Japan adopts UN R21

22 January 2015

On January 20, Japan notified the United Nations of its intention to begin applying and accepting type approvals under UN Regulation No. 21 concerning vehicle interior fittings. This application of UN R21 will enter into force on 21 March 2015 per the provisions of the 1958 Agreement.

This decision was motivated by Japan’s involvement in the development of the International Whole Vehicle Type Approval (IWVTA) system. Under this system, entire vehicles would be approved within the mutual recognition framework of the 1958 Agreement, allowing vehicles certified in Japan to be accepted in the EU (and vice versa) without repeating testing.

The IWVTA essentially combines 39 current UN Regulations within a “master” regulation for whole vehicles (currently called UN Regulation No. 0). Since UN R21 is among these regulations, Japan needed to adopt this regulation in order to participate in the IWVTA system.

The informal group developing the IWVTA regulation and administrative system expects to finalize UN Regulation No. 0 by next June and anticipates adoption of the regulation during the March 2016 WP.29 session.

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