Japan considers extending child safety seat mandate to older children
An expert panel will examine age and height criteria before police decide whether to seek changes to road traffic law.
Japan’s National Police Agency said it will form a panel to assess whether children age 6 or older should be required to use child safety seats. Current road traffic law exempts that group from compulsory use.
The agency will consider legal changes after receiving the panel’s recommendations. Its membership will draw on automotive industry representatives, a pediatrician and a university professor with expertise in automotive engineering. The discussions are expected to address both height thresholds and guidelines based on age.
Police data put the number of children between the ages of 6 and 13 killed or injured in traffic accidents nationwide in 2025 at 4,190. In its analysis covering 2021 through 2025, the agency found that proper child safety seat use was associated with a fatality rate one-fifth that recorded among young children who did not use them.
A 2024 collision in Fukuoka between a local bus and a minivehicle killed two girls age 7 and 5. Both were traveling without child safety seats, and abdominal compression from seat belts contributed to their deaths.
After the collision, the recommended cutoff for using child seats and booster seats rose to under 150 cm; it had previously been under 140 cm. The Japan Automobile Federation and automakers recommend continued use as children grow.
The agency has asked parents and guardians to select seats that fit each child’s size. It believes extending mandatory use to older children could lower deaths and injuries.
