According to a press release from Japan’s National Police Agency, law enforcement is considering a change to motorcycle licensing in the Land of the Rising Sun. According to the PR, the authorities might allow motorists with a standard auto driver’s license to also ride scooters and motorcycles up to 125cc. The move would see those two-wheelers reclassified from a more strictly-governed motorcycle class, and newly classified as “motorized bicycles.” In other words, similar to the moped classification we see in North America.
It might not sound like a very big deal, but it is a move that is somewhat surprising for Japan, which is well-known for tough motorcycle licensing laws. And it is a move that makes a lot of sense in 2023, as we see transportation issues worsening in North America.
You can see the original press release here, and the Google Translate version is here. Deciphering the garbled-up Google version, we see the Japanese police considering allowing reclassification of motorcycles up to 125cc as motorized bicycles, as long as engine output is less than 4 kW, and as long as they are easy to use.
In other words: Horsepower would be restricted to about 5 hp, and it seems Japanese police are probably keen on a twist-and-go throttle.
Why this move makes sense
Frankly, current scooter licensing laws are just plain dumb—there is no reason a licensed car driver should not be allowed to ride a modern scooter of at least 5 hp without extra hassle. A twist-and-go throttle is easy; five horsepower will not overwhelm any reasonably competent car driver—and if it does, you could argue they also shouldn’t have their car license. In Japan, with stricter oversight of public roads, that’s probably the case.
However, here in North America, many jurisdictions allow car drivers to also ride a scooter or motorcycle up to 50cc, but no larger without a motorcycle license. In years gone by, when two-stroke scooters were common, this probably made sense. Now, with wimpy four-strokes dominating the step-through market and no bikes equivalent to the old Yamaha DT50 or YSR50, it restricts riders to ultra-slow scooters, which brings a danger factor of its own. This stops car drivers from moving to two wheels at a time when that would be a very good idea. With fuel prices rising, urban gridlock worsening and fuel-efficient commuter cars increasingly more difficult to find, people are being deterred from motorcycles and scooters, when those vehicles would address, maybe even solve these problems.
If 125cc step-throughs and their torquey electric equivalents were legalized on a car license, there could be significant interest in moving back to motorcycles as commuters, especially with so many current 125 models already available from Honda.
What’s your take? Do you think this would benefit our local roadways and encourage motorcycling? Or do you think it would cause more problems than it solves?
