IT Home, November 3 — According to Nikkei Asia this morning (3rd), the Japanese government is considering revising vehicle safety certification standards to allow autonomous vehicles without steering wheels, brake pedals, or accelerator pedals to be certified under a unified standard, aiming to promote mass production of new types of vehicles such as driverless taxis.
The new regulations will cover two types of vehicles: L4 autonomous vehicles capable of self-driving under specific conditions, and L5 fully autonomous vehicles that require no human driver intervention. Previously, the Japanese government had used a case-by-case certification approach, conducting individual safety reviews for each such vehicle type.
A working group under Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism will meet on the 4th to discuss the revision proposal; the new standards are planned to apply to vehicles produced from December.
Autonomous vehicles do not require traditional driving components such as steering wheels, pedals, rearview mirrors, or driver monitoring systems. Removing these features reduces manufacturing costs and frees up more interior space, allowing automakers to redesign the cabin layout.
Regarding safety requirements, passenger vehicles such as taxis and buses must still use dummies for crash testing. Freight vehicles are exempt from this test, but manufacturers must ensure that the vehicles can avoid accidents in the event of a system failure.
In June this year, the United Nations World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations reached an agreement on safety standards for autonomous vehicles. The international standard is expected to be formally implemented in December, and Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism also plans to revise its domestic vehicle safety standards in alignment with local laws.
The United States leads in the development and commercialization of L4 autonomous vehicles, but has not joined a key agreement under the WP.29 framework that allows countries to mutually recognize vehicle certifications. In September of this year, Tesla began offering passenger services using its L4 autonomous taxi, the Cybercab, which lacks a steering wheel and pedals.
The Japanese government plans to deploy at least 10,000 buses and taxis with L4 autonomous driving capabilities on public roads by the fiscal year 2030.