Nissan has begun testing its new self-driving car on the streets of Yokohama. The Japanese carmaker has been testing a Nissan LEAF prototype that uses its own self-driving technology. During testing, the vehicle traveled on the busy roads of Japan's second largest city, close to the company's offices. Nissan said the vehicle was able to predict the behavior of pedestrians, change lanes, and decide when it was safe to enter an intersection. The prototype has 14 cameras, 10 radars and six sensors, and there was a safety driver in the driver's seat during testing. This vehicle has more of this equipment than previous versions, according to Nissan, and has a number of sensors on the roof. The company wants to release self-driving cars in 2027 and plans to do more tests this year in other busy parts of Yokohama. It said that self-driving vehicles could help to make it easier for older people to get around towns and cities. Japan is getting ready to have self-driving technology on its roads. The government changed its traffic laws last April to make this possible. And according to a Kyodo News survey from the start of 2024, 36 of the country's 47 prefectures are thinking about using self-driving technology on their buses. Many of the country's bus companies have had problems finding drivers and they have had to reduce bus services because of this. Self-driving buses would help with this problem, but people are still worried about the safety of the new technology. A self-driving bus service began in Fukui prefecture in 2023 but this was stopped after one of the buses collided with a bicycle.