Driver’s License
This section provides information on the driver’s license and related documents required to drive in Japan.
Recently, forged International Driving Permits have become a serious issue.Therefore, if the issuing country of your passport differs from that of your International Driving Permit, we will verify proof of residence in the permit’s issuing country. Please prepare one of the following documents: personal identification (ID card, etc.) / driver’s license / permanent residence card.
We may refuse to rent out a vehicle if we are unable to confirm that you yourself obtained the International Driving Permit from the proper authorities in the country of issuance and that your International Driving Permit is valid.
*Individual Number Card (My Number Card) formed driving license is not accepted.
*You need a driving license to drive 10 or more passenger vehicle if you wish to rent W6 class vehicles.
Customers with International Driving Permit
A passport and a valid international driving permit are required.
The International driving permit must conform to the format specified by the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic.
*The international driving permit is valid for one (1) year from the date of issuance; it can be used to drive in Japan for one (1) year from the date of entry to Japan (checked against the date of entry listed in your passport).
*If you are entering or exiting the immigration through the "automated gates", please ask the staff to get an immigration stamp/landing permission seal when you pass through the gate. If you do not have a stamp/landing permission seal , you will not be able to rent a car as your entry date/re-arrival date cannot be proved.
*If you are registered in Japan's Basic Resident Register or has been registered as an alien, re-entering Japan within a period of 3 months (not in total, but continuously) after leaving Japan, the date of re-entry into Japan will not be considered as the "landing date" (the date use to calculate the driving validity period of the international driver's license) that you will not be able to rent a car as you are not qualified to drive in Japan.
*If you entering Japan by cruise ship, you cannot use a Ship Landing Permit in place of a passport to rent a car.
International Driving Permit
Valid passport
*The international driving permit is valid for one (1) year from the date of issuance; it can be used to drive in Japan for one (1) year from the date of entry to Japan (checked against the date of entry listed in your passport).
*If you are entering or exiting the immigration through the "automated gates", please ask the staff to get an immigration stamp/landing permission seal when you pass through the gate. If you do not have a stamp/landing permission seal , you will not be able to rent a car as your entry date/re-arrival date cannot be proved.
*If you are registered in Japan's Basic Resident Register or has been registered as an alien, re-entering Japan within a period of 3 months (not in total, but continuously) after leaving Japan, the date of re-entry into Japan will not be considered as the "landing date" (the date use to calculate the driving validity period of the international driver's license) that you will not be able to rent a car as you are not qualified to drive in Japan.
*If you entering Japan by cruise ship, you cannot use a Ship Landing Permit in place of a passport to rent a car.
Customers with a driver's license issued in France, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Belgium, and Taiwan
Japan’s traffic rules require you to always have the following documents on hand when driving. Submit these documents to our staff when picking up the vehicle at the station.
*If you are entering or exiting the immigration through the "automated gates", please ask the staff to get an immigration stamp/landing permission seal when you pass through the gate. If you do not have a stamp/landing permission seal , you will not be able to rent a car as your entry date/re-arrival date cannot be proved.
*If you have the prescribed foreign driver's license and have been registered in Japan's Basic Resident Register or has been registered as an alien, re-entering Japan within a period of 3 months (not in total, but continuously) after leaving Japan, the date of re-entry into Japan will not be considered as the "landing date" (the date use to calculate the driving validity period of the foreign driver's license) that you will not be able to rent a car as you are not qualified to drive in Japan.
*If you entering Japan by cruise ship, you cannot use a Ship Landing Permit in place of a passport to rent a car.
*If the address listed on the translation does not exactly match the address on the driver’s license, the translation will not be accepted as valid. Even if the addresses refer to the same location but differ in notation, it will not be accepted.
Valid driver’s license issued by your home country
Valid passport
Official translation
Acquiring Official Translations
Official Japanese translation documents should be acquired from the following institutions.
・Official license issuing agency or embassy/consulate of the country in Japan
・Japan Automobile Federation (JAF)
・Automobile License Assistance and Driving Documentation in Nippon (ALADDIN)
・German Automobile Federation (ADAC) *For German license only
・Taiwan-Japan Relations Association *For Taiwan license only
・ZIPLUS Co., Ltd. *For Taiwan license only