TOKYO >> Often seen as disease-carrying nuisances, pigeons have an image problem around the world.

Japan is no exception, but the birds enjoy some legal immunity, forcing city dwellers to put up with these unwanted guests roosting and cooing on their balconies.

Under Japan’s wildlife laws, residents may not kill or remove even the peskiest of birds without approval from local authorities, a protection that feral pigeons do not have at the national level in the United States, although some states, including Massachusetts, have rules against killing them.

If people discover that a pigeon has laid an egg or made a nest on their balcony, they cannot remove the bird, nest or egg without approval, either.

And drivers are supposed to drive slowly while pigeons cross the road, even against the light.

Now, the lowly pigeon finds itself at the center of a case after a Tokyo taxi driver is accused of deliberately running one down with his cab.

The 50-year-old driver was arrested Dec. 3 and charged with violating the wildlife protection law but has not been indicted. Police said he had accelerated after a traffic light turned green, deliberately plowing his taxi into a flock of pigeons at a speed of about 35 mph, killing one, according to The Mainichi, a local newspaper.

An autopsy was ordered. The veterinarian who performed it determined that the pigeon had died of traumatic shock.

The taxi driver could not be reached for comment. Police told the Kyodo News that he told them, “Roads belong to humans, so pigeons should have dodged out of the way.”

Under the wildlife law, feral pigeons are not distinguished from other wild birds and can be killed only if they are proved to be a problem, such as by carrying disease, or damaging crops or livestock.

Even then, local authorities must give permission to kill them.

The penalty for killing a pigeon without permission is up to a year in jail or a fine of 1 million Japanese yen (about $7,000).

In both 2021 and 2022, about 4,000 pigeons were killed with that permission. About 200 eggs were removed in both years.

Because of the law, apartment complexes have had to find other ways to deal with the nuisance.

Some complexes opt to scare away the birds by hiring falconers, who work under permits, to bring hawks at a cost of thousands of dollars per visit to spook the pigeons.

Falconers who have a hunting license are also allowed to trap pigeons and kill them.