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Driver’s License
The Following driver's licenses are applicable to drive in Japan.
Ordinary domestics driver's license (for a customer living in Japan)
Driver's license issued by public safety commissions in Japan (This is a regular Japanese domestic driver's license)
International driving permit
The customer should present the holder's passport simultaneously.
Check the permit stamp in the classification column.
The permit should have the stamp(s) in B, C or D categolies according to the type of vehicle.
- B.Passenger car (a maximum of 9 passengers)
- C.Large-sized car (3.5t or more)
- D.Large-sized passenger car.
Summary of the System
There are four types of international driving permits under the following four conventions on road traffic:
- International driving permit issued under the Geneva Convention
- International driving permit issued under the Vienna Convention
- International driving permit issued under the Paris Convention
- International driving permit issued under the Washington Convention
Japanese Government has ratified the Geneva Convention only.
Validity of the License
International driving permit are valid for one (1) year from the date of an issue. <Be sure to confirm the date of issue.> And the validity for driving a car in Japan is one (1) year from the date of entry into Japan. <The validity is confirmed by the immigration stamp in the passport showing the date of entry into Japan.> There is no renewal system. If you would like to obtain an international driving permit again, you need to apply for a new one after returning the previous one.
Countries where international driving permit is valid
Signatories of the Geneva Convention
Signatories of the Geneva Convention (countries where international driving permit is valid) are as follows:
- China is a non-signatory.
| Asia | The Philippines | Africa | Niger | Europe | Albania |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | Rwanda | Luxembourg | |||
| Thailand | Senegal | Monaco | |||
| Bangladesh | Sierra Leone | San Marino | |||
| Malaysia | Togo | Vatican | |||
| Singapore | Tunisia | Kirgiz | |||
| Sri Lanka | Uganda | The Republic of Georgia | |||
| Cambodia | Zimbabwe | Czech Republic | |||
| Laos | Namibia | Slovakia | |||
| South Korea | Europe | Britain | America | The United States | |
| Hong Kong | Greece | Canada | |||
| Macao | Norway | Peru | |||
| The Middle East | Turkey | Denmark | Cuba | ||
| Israel | Sweden | Ecuador | |||
| Syria | The Netherlands | Argentina | |||
| Cyprus | France | Chile | |||
| Jordan | Italy | Paraguay | |||
| Lebanon | Russia | Barbados | |||
| United Arab Emirates | Serb | The Dominican Republic | |||
| Africa | South Africa | Montenegro | Guatemala | ||
| Central Africa | Spain | Haiti | |||
| Egypt | Finland | Trinidad & Tobago | |||
| Ghana | Portugal | Venezuela | |||
| Algeria | Austria | Jamaica | |||
| Morocco | Poland | Oceania | New Zealand | ||
| Botswana | Ireland | Fiji | |||
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Hungary | Australia | |||
| Congo | Romania | Papua New Guinea | |||
| Benin | Iceland | ||||
| Cote d'Ivoire | Bulgaria | ||||
| Lesotho | Malta | ||||
| Madagascar | |||||
| Malawi | |||||
| Mali | |||||
Countries where international driving permit is valid under a bilateral convention
Persons who hold a driver's license issued by Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium or Taiwan and who also possess a Japanese translation of the driver's license issued by an embassy or consulate in Japan or by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) (or by the JAF or East Asia Relations Commission in the case of Taiwan) are permitted to drive in Japan, pursuant to the following restrictions.
Said persons must not have resided in Japan for more than one year consecutively; the driver's license of the issuing country must be valid; said persons must possess a Japanese residence card or a certificate of alien registration; and holders of a certificate of alien registration must have spent at least three consecutive months overseas prior to their current entry into Japan.
Foreign driver's license
Note that the customer should present the Japanese translation of the foreign driver's license and the holder's passport simultaneously.
- The Japanese translation of a driver's license is issued by the Embassy and consulate in Japan or JAF <Japan Automobile Federation> based on the application filed by the applicant.
- Although the validity of the foregoing foreign driver's license does not expire, the validity for driving a car in Japan. <The validity is confirmed by the immigration stamp in the passport showing the date of entry into Japan.>
