Japan to certify robotaxis without steering wheels from December, Nikkei reports
Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) is considering uniformly certifying Level 4 and 5 driverless vehicles with no steering wheel or brake pedal, Nikkei reported on Nov. 2, 2026. Revised safety standards would apply to vehicles produced from December, replacing case-by-case approval. MLIT is set to discuss the plan at a vehicle safety study group meeting on Nov. 4.
Per Nikkei, as summarized by EVwire, rearview mirrors and driver-monitoring systems wouldn't be required either. Taxis, buses and other passenger vehicles would still need dummy crash tests; unmanned cargo vehicles would be exempt.
Japan targets 10,000 Level 4-capable vehicles by fiscal 2030. The plan follows a June agreement at the UN World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP29), expected to become an international standard in December.
Why it matters for robotaxis
An MLIT official told Nikkei the aim is to "facilitate mass production" toward that target (EVwire's translation). Waymo and Toyota plan to start testing self-driving bZ4X SUVs in Japan in 2027. Nikkei describes a plan under discussion, not a final rule.
More on Waymo, Toyota and robotaxis and self-driving vehicles.
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- Nikkei (Nov. 2, paywalled): MLIT to uniformly certify steering-wheel-free Level 4+ self-driving cars from December (Japanese)
- EVwire (Nov. 2): Japan to uniformly certify steering-wheel-free Level 4/5 vehicles from December, Nikkei report
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Summarized by Servospace from the sources above, drafted with AI help and checked against those sources before publishing. Claims are the companies' or outlets' unless we say otherwise. How we work.