U.S. and Japan Sign Aviation Safety Agreement

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced the signing of a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) and associated implementation procedures for airworthiness (IPA) between the U.S. and Japan that allows for the reciprocal certification of aircraft and aviation products.

The BASA addresses areas such as airworthiness certification, environmental testing and approvals, and technical assistance. It replaces the existing bilateral between the two countries signed in 1977, adding much more detail through the development of an IPA.

The FAA and the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) worked closely for several years to ensure their respective technical expertise and procedures for airworthiness certification meet the high standards each agency sets for aviation safety.

The BASA/IPA is important because the FAA will be able to accept standard aircraft parts and certain aircraft designs from Japanese manufacturers and JCAB will be able to do the same from U.S. manufacturers.

U.S. Embassy Charge d’Affairs ad interim James P. Zumwalt signed the agreement on behalf of the U.S. Government. Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Hirofumi Nakasone signed on behalf of the Japanese Government. Signing the IPA were FAA Acting Assistant Administrator for International Aviation Dorothy Reimold and JCAB Engineering Department Director-General Toru Miyashita.

The agreement may be found here.