Provisional Translation
| OTO No. | 456 | Classification | MOT-40 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of Acceptance | July 18, 1991 | Ministry/Agency Receiving Complaint | Economic Planning Agency |
| Responsible Ministries | Ministry of Transport | Related Laws | Road Vehicles Law |
| Complainant | The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (proxy complaint) | Exporting Countries | USA |
| Subject | Accepting foreign standards and foreign manufacturer certification for the inspection of automobile head restraints | ||
| Details of Measures | The Road Vehicles Law sets down standards for the safety of the structure and equipment of road vehicles and anti-pollution measures, and specific testing requirements and evaluation criteria for technical matters are laid down in the "Technical Standards for Safety Standards Relating to Road Vehicles." Vehicles which fail to meet these standards may not be operated. The technical standards for headrests in Japan, like those in use in Europe (ECE25), require that headrests be constructed in such a way as to absorb shocks from both the front and the back, in the event of a collision with another vehicle, in order to protect the heads of the car's occupants. On the other hand, the United States' Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) 202 specify only that headrests be able to absorb shocks from the rear and include no requirement to absorb shocks from the front. Accordingly, the U.S. standards cannot be accepted. But if test data on shocks from the front, based on Japanese or European standards, are presented, in addition to test data on shocks from the rear, the data from automobile manufacturers will be accepted. The complainant was informed that specialized technical studies of this matter would continue. In January 1992, the Ministry of Transport replied to the United States Government that U.S. standards cannot be accepted because there is no requirement that headrests be able to absorb shocks from the front, and suggested in March 1992 that this matter should be discussed at the ECE/WP29 (like Japan, Europe requires that headrests be able to absorb shocks from the front). |
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| Classification of Processing | Cc | Directions | I-a |
| Remarks | |||