Driver's License and Vehicle Registration

License

To drive in Japan, you must have a Japanese driver's license or an international driver's license. If you have a driver's license in your home country issued more than 3 months before you arrived in Japan, you can transfer it to a Japanese license without taking the driving test. An international drivers's license is valid for only on year; when it expires, you must apply for a Japanese license.

Offices (Monday-Friday, 8:30-11:30 and 1:00-4:30)

Fuchu (3-1-1 Tamachi, Fuchu-shi) 0423-62-3591
Koto (1-7-24 Shinsuna, Koto-ku) 03-3699-1151
Samezu (1-12-5 Higashioi, Shinagawa-ku) 03-3474-1374

Requirements for transfer to a Japanese license:

  • Valid driver's license from home country
  • Valid Passport
  • Alien Registration Certificate
  • 1 photo 2.4 x 3cm
  • 3,200 yen

    Vehicle Registration

    The registration of a motorbike (125cc or less) is processed at the Tax Administration Section of your ward office. For motorcycles over 125cc and all other motorized vehicles contact: Tokyo Branch Office of the Land Transport Bureau (Rikuun Shikyoku) Tel: 03-3458-9235. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says,
    Procedures for the purchase of a car are very complicated and foreign residents are advised to entrust them to car dealers.


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