Bullet train driver caught snapping

The Japanese bullet train is renowned for its safety

A Japanese bullet train driver has been questioned for taking photographs with his mobile phone and sending them to his girlfriend while at the train's controls.

The 42-year-old driver is reported to have sent her shots of Mount Fuji, fireworks, passing trains and other rail-side scenery from his driving seat over nearly two years, local reports said.

His company was alerted by the woman's husband, who found the emails.

Although the bullet train, or shinkansen, is equipped with an automatic control system which regulates speed and stops the train at stations, drivers are nevertheless meant to remain vigilant.

"This is behaviour unbecoming of a company employee, and we intend to deal with this strictly after an investigation," the Central Japan Railway Company said in a statement.

The man, who has not been named, sometimes sent his girlfriend dozens of emails a day, according to the Tokyo Shimbun.

"I did it for a while, but not any more. Now that I think about it, it wasn't very good," the driver told the paper.