A system failure on Sunday morning caused the closure of ETC-only lanes at some toll gates on expressways in seven prefectures —Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu and Mie.

According to Nagoya-based Central Nippon Expressway, the ETC system failure occurred at around 12:30 a.m., NHK reported. The cause is unknown and the lanes were still closed oil Sunday afternoon, with ETC unavailable at about 80 toll gates and smart interchanges.

Affected expressways include the Chuo, Tomei, Shin-Tomei and Shin-Meishin expressways,

Central Nippon Expressway said regular lanes with attendants on all expressways are open. It said staff have started raising the ETC lane bars to allow cars to pass, but will gradually respond by allowing cars to pass through locations where no staff are stationed.

They are asking people to pay tolls after the fact by scanning a QR code on the Central Nippon Expressway website.

Traffic jams occurring at toll gate exits in the morning.

According to the Metropolitan Police Department, there have been three emergency calls to 110 about rear-end collisions that are believed to have occurred during traffic jams near the toll gates on the Chuo Expressway.