Japan is set to become the latest country to allow driverless vehicles on its roads.

The National Police Agency has confirmed plans to incorporate Level 4 autonomous driving into traffic law next April…

The move will pave the way for vehicles such as robotaxis and self-driving shuttle buses to operate in Japan, as we are already seeing in the United States and China…

As was identified when a framework for the new Japanese legislation was put in place earlier this year, it is also hoped that it will enable the rollout of unmanned vehicles to transport elderly people in lowly populated rural areas.

Full details of the new rules are likely to be published at the end of November, after a period of public consultation.