In 2011, the Japan New Car Assessment Program (JNCAP) started a new test on motor vehicle performance in pedestrian leg protection ahead of the introduction of government legislation. The Agency also started testing the performance of electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles in protecting occupants from high voltage electric shocks after collision. Furthermore, the Agency improved its seat belt reminder evaluation from simply publishing whether or not the vehicle has reminders to include a five-point rating of each reminder based on the effect of visual/audio alarms on the use of seat belts.

Thanks to improvements in automotive safety, the number of traffic deaths has been decreasing. In 2008, however, the number of pedestrians killed in traffic accidents exceeded the number of deaths among vehicle occupants for the first time, and has continued to do so. Recognizing that the protection of pedestrians in traffic accidents had become as important as that of vehicle occupants, JNCAP launched in 2011 a new overall safety performance evaluation aimed at protecting not only vehicle occupants but also pedestrians.

On the other hand, merely improving the collision safety performance of motor vehicles is not sufficient to substantially reduce deaths and injuries in traffic accidents. It is vital to promote the spread of motor vehicles with equipment and performance that can avoid accidents in the first place, by conducting evaluations of motor vehicles with preventive safety technologies as part of the new car assessment. In 2012, NASVA drew up a plan setting out milestones for the introduction of evaluations of preventive safety technologies and is now carrying out related research.