Japan makes child car seats mandatory for children under six

On 1 April 2000, an amendment to Japan's Road Traffic Act came into force, making child restraint seats compulsory for children under six years old travelling in private cars. Japan was among the later developed countries to adopt such a rule, which followed similar laws in Europe and North America.

The law required drivers to ensure that young children were secured in a seat suited to their size, rather than being held in an adult's lap or fastened with an ordinary seat belt. Drivers who failed to comply faced demerit points on their licence, although no direct fine applied. Exemptions covered cases such as when a child could not safely use a seat because of illness or disability, or when no suitable seat could be fitted, as in taxis and buses.

The rule mattered because it set the legal baseline for child passenger safety in Japan. The age-based threshold of six has remained the central standard since then, and it is the criterion now being reconsidered as officials look at whether height or other measures would protect children better.