The sign of the National Police Agency and the National Public Safety Commission is seen at the Central Government Building No. 2, in this 2022 file photo taken in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward. (Mainichi/Kaho Kitayama)
TOKYO — The National Police Agency (NPA) announced on Nov. 5 that it will establish an expert panel to consider expanding the age range for mandatory child safety seat use in cars in Japan, which is currently limited to children aged 5 and under.
Concerns have been raised that adult seat belts may pose a danger even to children aged 6 and older, depending on their size, because the belts can press against the abdomen or neck. The panel will hold its first meeting on Nov. 11 and aims to compile a report by the end of the year. A revision to the Road Traffic Act is under consideration.
The expert panel will consist of five members, including specialists in automotive engineering and pediatric medicine, as well as representatives of Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association Inc. and the Parents & Teachers Association of Japan. It will discuss such issues as the body size at which an adult seat belt can be used safely.
A revision to the Road Traffic Act that took effect in 2000 made child safety seats mandatory for children under the age of 6. Under the current system, children aged 6 or older are not required to use child seats, but for those under 150 centimeters tall, a seat belt may press against the abdomen or run across the neck, creating a risk of injury. Because of this, the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF), the NPA and other organizations have recommended that such children continue to use safety seats.
In August 2024, a small passenger car and a public bus collided head-on on a national highway in Fukuoka. Two sisters, then aged 5 and 7, who were sitting in the back seat of the car, died. Both were wearing seat belts but were not using child safety seats.
In September 2024, JAF raised its recommended height threshold for child safety seat use from under 140 cm to under 150 cm.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s School Health Survey for fiscal 2025 found that the average height of 11-year-olds was 146.1 centimeters for boys and 147.4 centimeters for girls. The panel will focus on how to set mandatory standards based on physique and age.
A survey conducted by the NPA and JAF in May found that the child safety seat usage rate in cars among children under 6 stood at 84%. The agency’s analysis of accidents from 2021 through 2025 found that the fatality rate among preschool-age children who were not using one was 5.3 times that of children who were.
(Japanese original by Makoto Fukazu, Tokyo City News Department)
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