What are Japan Car Seat Laws?

Someone was searching this on the website.. If you know please provide them answers.

what carseat laws? I went out and bought my neighbor's daughter a car seat for her son when he was 4 days old. They were just driving around holding the baby in the car. The family seen nothing wrong with it either.The police never pulled them over or anything. I bought it for me,so everytime I see them pull out of the drive I wouldnt have a heart attack. But on base going on or comming out of the american laws of carseats apply. That means they have to be 8yrs or i think 48inchs tall to sit without a booster or carseat in the back seat and 12yrs to ride in the frount.

We were told in AOB that children 6 and under are required to be in a carseat, but I don't think it's enforced!

Child safety seat - children 6 years old and under MUST be seated in appropriate child safety seat. This is enforced by law. (Road and Traffic rules 71-3. Section 4)

There are no fine, but the driver (having a child without child safety seat) will be given 1 penalty point. (Drivers license will be suspended at point of 6.)
Like other violations of traffic rules, police doesn't necessarily pull the driver over when they observed the violation, but they do sometimes. (Most car run on highway are faster than speed limit, but police hardly pull them over, but they do sometimes, right? The same thing.)

So interesting thing is... for foreign drivers who drive by international driving permit with their mother countries license, penalty point doesn't work. (Japanese police can't suspend such licenses.) So for such drivers, no actual penalties, I think. (I'm not sure but it is possible that there are other rule for such drivers like some kind of fine, etc.)

I think it should be enforced...I have seen 2 and 3 yr olds jumping up and down in the car several times...How in the world can the driver see a thing with a child jumping in his backseat? Just freaks me out to see this going on. I guess the only saving grace is the speed isn't much but still could be deadly for a little 20pd kid...

Whether the car seat law is enforce on base or not, I don't know. My kids ride in car seats just to keep them buckled, otherwise they would be some of those kids jumping up and down in the backseat. LOL I do know that if you go on an ITT tour and your child is supposed to be in a car seat, they require the child to ride in the car seat on the bus, at least while the bus is on base. If there is a booster seat law on base, I don't know it and they ITT buses do not require you to bring boosters for kids who would normally be in them, just car seats for the smaller children and babies. Out in town, there are no laws about car seats. When we went to Sapporo for the Snow Festival, my 2 year old sat in a seat on the plane with no car seat and rode on all the buses with no car seat required.

On base, kids under 5 (I think) have to be in a booster seat. I know this because when we took a taxi from the train station in the rain a couple of weeks ago, the security guy lectured me about it after they searched the taxi (my daughters won't be 5 until July). Normally, they are in booster seats, but I didn't drag them with me to the trains and all over the aquarium in Enoshima, so I couldn't put them in the seats when we grabbed a taxi home (it was that Friday of the evening Japanbases meet-up ... rainy and windy and 40 degrees ... I wasn't keen on walking all the way home with three kids). Needless to say, while I was in the wrong, I still didn't appreciate the lecture.

Taxi and buses are exception for Child Safety Seat law in Japan.

Funny I ran across this topic while searching for something else...

Yesterday my friend and I were running to Ikego and and on 16 we saw probably a one year old in the lap of the driver of the car next to us... we were floored. Let alone should that kid be in the front of the car. But different country, different beliefs.

BUT on the way back from Ikego we saw an AMERICAN family on base letting a young toddler just stand up and bounce around in their car. They should have known better since we have strict rules on the base. Tsk tsk, I'll hold back any nasty comments.

HI

This if OT - but I saw that you went to Sapporo - we are arriving in Jan. and would like to head to Sapporo the first weekend in Feb. for a BIG nordic ski race - how did the trip go? you flew ? you did not take the train?

Thanks for any info you can supply

Rea, that's so funny you mentioned the 12 yr old front seat thing...my hubby never understood why my DS rode in the back seat! I tried to explain to him that you have to be 12 to ride up front! lol

The base does not care at all where kids ride.. I see kids in the front seat in a car seat on base all the time WTH? And I see kids in vehicles on base all the time who are not buckled.. I think the base needs to hold a seat belt and car seat check!!!! At least every few months if not monthly!!!!!