punitive measures against the driver and conductor.

Japanese bullet trains can run in the absence of a driver and automatically stop in an emergency. The Tokaido Shinkansen Line is an exclusive line for high-speed trains, without any commuter or conventional trains sharing the same track.

According to the company, the driver felt abdominal pain. The conductor sat on a jump seat in the cockpit during the driver's absence without operating the train.

Under JR Central rules, a driver who experiences a health problem while operating a bullet train is supposed to report the matter to the operations center and either turn over the controls to a conductor licensed to drive or else stop the train at the nearest station.

==Kyodo

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