Japan to make driving tests harder for some older motorists

Japan plans to toughen driving tests for older motorists in an effort to reduce accidents involving elderly drivers who may confuse the accelerator and brake pedals, police announced on Thursday. Despite a national decline in traffic fatalities, drivers aged 75 and above accounted for about 18% of fatal crashes in 2025, according to the National Police Agency (NPA).

The expert panel's recommendations prompted the agency to implement additional measures to address the rising proportion of older citizens in Japan's population. Motorists over 75 with a history of traffic violations will be required to complete a direction change maneuver during their practical tests, in addition to the existing five components such as coming to a complete stop.

These changes follow data revealing that the current mandatory test, introduced in 2022, is insufficient in preventing accidents caused by elderly drivers. Drivers over 75 with prior violations are still responsible for more than twice the number of accidents compared to those without such violations, even if they have passed the 2022 test.

Tragic examples include an 85-year-old man who killed a man and woman in their 30s with a shuttle bus in Nagoya, and an 87-year-old man who struck and killed a three-year-old girl and her mother while confusing the accelerator for the brake in 2019.