Vehicle registration plates of Japan

In Japan, the national government issues vehicle registration plates for motor vehicles through the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Land Transportation Offices nationwide. However, the local municipality rather than the national government registers certain vehicles with small engine displacements. Broadly speaking, passenger automobiles with engine displacements at or smaller than 2000 cc receive 5-series plates, while passenger automobiles with engine displacements larger than 2000 cc or more receive 3-series license plates. The number on the top line begins with a "5" or a "3" to indicate the series. Additional criteria include length, width and height of the vehicle. Official vehicles of the Imperial household are exempt from the requirement to display such plates. Official vehicles of the Self-Defense Forces, foreign diplomats, and the U.S. military are required to display other plates.

Night image of jiko-shiki (literally "self-glowing type", which means illuminated letters) plate, as might be issued in Osaka.

The plates are installed in both the front and rear of the vehicle, with the rear plate permanently attached to the vehicle with a prefecture seal completely covering one of the attaching plate bolts. The plate is only removed when the vehicle has reached the end of service and has been sold for scrap. New vehicles are not delivered to the purchaser until the plates have been attached at the dealership.

Since November 1, 1970, a "jiko-shiki" (字光式) plate has been offered for private vehicles at the owner's request. The green characters on this type of plate are replaced with molded green plastic that can be illuminated from behind the plate. From May 19, 1998, specific numbers can also be requested if the numbers are not already in use. From 2010, these are also available in blue.

Contents

1 Appearance 2 Transportation offices and markings 3 See also 4 External links

Appearance

Class	Engine (cc displacement)	Plate color	Text color	Plate dimensions
Private vehicle	>660	White	Green	Medium or large
Commercial vehicle	>660	Green	White	Medium or large
Lightweight Private (Keicar)	<660	Yellow	Black	Medium
Lightweight Commercial	<660	Black	Yellow	Medium
Microcar	0–49	Sky Blue*	Blue	Extra small
2 wheel	0–49	White*	Blue	Extra small
2 wheel	50–89	Yellow*	Blue	Extra small
2 wheel	90–124	Pink*	Blue	Extra small
2 wheel	125–249	White	Green	Small
2 wheel	≥250	White, green border	Green	Small

* These plates are issued by municipal governments.

Large

44x22 cm (17.3x8.7 inch)

(for over 8 tons vehicle, or capacity of 30 people or more)

Medium

33x16.5 cm (13x6.5 inch)

Small

23x12.5 cm (9x4.9 inch)

Extra small

about 20x10 cm (7.8x3.9 inch)

(differs according to each municipality)

	Private vehicles	Commercial vehicles
Compact or Large vehicles and motorbikes (displacements <250 cm³)
keicar
2-wheeled vehicle =>250 cm³

Please note that, to avoid any claims of invasion of privacy, the artist of these pictures has deliberately selected an invalid combination of characters.

The illustration shows what a plate might look like. The top line contains the name of the issuing office (Tama, shown, is in Tokyo) and a vehicle class code. The bottom line contains a hiragana character and a four-digit serial number divided into two groups of two digits separated by a hyphen. Any leading zeros are replaced by centered dots.

White plates can have the following hiragana:

さすせそたちつてとなにぬねのはひふほまみむめもやゆよらりるろ

and for rental vehicles

れわ

Green plates can have the following hiragana:

あいうえかきくけこを

A license plate in Japan thus follows this format: KK?*H##-## (e.g., 足立500き21-41), where KK is the name of the issuing office in kanji, H is a hiragana, ? is a 5 for vehicles less than 2000 cc and a 3 for vehicles greater than 2000 cc (other numbers are less common—1 for large trucks, 2 for buses, etc.), * is a number from 0 to 99 (pre-1971 license plates will omit this), and # is a number from 0* to 9 (*leading zeros are replaced by centered dots).

Classification number

The license plate is the right of the name "classification number" 1 called - the three-digit number is displayed at the top of the plate. The car uses roughly one-digit number on the classification (either large special cargo special-purpose passenger) and size (small or normal) are seen. If a three digit number you can see whether the desired number plate explained.

