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Nov 26, 2025 08:30 (JST)
Tokyo, Nov. 26 (Jiji Press)–In the face of a serious shortage of drivers in the logistics industry, Japan’s government and commercial vehicle makers are accelerating experiments aimed at putting self-driving trucks into practical use.
They are aiming to attain so-called Level 4 autonomous driving, or driving without human intervention under certain conditions.
In addition to carrying out the trials, they will also make efforts to gain the public’s understanding for self-driving trucks to ease concerns. Autonomous driving for large vehicles carries a risk of being “rejected by the public with a single accident,” a senior official of a commercial vehicle maker said.
“We’re aiming to achieve a level of driving on par with or exceeding that of a careful driver” for self-driving trucks, Isuzu Motors Ltd. Senior Executive Officer Hiroshi Sato told reporters on Nov. 18 in the town of Mukawa in the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido, where a test run by a large self-driving truck was shown to the media that day.
The experiment was conducted on an approximately 5-kilometer test course, with the truck autonomously changing lanes, overtaking other vehicles, and smoothly accelerating at the start and decelerating when coming to a halt. The driver was seated but did not touch the steering wheel or the brakes.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
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