Report of Market Access Ombudsman Council (May 13, 1994)

3-(3) Relaxation of Regulations Concerning Motorcycles

1. Complainant: Embassy of the United States

2. Ministry concerned: National Police Agency

3. Complaint:

In Japan, the following regulations apply to motorcycles under the Road Traffic Law.

(1) On expressways and motorways, it is not permitted to drive a motorcycle on which anyone other than the driver is riding (hereafter referred to as "tandem riding").

(2) When granting licenses for driving motorcycles, the Public Safety Commission is allowed to restrict the types of motorcycles which can be driven according to level of driving skill.

Based on this, the examination content of motorcycle driving examination about the technical skill differs according to the following total engine displacement classifications, and the types of motorcycles that persons passing driver's examination for 1) and 2) below can drive are restricted.

1) total engine displacement of 125cc or less
2) total engine displacement of 400cc or less
3) unlimited total engine displacement

Regarding motorcycles in 1) and 2) above, persons completing training at designated driver's schools and passing the technical skill test are exempted from driver's license examination about the technical skill given by the Public Safety Commission.

(3) The maximum speed limit for vehicles on expressways is 100 km/h for large passenger and ordinary motor vehicles (hereafter referred to as "automobiles") and 80 km/h for motorcycles.

The complainant states that such regulations, which do not exist in other countries, impede the spread of motorcycles with total engine displacement of over 400cc (hereafter referred to as "large motorcycles") and make access to the Japanese market difficult for American and European manufacturers, who produce mainly large motorcycles, and that these regulations should be amended as follows.

(1) Japan bans tandem riding of motorcycles on expressways and motorways, but no industrialized country except Japan and Korea has such a regulation.

It is contradictory to allow tandem riding of motorcycles on ordinary roads, which have many intersections, complicated traffic flow and numerous pedestrians, and to ban tandem riding on expressways and motorways where there are no intersections or obstacles, and no pedestrians.

Accordingly, the prohibition on tandem riding of motorcycles on expressways and motorways should be abolished.

(2) In Japan, in order to acquire a license to drive a large motorcycle, it is necessary to pass a driver's examination about the technical skill more difficult than driver's examination about the technical skill for smaller motorcycles. However, in the United States, which requires no special driver's examination about the technical skill for large motorcycles, it is clear that there is no correlation between engine size and motorcycle accident frequency.

Therefore, the complainant wants the system of requiring different driver's examinations about the technical skill, with total engine displacement of 400cc as the borderline, abolished.

In addition, driver's examination about the technical skill for large motorcycles are administered only at public driver's examination facilities (there is no provision for exempting persons passing technical skill test at designated driver's schools from driver's examination about the technical skill), and since these driver's examination are held infrequently, depending on the area, making difficult to obtain a license for large motorcycles, the complainant wants this system improved as well.

(3) In Japan, the expressway speed limit for automobiles is 100 km/h, while that for motorcycles is 80 km/h, but no industrialized country except Japan has such a rule.

It is incomprehensible that motorcycles on expressways are required to move 20 km/h slower than surrounding vehicles, as this is in fact more dangerous to drivers of both motorcycles and automobiles.

Accordingly, the complainant wants the speed limit for motorcycles to be raised to 100 km/h.

4. Results of deliberation:

(1) Regarding whether to permit tandem riding of motorcycles on expressways and motorways, recent data on the safety of tandem riding on large motorcycles which will be presented by the complainant should be studied and this regulation reviewed if it is determined that there are no problems regarding safety.

(2) Designated driver's schools offer training for small- and medium-sized motorcycles, but none for large motorcycles. Therefore, the system exempting persons who have passed the technical skill test at designated driver's schools from driver's license examination about the technical skill does not apply to those wishing to acquire a driver's license for a large motorcycle.

The concerned agency should promptly study this issue, including review of the law, to introduce a system exempting persons who have completed training and passed the technical skill test at designated driver's schools from the driver's examination about the technical skill administered by the Public Safety Commission.

Study of the issue of whether to require different driver's license examination about the technical skill, with total engine displacement of 400 cc as the borderline, should be continued, based on data produced by the complainant regarding the correlation between engine size and accident frequency.

(3) Regarding the speed limit for motorcycles on expressways, the agency concerned must show data providing a rationale for this in order to satisfy the complainant. If this cannot be done, this regulation should be reviewed.

Government decision (June 24, 1994)

3-(3) Improvement of the system for motorcycles under the Road Traffic law and ordinances

(1) Regarding whether to permit tandem riding of motorcycles on expressways and motorways, recent data on the safety of tandem riding on large motorcycles which will be presented by the complainant will be studied, and this regulations reviewed if it is determined that there are no problems regarding safety.

(2) Regarding driver's license for large motorcycles, study will be undertaken, including review of laws and ordinances, to introduce a system exempting persons who have completed training and passed the technical skill test at designated driver's schools from the driver's license examination about the technical skill administered by the Public Safety Commission in around fiscal 1996.

Further, study of whether to require different driver's license examination about the technical skill, with total engine displacement of 400 cc as the borderline, will be continued, based on data produced by the complainant regarding the correlation between engine size and accident frequency.

(3) Regarding the speed limit for motorcycles on expressways, data providing a rationale for this will be shown to the complainant soon.

Follow-up (June 5, 1995)

3-(3) Relaxing Regulations Concerning Motorcycles

(1) Since the complainant subsequently advised that they could not supply new data, future measures regarding this question are still being studied.

(2) Opinions from academic experts and the general public concerning the driver's license system for large motorcycles were solicited and studied comprehensively. As a result, since opinions are that advanced driving skills and sufficient knowledge about the characteristics of large motorcycles with engine displacement of over 400 cc are needed to control and drive such motorcycles safely, it was decided to discontinue to current driver's license system for motorcycles, and to introduce a two-tier system of licenses for large motorcycles with engine displacement of over 400 cc and of licenses for ordinary motorcycles, and to require technical skill tests appropriate to the vehicle characteristics of each. Additionally, a technical skill certification system for licenses for large motorcycles at designated driver's schools will be introduced. In order to realize this change in the system, partial revisions to the Road Traffic Law were approved by the Cabinet in February 1995 and submitted to the 132nd regular session of the Diet. The Law was passed and announced in April.

Revisions will be made to the relevant subsidiary laws as a result of this change, and the new measures will be implemented in FY 1996.

(3) Data providing a rationale for the speed limit for motorcycles on expressways were shown to the complainant, but since the complainant indicated that such data were insufficient, a study and analysis of past cases will be undertaken. It is expected that the additional data can be shown to the complainant in about one year's time.