Planned action by the United States to urge Japan to review its motorcycle regulations has been halted, a U.S. Embassy official said August 8 in Tokyo.

Since last month, the U.S. government had been planning to file a fresh grievance on motorcycle regulations as early as this month with the Office of Trade Ombudsmen, Japan's governmental body to mediate complaints over trade matters. The U.S. was seeking to abolish such regulations as the ban on tandem riding and the 80 kph speed limit for motorcycles on Japanese expressways, which the U.S. motorcycle industry has long insisted are trade barriers. "We file complaints at the requests of U.S. industries. But the U.S. motorcycle industry in Japan says that now is not the appropriate time," said the U.S. official, who asked not to be named.