In Japan, a is required when operating a car, motorcycle or moped on public roads. Driving licenses are issued by the prefectural governments' public safety commissions and are overseen on a nationwide basis by the National Police Agency.
Types of license Japanese licenses are divided by experience level and by vehicle type.
Classes NameJapaneseDescriptionProvisional licenseIssued to a new driver undergoing training for their Class 1 or Class 2 license. Requires the driver to display learner's black-on-white plates on the exterior of the vehicle, and to be accompanied by a Class 2 holder or 3-year experienced Class 1 license holder supervising while driving. This license expires unless a learner driver gains a Class 1 or Class 2 license within six months.Class 1 licenseLicense for operating a vehicle.Class 2 licensesRequired when operating a commercial passenger-carrying vehicle such as a taxi or bus. Driver must be 21 years of age or older and have at least three years of experience driving under a Class 1 ordinary vehicle/heavy special vehicle license (relaxed to two years for members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. One year and 19 years old by certain lesson in driving school).
Categories The vehicle classes are as follows: NameJapaneseDescriptionLarge vehicleAny vehicle which weighs 11,000 kg or more in total, has maximum capacity of 6,500 kg or more, or carries 30 or more people, and is not classified as special vehicle, motorcycle or moped.Medium vehicleAny vehicle which weighs between 7,500 kg and 11,000 kg in total, has a maximum capacity between 4,500 kg and 7,500 kg, or carries 11 to 29 people, and is not classified as heavy vehicle, special vehicle, motorcycle or moped.Semi-Medium vehicleAny vehicle which weighs between 3,500 kg and 7,500 kg in total, has a maximum capacity between 2,000 kg and 4,500 kg, and is not classified as heavy vehicle, medium vehicle, special vehicle, motorcycle or moped.Ordinary vehicleAny motorised vehicle which is not classified as heavy vehicle, medium vehicle, semi-medium vehicle, special vehicle, motorcycle or moped.Large special vehicleSpecialised automotive equipment such as tractors or cranes which are used for particular work and are not classified as small special vehicles.Small special vehicleSpecialized automotive equipment with a maximum speed of 15 km/h or less and no larger than 4.7m × 1.7m × 2.8m.Large motorcycleAny motorcycle including a sidecar with a power exceeding 20 Kw (400cc for engine displacement), and is not classified as special vehicle.Ordinary motorcycleAny motorcycle including a sidecar, and is not classified as special vehicle, heavy motorcycle or moped.MopedAny motorcycle with a power 0.6Kw or less (50cc or less for engine displacement), or motorized quadricycle which is not larger than 2.5m x 1.3m x 2.0m with a power 0.25Kw or less(20cc or less for engine displacement).
Starting 1st July, 2023, moped with no larger than 1.9m length and 0.6m width, 0.25Kw or less electric motor, no exceeding 20km/h, cannot be changed maximum speed while driving, no clutch operation, has maximum speed indication signal, won't be needed to drive by license holder. (Registration requirement for any moped is continued.)
The "restricted to automatic" license () can be issued for Medium Vehicle, ordinary vehicle (both including Class 2 license), Semi-Medium vehicle, ordinary motorcycle and heavy motorcycle license classes. The "restricted to small motorcycle" license ( 1.0Kw/125cc or less) can be issued for ordinary motorcycle license class, and can be issued along with the "restricted to automatic" license.
The restricted to automatic license will be able to be issued for Large Vehicle license starting 1st April, 2027, and for Class 2 Large Vehicle license starting 1st October 2027.
Vehicle Type Ratings The vehicle type ratings are as follows: Type ofClass 1 licenseVehicle types allowed to driveMinimumageVehicle ()Special vehicle ()Motorcycle ()Moped()Heavy ()Medium ()Semi-Med ()Ordinary ()Large ()Small ()Large ()Ordinary ()Vehicle license()Large ()21*Medium ()20*Semi-Med ()18Ordinary ()18Specialvehicle license()Large ()18Small ()16Motorcycle license()Large ()18Ordinary ()16Moped license ()16Trailer license ()Required to drive any heavy vehicle, medium vehicle, semi-medium vehicle, ordinary vehicle or heavy special vehicle, towing a trailer weighing more than 750 kg gross (other than when towing damaged vehicles).18 The minimum requirement for heavy or medium vehicle license can be relaxed to 19 years old and one year experience under ordinary vehicle/heavy special vehicle license by certain lesson in driving school.
Required training There are two options for learners. Firstly, learners can attend a designated driving school. Graduates from a designated driving school do not need to sit the practical examination but they do need to sit the written examination. Secondly, learners can attend non-designated driving school or obtain practice through other means, in which case they must sit both the practical and written examinations. The Japanese driving examination consists of a written examination and a practical examination for each level of license. Most Japanese go to a driving school prior to taking these examinations (though it is not required), and upon completing the course at a non-designated driving school must register for the examinations in the prefecture where they are registered as a resident. The practical examination consists of driving a vehicle through a purpose-designed driving course while obeying relevant rules of the road.
Japan also allows Japan-resident holders of foreign driving licenses to convert their foreign license to a Japanese license through an abbreviated examination process. This consists of an eyesight test and, depending on the issuing country of the foreign license, may also require a short written examination and a practical examination.
