Driver's License Requirements
Driver's licenses which permit driving of automobiles in Japan are as follows.
Japanese Driver's License *Please bring all originals
Driver's license of each domestic Public Safety Commission publication.
* Please bring your residence card
* If you haven't had a Japanese driver's license for three years, please bring your foreign-issued driver's license as well. (Over 3 years of driving career in total)
Foreign driver's licenses *Please bring all originals
Foreign driver's license of a target country and the local (five countries and Taiwan of the Swiss Confederation, the Federal Republic of Germany, the French Republic, the Kingdom of Belgium, the Principality of Monaco) publication
* The simultaneous presentation of a Japanese translated sentence and the passport is necessary.
(Please show the driver's license of the own country by all means in addition.)
* The Japanese translated need to be published based on application on person by embassy, consulate of each country in Japan or JAF
https://english.jaf.or.jp/driving-in-japan
* Taiwan need translated sentence by JAF or East Asia-related association of Formosa.
* Germany need translated sentence by JAF or German Automobile Federation (ADAC).
* Terms of validity of driving in Japan is within the period of foreign driver's license and a year date from land to Japan( confirmation by a seal of landing date to Japan of passport)
International driving permit *Please bring all originals
In Geneva Convention (1949) contracting parties, it is an international driver's license of the publication (except Japan)
* Don't forget to bring your "passport showing the date of entry" (stamp required) + "international driver's license" + "home country driver's license".
* Please bring originals, not images or copies.
* [United States] Passport cards are not valid in Japan.
[Hong Kong] Please bring the above documents together with your Hong Kong ID card (original).
* If you are entering or exiting the country through the automated gates, please ask the staff to get an immigration stamp when you pass through the gate.
If you do not have a stamp, you will not be able to rent a car because the return date/re-arrival date has been confirmed.
* The driving in the international driver's license acquired at Paris Convention (1926), Washington Convention (1943), Vienna Convention (1968) member nation is not accepted in Japan.
* The only international driver's license valid in Japan is the paper type issued by a country that is a signatory to the 1949 Geneva Convention.
(Please be aware that there are many counterfeit cards with different card types and formats. These cannot be used in Japan.)
* expiration of international driver's license is within a year from publication(confirmation necessary ) and expiration of driver's license of Japan is within a year date from landing to Japan (confirmation by a seal of landing date to Japan of passport)
* But date of re-entry can't be the date of landing(expiration reckon in Japan) when one recorded by Japanese Basic Resident Register enters again within a period less than three month.
* The effectiveness to let you drive in Japan is effective (you must confirm an issue date) for one year from an issue date. It is confirmed by an entry stamp, and indicates an entry date to Japan (from a year in passport)
However, the person who leave Japan within under three months; re-input country Basic Resident Register afterwards operate qualification in Japan (it is not necessary considered to be the starting date).
If all of the contractor's documents are not in order, the rental car cannot be rented.
When there is documents deficiency, we cannot loan by any reason.
In that case, please be careful enough because there is the case that a cancellation rate according to agreement produces.
States Parties to the Geneva Convention |
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| Iceland | Côte d'Ivoire | Trinidad and Tobago | Belgium |
| Ireland | Congo | Türkiye | Botswana |
| United State | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Nigeria | Poland |
| United Arab Emirates | San Marino | Namibia | Portugal |
| Algeria | Sierra Leone | Niger | Portugal |
| Argentina | Jamaica | Japan | Malawi |
| Albania | Georgia | New zealand | Mali |
| Israel | Syria | Norway | Malta |
| Italy | Singapore | Haiti | Malaysia |
| India | Zimbabwe | Vatican | South Africa |
| Uganda (Note 2) | Sweden | Papua New Guinea | Monaco |
| United Kingdom | Spain | Paraguay | Morocco |
| Ecuador | Sri Lanka | Barbados | Montenegro |
| Egypt | Slovakia | Bahrain | Jordan |
| Estonia | Slovenia | Hungary | Laos |
| Australia | Senegal | Bangladesh | Lithuania |
| Austria | Serbia | Fiji | Liechtenstein |
| Netherlands | Thailand | Philippines | Luxembourg |
| Ghana | Korea | Finland | Romania |
| Canada | Czech | France | Rwanda (Note 3) |
| Cambodia | Central African Republic | Bulgaria | Lesotho |
| Cyprus | Tunisia | Burkina Faso | Lebanon |
| Greece | Denmark | Benin | |
| Guatemala | Togo | Venezuela | |
| Croatia | Dominican republic | Peru | |
| Special administrative districts, etc. | |||
| Guernsey | Jersey | Macau | |
| Gibraltar | Hong Kong | Isle of Man | |
(Note 1) Please note that there are other countries and regions to which the Geneva Convention applies in addition to those listed above.
(Note 2) As a result of an investigation by the National Police Agency, the country in question responded that it is only a party to the Vienna Convention (not the Geneva Convention), but it is a country that is listed on the United Nations' list of member states of the Geneva Convention.
(Note 3) As a result of a survey by the National Police Agency, the country in question responded that it is not a party to either the Vienna Convention or the Geneva Convention, but it is a country that is listed on the UN's list of member states to the Geneva Convention.
Countries that are signatories to the Geneva Convention |
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| Albania | Serbia | Botswana | Russian Federation |
| Ghana | Bangladesh | Monaco | |
| Cuba | France | Montenegro | |
| Côte d'Ivoire | Bulgaria | Liechtenstein | |
| Zimbabwe | Belgium | Rwanda | |
(Note 1) As Geneva-style international driver's licenses are not issued in these countries, it is not possible to drive in Japan using an international driver's license from the country in question (as of April 2025).
(Note 2) Of the countries that are signatories to the Geneva Convention, those from France, Belgium, and Monaco can drive in Japan by attaching a Japanese translation to their driver's license.
| Among the countries listed in the United Nations Geneva Conventions list, those that are currently under investigation or have not yet responded regarding the issuance of Geneva-style international driver's licenses |
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| United Arab Emirates | Jamaica | Haiti | Madagascar | Lebanon |
| Algeria | Syria | Papua New Guinea | Malawi | |
| Congo | Central Africa | Barbados | Malta | |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Nigeria | Bahrain | Morocco | |
| San Marino | Niger | Venezuela | Lesotho | |
* (Note 2) Of the above table, France, Belgium and Monaco can be driven in Japan by attaching a Japanese translation to the driver's license of the country concerned.
SOFA License *Please bring all originals
SOFA Driving License for US Forces Japan and US military ID
