Legal regulation of autonomous driving technology: Current conditions and issues in Japan

In Japan, the Road Transport Vehicle Act and the Road Traffic Act were revised after consideration of autonomous driving vehicles operating on public roads. These revisions have considerably reduced the legal obstacles to the operation of autonomous driving vehicles with technology comparable to SAE level 3 on public roads significantly.To consider the remaining legal matters that could arise while autonomous vehicle is running, the newly amended acts are worth examining. In interpreting the purpose and the details included in the amendments, the key concepts for allowing running of the autonomous vehicle such as that of a driver, the operational design domain (ODD) and the related concepts are reviewed.