While Washington and overseas motorcycle manufacturers see the nation's regulations as trade barriers, bikers in Japan call them just plain unfair.
On Japan's expressways, tandem riding on motorcycles is banned, and the maximum speed is limited to 80 kph. Four-wheeled vehicles, except for large trucks and minicars, are allowed to run at 100 kph.
Riders, as well as motorcycle makers and their sales representatives, have struggled against these regulations since the early 1990s. In 1991, the Japan Motorcycle Users Association and 25 other biker groups first submitted a request to the National Police Agency to abolish those regulations.