A Japanese man drove down the wrong side of an expressway in the northern island of Hokkaido and busted through five police blockades before he was arrested - all because he was upset his cat died.

Local newspaper The Mainichi Daily News reports 31-year-old Tsutomu Mizumoto drove 90 kilometres down the opposite direction on the Sasson Expressway near Otaru early Wednesday morning. He refused to pull over when police tried to stop him so five emergency blockades were set up, though he drove through all of them. After being pursued by cops for more than an hour, Mizumoto pulled over and was arrested. His car struck one other vehicle during the pursuit but no one was hurt.

"I was sad that my pet cat died. I wanted to do something crazy," Mizumoto said when police asked about his motives.