That's the road design's fault, not his. Japan had a very very high rate of pedestrian accidents back then, they fixed it, and they didn't do it by drinking any less or losing pedestrian right of way.
Not that matters, but according to Wikipedia he was killed by a passing car when inspecting an previous incident, presumably on road.
Saying it was "road design's fault" or even implying he was a "pedestrian" in this context is kinda weird without any further explanation.