Common Tasks In response to the increase in international distribution of automobiles and devices and to the globalization of the automobile industry, the Global Agreement, an international agreement for promoting global uniformity of safety and environmental regulations (which have been different in each country) for automobiles and devices, was concluded by eight countries, including Japan, and enforced on August 25, 2000. (Japan signed the Agreement in August 1999. As of April 2000, eleven countries are signatories.) It was resolved that full-fledged deliberations on uniform global regulations, based on the Agreement, will be held among concerned nations, including Japan, the United States and the EU, at the UN World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP29). Heretofore, the Japanese government has argued that in formulating uniform global regulations, it is necessary to establish common global definitions covering vehicle categories, which are currently stipulated by each nation alone, and methods for measuring weights and dimensions. As a result, this necessity was recognized internationally, and a W/G was established, with chairperson from Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, under the Working Party on General Safety Provisions (GRSG) of the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP29), UN Economic Commission for Europe. Deliberations will be held among concerned nations over the next two years, and common global definitions of vehicle categories, weights and dimensions will be compiled.