Driving licence in Japan

A sample of a Japanese driving licence.

In Japan, a driving licence (運転免許 Unten menkyo) is required when operating a car, motorcycle or moped on public roads. Driving licences are issued by the prefectural governments' public safety commissions and are overseen on a nationwide basis by the National Police Agency.

Types of licence

Japanese licences are divided by experience level and by vehicle type.

Classes

NameJapaneseDescription
Provisional licence仮運転免許Issued to a new driver undergoing training for their Class 1 licence. Requires the driver to display learner's black-on-white plates on the exterior of the vehicle, and to be accompanied by a supervising experienced Class 1 licence holder while driving. This licence expires unless a learner driver gains a Class 1 licence within six months.
Class 1 licence第一種運転免許The ordinary licence for operating a private car.
Class 2 licence第二種運転免許Required 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 licence (relaxed to two years for members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces).

Categories

The vehicle classes are as follows:

NameJapaneseDescription
Heavy vehicle大型自動車Any vehicle which weighs 11,000 kg or more, has maximum capacity of 6,500 kg or more, or carries 30 or more people.
Medium vehicle中型自動車Any vehicle which weighs 5,000 kg or more, has maximum capacity of 3,000 kg or more, or carries 11 or more people.
Ordinary vehicle普通自動車Any motorised vehicle outside the other classifications.
Heavy special vehicle大型特殊自動車Specialised automotive equipment such as tractors or cranes which are used for particular work and are not classified as small special vehicles.
Small special vehicle小型特殊自動車Specialized automotive equipment with a maximum speed of 15 km/h or less AND no larger than 4.7m × 1.7m × 2.8m.
Heavy motorcycle大型自動二輪車Any motorcycle with engine displacement over 400cc.
Ordinary motorcycle普通自動二輪車Any motorcycle with engine displacement over 50cc.
Moped原動機付自転車Any motorcycle with engine displacement of 50cc or less.

Ordinary, heavy motorcycle and ordinary motorcycle licence classes are either "unrestricted" (i.e., the driver may use a manual transmission or automatic transmission vehicle) or "restricted to automatic".

The vehicle type ratings are as follows:

Type of
Class 1 licence
Vehicle types allowed to driveMinimum
age
Vehicle (自動車)Special vehicle (特殊自動車)Motorcycle (自動二輪車)Moped
(原動機付自転車)
Heavy (大型)Medium (中型)Ordinary (普通)Heavy (大型)Small (小型)Heavy (大型)Ordinary (普通)
Vehicle license
(自動車免許)
Heavy (大型)PermittedPermittedPermitted Permitted  Permitted21 (20)
Medium (中型) PermittedPermitted Permitted  Permitted20 (19)
Ordinary (普通)  Permitted Permitted  Permitted18
Special
vehicle licence
(特殊自動車免許)
Heavy (大型)   PermittedPermitted  Permitted18
Small (小型)    Permitted   16
Motorcycle licence
(自動二輪車免許)
Heavy (大型)    PermittedPermittedPermittedPermitted18
Ordinary (普通)    Permitted PermittedPermitted16
Moped licence (原動機付自転車免許)       Permitted16
Trailer licence (牽引免許)Required to drive any vehicle towing a trailer weighing more than 750 kg gross (other than when towing damaged vehicles).18

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 licence. Most Japanese go to a driving school prior to taking these examinations (though it's 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.[1]

Japan also allows Japan-resident holders of foreign driving licences to convert their foreign licence to a Japanese licence through an abbreviated examination process. This consists of an eyesight test and, depending on the issuing country of the foreign licence, may also require a short written examination and a practical examination. The pass rate for the practical exam is only about 35% for JETs for example, but those who take a lengthy and expensive course reportedly have a 90 to 100% pass rate, even though this exam is much harder.[2] The fee for an English-speaking foreigner to obtain a licence from a Japanese driving school is about ¥400,000 (about $3900).[3]

Driving licence card

Every licensed driver is issued with a driving licence card (運転免許証 Unten Menkyo Shou), which they are required to have available for inspection whenever they exercise the privileges granted by the licence.

Layout of a driving licence card

氏名 ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯◯YY年MM月DD日生
 
住所◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯◯
交付◯◯YY年MM月DD日 ◯◯◯◯◯撮影
◯◯YY年MM月DD日まで有効







免許の
条件等
番号第 123456789000 号
二•小•原◯◯YY年MM月DD日




















◯◯YY年MM月DD日 都道府県
公安委員会
二種◯◯YY年MM月DD日
Japanese driving licence sample with labels

Description

The sections of the sample licence shown are:

No.JapaneseEnglishNotes
1年 月 日生Date of birth
2氏名Last name and first name
3住所Address
4交付Date of issue of the card
5年 月 日まで有効Date 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 during the previous licence period, valid for 5 years)
6免許の条件等ConditionsIn this sample, vehicles weighing up to 8 tonnes. Usual default also includes a limitation to Automatic Transmission (AT); separate driving test on manual transmission vehicle required for this permission.
7見本"Sample"Doesn't exist on a normal licence
8優良SuperiorAnnotation for good drivers (with gold background)
9番号licence number
10二•小•原Date of first issue of motorcycle licencesIncluding motorcycles (二輪車), small special vehicle (小型特殊自動車), or moped licence (原動機付自転車).
11Date of first issue of other licencesOther categories exclude the commercial ones.
12二種Date of first issue of commercial licencesLiterally means driving licence of the second kind
13種類Valid categoriesValid categories are shown in abbreviations in Kanji, invalid only with a hyphen.
14番号NumberIntra-office reference number.
15公安委員会Issuing authorityPublic Safety Commission of a prefecture
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.

◯◯ YY年MM月DD日
Era and YearMonthDay
Meiji (明治) 1868–1912
Taishō (大正) 1912–1926
Shōwa (昭和) 1926–1989
Heisei (平成) 1989–
January (01月)
February (02月)

December (12月)

For example:

Categories of Japanese licence

Abbreviated names of the categories of vehicle this licence includes. For illustrative purposes, this sample licence shows every category. Category names are in the same places on every licence. If a category is not included in a licence, in the place where the category name would appear there is a horizontal bar.

Abbreviation 大型中型普通大特 大自二普自二小特
Full name 大型自動車中型自動車普通自動車大型特種自動車 大型自動二輪車普通自動二輪車小型特種自動車
English Heavy vehicleMedium vehicleOrdinary vehicleHeavy special vehicle Heavy motorcycleOrdinary motorcycleSmall special vehicle
Abbreviation 原付け引大二中二 普二大特二け引二
Full name 原動機付自転車牽引自動車大型自動車第二種中型自動車第二種 普通自動車第二種大型特種自動車第二種牽引自動車第二種
English MopedTractor-Trailer
vehicle
Commercial
heavy vehicle
Commercial
medium vehicle
Commercial
ordinary vehicle
Commercial heavy
special vehicle
Commercial Tractor-
Trailer vehicle

Amendments

Amendments to the licence, such as a change of address, can be recorded on the reverse side of the licence. For amendments that cannot be recorded in this manner, a new licence must be issued.

See also

References

  1. "Driving in Japan - Passing the Japanese Driver's Test". Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  2. "Driving in Japan". U.S. Embassy in Japan. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  3. "Driving in Japan: Passing the Japanese Driver's Test". Gakuranman. March 2012.
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