News from JAMA Motorcycle Autumn 2001

"Good Rider" Crime Prevention Registrations Top One Million Mark - Highly Effective Program Now in Sixth Year -

The Motorcycle Safety Association (Chairman Yoshihide Munekuni, Chairman of Honda) recently announced that the number of registrations under its "Good Rider" crime prevention program surpassed the one-million milestone at the end of this June.

The Good Rider registration system was first introduced in 1996 by the Association, in cooperation with Japan's motorcycle industry and the National Police Agency. It seeks to prevent the theft of motorcycles by having the vehicles registered in advance.

Motorcycle owners are encouraged to join the Good Rider crime prevention registration system at the dealer outlets where they purchase their vehicles. Upon joining, they receive a crime prevention registration sticker and a user card which provides proof of ownership. The sticker is put on the motorcycle, while it is recommended that the owner carry the user card with them at all times.

The registered vehicle data (owner's name and address, license plate number, vehicle serial number, etc.) is sent from the dealer to the prefectural branch of the Japan Motorcycle Safety Association, where it is input into a computer. The information is added to a nationwide database compiled by the Association, which is supplied to the National Police Agency and placed online at all police stations in Japan. This enables any Japanese police officer to access the database of registered motorcycles on an around-the-clock basis.

Quick Owner Identification with Integrated Information System Under Japan's existing motorcycle registration system, registration is performed at the city or town office for vehicles up to 125cc in displacement, the Mini Vehicles Association for 126-250cc class machines, and the local branch or office of the Land Transport Office for those over 250cc in size. With only the license plate number and vehicle serial number used for identification, considerable time and effort can be required to identify the owner.

When suspicious or abandoned motorcycles are discovered, if the vehicle has a crime prevention registration sticker it is possible to locate the owner with far greater speed. In addition to that, attempts to sell a stolen motorcycle with a sticker to a dealer will be futile, another aspect viewed as an effective means of curbing theft.

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The number of dealers cooperating with Good Rider crime prevention registration has increased from the 2,200 shops when the system was launched in fiscal 1996 to over 17,000 outlets in fiscal 2000.

Association Chairman Munekuni is passionate about expanding the use of this crime prevention registration scheme from here on as well: "We are requesting that each prefectural Japan Motorcycle Safety Association expand participation in this system, targeting the goals of registering 10 percent of all motorcycles owned, and 50 percent of all units sold."

JAMA holds a day-long motorcycle event.

JAMA Holds "Motorcycle Friendship in Odaiba" Event - Day-long Outdoor Gathering Open to All Comers -

The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) and the Cabinet Office of the Japanese government teamed up to sponsor "Motorcycle Friendship in Odaiba," an event staged on August 19 in the popular new amusement space of Odaiba along Bay.

The predecessor to this event was the "Bike Forum," which for 11 years from 1990 through last year was also held on August 19, drawing between 600 and 1,000 motorcycle enthusiasts each time. The forum consisted of a two-hour long talk show held inside a hall, with participants recruited ahead of time and selected by a lottery type drawing.

Last year an outdoor event was planned to run parallel with the forum, utilizing the open space at Odaiba to attract throngs of young people, families and other visitors. This year the entire event was shifted to the outdoor setting, offering a day-long affair complete with various different activities open to anyone wishing to take part.

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The occasion was organized to take full advantage of the open space in the Odaiba area. Placed around the centrally located stage were a number of riding simulators, exhibition motorcycles displayed by Japanese manufacturers, Harley Davidson, BMW and Ducati, a charity auction corner and other attractions.

The riding simulators, developed for use in traffic safety education, allowed users to experience the sensation of operating a motorcycle in a virtual reality mode. As might be expected, long rows of guests formed in front of the units to take a virtual ride.

Riding in a virtual reality mode on the simulator

Attractions Making the Public Interested in Motorcycles For exhibition models, visitors were allowed to sit on the machines, enabling those without normal opportunities to come into contact with motorcycles to touch and enjoy them. A Polaroid photo service was also provided, for guests wanting to take home a shot of themselves astride a favorite motorcycle.

Visitors enjoy sitting on exhibition models

Featured on stage was a talk show between celebrities who are also big motorcycle fans, comedy routines, a traffic safety quiz competition and live music performances.

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A trail bike demonstration was also presented at the center of the event site. Here, the rough road machines were used to jump over people lying on the ground, perform wheelies and leap rhythmically over ping-pong balls, hold hands and dance with visitors while maintaining wheelies and other spectacular techniques. The demonstration of these highly accomplished skills was a source of constant crowd excitement and enthusiastic applause.

Trail bike demonstration: Dance with a visitor

In this way, "Motorcycle Friendship in Odaiba" took place under clear blue summer skies, featuring events and attractions focused on motorcycles in a format designed to encourage attendance and participation by the general public. The underlying goal of this enjoyable occasion was to appeal for the value of the motorcycle as a safe, convenient and enjoyable means of transportation and recreation.

Live music performance at night

Correction: On page 3 of our previous issue the first name of the JAMA International Department Deputy General Director was incorrectly reported as "Norio" Sasaki. This should have read as "Shigeru" Sasaki.