Countries exempt from the exam include, as of 2022: Iceland, Ireland, parts of the United States (limited to only the states of Ohio, Virginia, Hawaii, Maryland and Washington), United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Austria, Netherlands, Canada, South Korea, Greece, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Hungary, Finland, France, Belgium, Poland, Portugal, Monaco, Luxembourg, and Taiwan.
In 2003, the first-time pass rate for Americans was slightly higher than the 35 percent pass rate for Japanese returnees, but not much. On the other hand, for those who took the regular test, they had to go through an intensive (and expensive) driver education program. The first time pass rate for this group, even with the harder test, was 90 to 100 percent. As of 2022, the fee for an English-speaking foreigner to obtain a license from a Japanese driving school is about ¥500,000 (or about US$).
Driving license card Every licensed driver is issued with a , which they are required to have available for inspection whenever they exercise the privileges granted by the license.
Layout of a driving license card 氏名 ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ 元号YY年MM月DD日生 住所◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯ ◯–◯–◯交付元号YY年MM月DD日 ◯◯◯◯◯証明写真YYYY 年(元号 YY 年) MM 月 DD 日まで有効運転免許証免許の条件等番号第 ◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯ 号二・小・原元号YY年MM月DD日+種類大型中型準中型普通大特大自二普自二小特原付大二中二普二大特二引・引二他元号YY年MM月DD日都道府県名公安委員会二種元号YY年MM月DD日
Description The sections of the sample license shown are: No.JapaneseEnglishNotes1Date of birth2Last name and first name3Address4Date of issue of the card5Date of expiry of the cardBackground colour: green for new drivers (valid for 3 years), blue for normal drivers (valid for 3 years), gold for good drivers (no violations or accidents for 5 years, valid for 5 years)
In this example, the driver is issued as a new driver.6ConditionsIn this sample, vehicles weighing up to 8 tonnes. Usual default also includes a limitation to Automatic Transmission (AT); a separate driving test on the manual transmission vehicle is required for this permission.7"Sample"Does not exist on a normal license8SuperiorAnnotation for good drivers (with gold background)9License number10Date of first issue of motorcycle licensesIncluding motorcycles (), small special vehicle (), or moped license ().11Date of first issue of other licensesOther categories exclude the commercial ones.12Date of first issue of commercial licensesLiterally means driving license of the second kind13Valid categoriesValid categories are shown in abbreviations in Kanji, invalid only with a hyphen.14NumberIntra-office reference number. 15Issuing authorityPublic Safety Commission of the issuing prefecture. In the example, the license is issued by Tokyo Metropolitan Public Safety Commission ().16 SealOfficial seal of the prefectural public safety commission.17 Photo
Date format The dates are written in year-month-day order. The years follow the Japanese era calendar scheme. The months and days follow the Gregorian calendar, as in most Western countries. YYYY年元号YY年MM月DD日YearJapanese era namePeriodMonthDayYYYY年1868–1912 — — 1912–19261926–19891989–20192019–present
In the example pictured above: The driver's date of birth (昭和50年5月27日) is the 27th day (27日) of the 5th month (5月) of the 50th year (50年) of the Shōwa era (昭和), or 27 May 1975. The expiry date (平成33年3月20日) is the 20th day (20日) of the 3rd month (3月) of the 24th year (33年) of the Heisei era (平成), or 20 March 2021.On the license, 2021, the year of expiry is labelled as Heisei 33, which is Reiwa 3 (令和3年) in reality. This is because the license issued before the 2019 Japanese imperial transition.
Categories of license Abbreviated names of the categories of vehicle this license includes. For illustrative purposes, this sample license shows every category. Category names are in the same places on every license. If a category is not included in a license, in the place where the category name would appear there is a horizontal bar. AbbreviationFull nameEnglishLarge vehicleMedium vehicleSemi-Medium vehicleOrdinary vehicleLarge special vehicleUnrestricted motorcycleOrdinary motorcycleAbbreviationFull nameEnglishSmall special vehicleMopedCommercialLarge vehicleCommercialmedium vehicleCommercialordinary vehicleCommercial largespecial vehicleTractor-TrailervehicleCommercial Tractor-Trailer vehicle
If the license is licensed with a Tractor-Trailer and a Commercial Tractor-Trailer both, the label will label instead.
Amendments Amendments to the license, such as a change of address, can be recorded on the reverse side of the license. For amendments that cannot be recorded in this manner, a new license must be issued.
Use in other countries The United Kingdom has an exchange agreement with Japan (and with 16 other countries/regions), which allows the holder of a Japanese license who is deemed to be resident in the UK to exchange it for a British license. To do this, the holder must send the license, a translation thereof, an application form and a fee to the DVLA (for Great Britain) or DVA (for Northern Ireland). Exchange a foreign driving licence. Retrieved 29 October 2020
Taiwan does not recognise a Japanese International Driving Permit. As an alternative, Taiwan has an exchange agreement with Japan, which allows holders of a Japanese license to drive in Taiwan. For holders of a Japanese license who stay in Taiwan less than one year, they can drive in Taiwan with a Japanese license and its Chinese language translation issued by Japan Automobile Federation (JAF). Holders who stay longer than one year need to obtain a Taiwanese driving license with a Japanese license and other documents, but driving tests can be skipped.
See also Driver's license
Notes
References
External links MetropolitanPoliceDepartment(Japanese)