With regard to the voting on the new UN Regulations, the European Union voted on behalf of its member States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
With regard to the proposal for a new UN Regulation on the approval of vehicles with regard to fuel system integrity and safety of electric power train in the event of a rear-end collision, the representative of Japan stated that there were square brackets in the section 2.8 on the definition of Rechargeable Electrical Energy Storage System (REESS), and that Japan had been discussing this issue with GRSP experts after its December 2019 session, because of related safety considerations. As the May 2020 GRSP session had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic no opportunity for further discussion was given. Japan’s understanding was that GRSP would reconsider this paragraph. Therefore, Japan was not in the position to agree with the current proposal, which included the text in square brackets. Japan expressed their intention to constructively discuss this issue with GRSP experts and make a proposal for solving this safety concern. Therefore, Japan abstained from voting.