Driver's License

You need to have a valid driver’s license and also meet the qualifications to drive in Japan.
The detailed information is as follows. Please read through the information before departure.

Driver's License
*Please be advised that your rental may be rejected if your license does not meet the necessary requirements.

Driver's licenses which permit driving of automobiles in Japan are as follows:

🌟Japanese Driver's License

Driver's licenses issued by public safety commissions in Japan

🌟International Driving Permit

International driving permits(booklet type)issued by a certifying body in one of the signatory countries/territories of the Geneva Convention based on the format of the Geneva Convention.

Must be able to present passport at the same time.

Passport

International driving permit

Expiration date:

• International Driver's License is valid for one year from the date of issue(please be sure to check the date of issue)and valid for driving in Japan for one year from the date of landing in Japan.(Please check the entry/exit stamp in your passport showing the date of landing in Japan).

• When using the "Automated Gate"for entry and exit, please ask a staff member to obtain an entry/exit stamp(landing permission seal)or bring a "specific registrant card"with you when passing through the gate.If you do not have your passport(landing permission seal)or "specific registrant card",you will not be able to rent a car as the date of entry and re-entry cannot be confirmed.

• When going ashore on a cruise ship, please present your passport or "permit to land in Japan for cruise ship tourists" in which the "start of landing period" is described.If you don't have your passport or "permit to land in Japan for cruise ship tourists",you will not be able to rent a car as the date of entry cannot be confirmed.

• However,if a person listed in the Basic Resident Registration re-enter Japan within 3 mouths of his/her departure from Japan,the date of re-entry is not considered as the date of landing(the start date of acquiring driving license in Japan).

International Driver's license that does not allow driving in Japan

② International driver's license issued by countries that have ratified the Geneva Conventions,but in the form based on the Vienna Convention(1968)

*International driver's license in the form based on the Paris Convention(1926),Washington Convention(1943),or Vienna Convention(1968)is not recognized in Japan.

③ International driver's license issued by a competent authority such as a country that has ratified the Geneva Conventions,but the format is very different.

④ International driver's license issued by an organization that is not authorized to issue such licenses

(IAA,IDL,etc.,including those issued via the Internet)

① International driver's license issued by a country that has not ratified the Geneva Convention

🌟Foreign Driver's License and its Japanese Translation

Driver's licenses issued in Switzerland,Germany,France,Taiwan,Belgium,or Monaco,along with a Japanese translation of the license

Must be able to present passport at the same time.

Notes：

• For the Japanese translation of your license to be valid, it must be issued by one of the following organizations:
  ・The issuing authority of the driver's license or the embassy/consulate of that country in Japan
  ・Japan Automobile Federation(JAF)
  ・Taiwan-Japan Relations Association(for Taiwanese licenses only)
  ・Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club(for German licenses only)
  ・Ziplus Co.,Ltd.(for Taiwanese licenses only)
  ・Automobile License Assistance and Driving Documentation in Nippon

• Foreign driver's licenses are valid for driving in Japan for one(1)year from the date of landing in Japan(confirmed by the immigration stamp in the passport showing the date of landing in Japan)or until the expiration date of the foreign license, whichever is earlier.

  However,persons on the basic resident register who leave Japan and subsequently re-enter the country within less than three(3)months, will not have their re-entry date considered as their date of landing(the start date for driving eligibility in Japan).