Photo/Illutration A road with a 60 kph legal speed limit in Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward on May 29 (Daichi Itakura)

Motorists driving through back and side streets in Japan may soon be facing a legal speed limit of 30 kph for the first time to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety.

The National Police Agency on May 30 decided to lower the speed limit for vehicles on roads in residential areas where there are currently no speed restrictions and no median.

The legal speed limit for general roads is 60 kph. Even on narrow roads, cars can travel up to 60 km/h if there are no speed restrictions.

The lower speed limit is aimed at improving safety for pedestrians on streets used in their daily lives.

The NPA will ask for public comments and will then amend the Order for Enforcement of the Road Traffic Law.

The NPA aims to implement the new speed limit in September 2026.

Currently, there are two types of maximum speed limits for vehicles: legal speed limits set by the Order for Enforcement of the Road Traffic Law; and “designated speed limits” set by prefectural public safety commissions for designated sections through road signs.

The latter are determined based on the conditions of vehicular traffic, accidents and roadway geometry, among other factors.

The legal speed limit for general roads and highways is 60 kph.

On the other hand, many narrow streets seeing heavy pedestrian traffic do not have designated speed limits.

“There is a limited budget for installation and maintenance of road signs, and the condition of the roads makes it difficult to install road signs in some areas,” said an NPA representative. 

In June 2021, a truck driven by a driver under the influence of alcohol hit a group of children walking home from school in Yachimata, Chiba Prefecture, killing two and seriously injuring three others.

A designated speed limit was not set on that particular road. After the fatal accident, a 30 kph regulation was posted there.

Therefore, the NPA has decided to set the legal speed limit of 30 kph for streets used by residents on foot or bicycle, or where schools are nearby.

The targeted streets are those without center lines, median strips or center poles, regardless of the width of the roads.

The legal speed limit on roads with center lines will remain 60 kph. The legal speed limit on roads with regulatory signs will continue as posted. 

In deciding to lower the speed limit, the NPA cited research showing that the probability of serious injury to pedestrian and bicyclists struck by cars increases sharply when the speed of vehicles exceeds 30 kph.

For roads that do not have a center line but are wide, local police will implement a designated speed limit based on local circumstances.

The NPA said the overall number of traffic accidents has continued to decline, but the percentage of accidents on streets less than 5.5 meters wide has remained constant at around 20 percent.

In 2023, the percentage of fatalities and injuries among pedestrians and bicyclists on roads less than 5.5 meters wide was 1.8 times more than that on roads wider than 5.5 meters.

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