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JAMA Dispatches Fact-Finding Mission to China - Studies Problem of Counterfeit Motorcycles -

The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) Motorcycle Committee dispatched a motorcycle industry fact-finding mission to China from July 16 to 20, with the members spending most of their time visiting government agencies, the automobile industry association and other bodies. A particular focus was placed on exchanging views and discussing how to deal with the problem of counterfeit motorcycles in China.

Meeting with CAAM

Japan's four motorcycle manufacturers are engaged in licensed production in China through alliances with 19 Chinese companies. Their combined production volume in 1999 came to some 1.25 million units, or just over 10 percent of China's total output of 11 million units that year (there are 176 motorcycle manufacturers in China). However, the majority of the remaining motorcycles, or around seven million units, are believed to be counterfeit imitations of Japanese products.

Motorcycle ownership in China is now estimated at 40 to 50 million units, which is still a rather low level for a huge country with a population of 1.25 billion people. As a result, it is surmised that a large potential demand exists for motorcycles.

The counterfeiting in China takes various different forms: Trademark infringement through unauthorized use of trademarks or adoption of ambiguous trademarks ("Hongda," "Yamana," "Suzoki" and so forth), design-right violations in which product exteriors are copied exactly, patent infringement in the form of unauthorized use of patent technology, and other cases.

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JAMA presentation at the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China

Cooperation with CAAM At the same time, motorcycle exports from China are increasing sharply, and are believed to have surpassed one million units in 2000. Many of these exports are imitations, and end up being sold at cut-rate prices. In Indonesia, this problem has prompted anti-dumping litigation against imports of China-built motorcycles.

The manufacture, sale and export of such counterfeit machines sap profits, undermine business expansion opportunities and threaten to seriously lower the brand image and reliability enjoyed by Japanese producers. The practice also stirs up confusion in the Chinese domestic and export destination markets alike, a situation which seems certain to lead to increased disputes and court cases.

On the verge of joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), the government of China is taking an increasingly severe view of the counterfeit product issue. Laws are being enacted, for example, to strengthen the ability of the police to crack down on such behavior. This has prompted an enforcement campaign, and through last December the authorities had mobilized 300,000 investigators to uncover 3,000 counterfeit product manufacturing and sales bases.

The July visit marked the third JAMA mission which has been sent to China. The resulting talks and interaction have greatly strengthened ties with the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, as well as Chinese agencies and groups involved with intellectual property rights.

While there are many different factors and problems behind the flood of fake products in China, JAMA is determined to work closely with the Chinese side to bring the problem under control over the years to come.

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35th Tokyo Motor Show to Open Soon

The 2001 Tokyo Motor Show (for passenger cars and motorcycles) will be held from October 27 through November 7 at Makuhari Messe (Japan Convention Center) on the outskirts of Tokyo. The Japan Motor Industrial Federation (Chairman Hiroshi Okuda, Chairman of Toyota), the main sponsor of the event, began advance tickets sales on August 1.

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Official Poster of the 35th Tokyo Motor Show

The theme selected for this year's show is "Open the Door! The Automobiles Bright Future." With this marking the first Tokyo Motor Show of the 21st century, the theme seeks to generate the image of opening the door to a steady stream of new automobiles which will pave the way to a prosperous new era. The "door" motif is also meant to envision the "door to innovation" in responding to the pressing need for environmental preservation.

For the motorcycle phase of the show, participants include four manufacturers from Japan and eight from abroad. In all, the event will feature displays by 276 companies, six governments and one group from 13 different countries. Specially invited to the show will be the seven winners of the FAMI Photographic Contest from their respective countries and region.

Bill to Lift Ban on Expressway Tandem Riding Submitted to Diet

The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the leading opposition party in Japanese politics, on July 3 held a press conference to explain the objective of its submission to the on June 27 of a bill to lift the ban on motorcycle tandem riding on motor expressways.

At the briefing, DPJ Diet Member Akira Nagatsuma stated: "Ending the ban on expressway motorcycle tandem riding is what owners have desired for years, and besides that, there is simply no data to support the conclusion that riding tandem is dangerous. We want to expand the sphere of motorcycle riding for recreation, and strengthen the message that these vehicles are friendly for the environment."

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DPJ leader echoed this sentiment: "There is a need for greater recognition of the sports and cultural value of motorcycles."

The Liberal Party, another Japanese opposition party, has submitted the same type of bill, with deliberations of the proposed legislation set to take place in September.

Metropolis of Tokyo Excludes Motorcycles from Road Pricing Concept

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is studying the possible introduction of a "road pricing system" to restrict the entry of motor vehicles into the prefecture's urban district. This concept is being considered to help fight the chronic congestion and serious air pollution in Tokyo's city areas.

According to the recently announced final report of a committee formed to study the issue, even if such a system was put into force, no fees would be charged for entry by ambulances, fire trucks and other emergency vehicles, route buses or vehicles operated by the handicapped, with motorcycles also included in the list of exceptions.

Clearly, this is the result of the recognition of motorcycles as a means of transportation with high convenience and a low environmental burden.

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