Japan is introducing a safety rule that requires vehicles to detect when drivers are distracted. Starting in 2031, all new cars will be required to carry a device that sounds an alarm when a driver looks away from the road — while checking a smartphone or dozing off, for example.
Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is pushing to mandate a driver-monitoring system (DMS) that uses cameras and sensors to check a driver's condition, according to the Nikkei and other outlets on the 24th. The requirement would apply to both domestically made and imported vehicles sold in Japan.
The government plans to revise the relevant regulations in September, apply the rule first to new car models from September 2031, and extend it two years later, from September 2033, to newly produced units of existing models.
A 3.5-Second Look Above 50 km/h — Then the Car Beeps
At the core of the proposal is having the vehicle judge whether a driver's gaze has strayed from the road for longer than a set time.
Under the standard, an alarm sounds if a driver traveling at 50 kilometers per hour or faster looks downward — toward a phone, for instance — for more than 3.5 seconds. In the 20-to-50-kilometer-per-hour range, the threshold is six seconds.
A DMS uses cameras and sensors to track a driver's gaze and condition and to detect when attention wanders. Behind the government's move to extend the device to all vehicle types is a rise in accidents involving "nagara-sumaho," or using a smartphone while driving.
According to Japan's National Police Agency, 148 traffic accidents causing deaths or serious injuries in 2025 stemmed from phone use while operating a car or other vehicle, rising for a fifth straight year. The figure had fallen from 108 in 2018 to 67 in 2020 before turning upward again.
The European Union has also been strengthening vehicle safety technology, including making systems that detect a driver's condition mandatory. Japan aims to align with international standards and cut accidents caused by driver inattention.
"I Thought It Was the Brake" — Japan Also Tightens Measures for Elderly Drivers
Japan is tightening rules aimed at reducing not only driver behavior but also mistakes in operating a vehicle.
The ministry has made an anti-acceleration device for pedal misapplication mandatory on new automatic-transmission passenger cars from September 2028. It applies not only to elderly drivers but to all passenger cars without a clutch pedal. Imported vehicles are covered from September 2029.
The licensing system for elderly drivers is also expected to be overhauled. The National Police Agency is reviewing the driving skills test administered to drivers aged 75 and over who have a record of certain traffic violations.
Currently, drivers aged 75 and over who have committed designated traffic violations — such as running a red light or speeding — within the past three years must take a skills test when renewing their license. About 10% of those renewing licenses typically face the test.
The problem is the test's effectiveness. When the National Police Agency tracked 5,270 elderly drivers who passed the skills test in 2023 over two years, their accident rate was 2.8 times higher than that of 8,233 elderly drivers who took a training course instead of the test. Among those aged 75 to 79, the gap widened to 4.5 times. The agency plans to consider revising the system, including the test's evaluation criteria and items.