Classification Number Categories

• 1,10 - 19,100 - 198: average truck

Use of those goods for ordinary vehicles. For ordinary vehicles, vehicle size or width of 1,700 mm, 4,700 mm in length or height of 2,000 mm meet one or more (as well as numbers below 2.3.) There is a large plate. Ōita: cargo (maximum payload or gross vehicle weight of more than 8t 5t or more) (maximum load 6,500 kg, gross vehicle weight of up to 11,000 kg vehicle ○, otherwise ◎) Intermediate plate: normal cargo (over 2,000 cc engine capacity) (gross vehicle weight of 5,000 kg, 3,000 kg maximum load capacity exceeds vehicle (medium car) are ○, however gross vehicle weight 8,000 kg, 5,000 kg maximum load the vehicle up mid-size car (8t) Limited (usually old) driving license accepted)

• 2.20 - 29,200 - 298: Mini vans normally

Seating capacity is 11 or more in passenger cars of the normal. There is a large plate. Ōita: large buses (gross vehicle weight 8,000 kg Seating capacity over 30 or over) ◎ Intermediate plate: micro (less than 11 Seating capacity 29) ○

• 3,30 - 39,300 - 398: Passenger Cars

The following are riding in the passenger capacity of 10 persons of ordinary vehicles. The 2,000 cc engine capacity above. There are no large plates.

• 4,40 - 49,400 - 479: mini truck

Use one of the small car of the freight. Less than 2,000 cc engine capacity. For a small car, the size of the body width is less than 1,700 mm, 4,700 mm in length than the height of less than 2,000 mm to satisfy all (as well as No. 5 below).

• 5.50 - 59,500 - 579: small passenger car

Among those riding small car. Capacity does not matter. Less than 2,000 cc engine capacity.

• 6,60 - 69,600 - 679: small truck

The previous two-digit classification number three-wheeled cargo. Present "4" as. Because of the current three-digit "4" is not registered to fill, number only hope. Is not paying out so far, the sequence number of the desired numbers, might appear to future ("seven" also.)

• 7,70 - 79,700 - 779: small passenger car

Before riding three-wheeled two-digit classification number. Now "5" as. Because of the current three-digit "5" is not registered to fill, number only hope. Currently 2010 numbers in the sequence number Omiya Osaka, Kobe, popular (and 11-22) have already appeared in the.

• 8,80 - 89,800 - 879: special-purpose vehicle

Stipulated by law, vehicles used to scoop purposes. Both present compact car for ordinary vehicles. There is a large plate. Ōita: maximum load capacity of at least 5t, 8t gross vehicle weight of more than one vehicle meets Seating capacity of 30 or more (must meet licensing conditions of medium or large vehicle license required) Large special license. During board: cars meet the above requirements

• 9,90 - 99,900 - 998: large special vehicles

Stipulated by law, vehicles with special structure. The special license required to drive large. The size of the vehicle width over 1,700 mm, 4,700 mm in length or height meets one of the more than 2,800 mm.

• 0,00 - 09,000 - 098: Construction Equipment

Among large special vehicles, which are provided in the proviso to Article 2 car mortgage. ※ There are no restrictions on diesel emissions. Driving qualifications, ◎ license is large, ○ medium requires a drivers license.

Special use plates

Vehicles owned by personnel with the United States military in Japan under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) have a "Y" on white plates, or an "A" on yellow plates, where the hiragana character is normally displayed. Earlier versions of the SOFA license plate displayed the letters "K", "M", "G", "H" and "E". These letters indicated the car was imported into Japan under SOFA and was left-hand drive. Since the 1980s, servicemembers assigned to Japan have been discouraged from shipping their vehicles from the U.S. into the country. Many opt to purchase second-hand domestic vehicles through used car dealers off-base, and from other servicemembers departing Japan at on-base "lemon lots".

NHK announced in early 2009 that prefectures may now choose their own color scheme and possibly pattern. This is already being done with the motorcycle plates for Matsuyama, Ehime.

Out of country plates

Because the Japanese writing system, particularly the kana, is unique to Japan, standard-issue Japanese license plates are considered unacceptable for international travel. If a motorist wishes to bring their vehicle with them while traveling abroad, the Ministry of Transport will issue to them a plate with the hiragana and kanji scripts replaced with roman letters. The hiragana prefix is replaced by a Kunrei-shiki romanization of that character. The kanji prefecture/office code is replaced by a two- or three-letter abbreviation, the first two letters representing the prefecture, the third (if present) representing the office within the prefecture. All the numerical portions of the plate remain the same.

Using the example given above, the plate (足立500き21-41) would then read TKA 500 KI 21-41 (TKA for Tokyo Adachi).

Transportation offices and markings

In 2006, several new location names, known as Gotōchi (ご当地, local place) numbers, were approved by the MLIT for places that wanted to increase their recognition for purposes such as tourism. Criteria included the need for 100,000 vehicles in the area and the avoidance of an imbalance in the prefecture. The new locations began appearing in 2006 on plates for vehicles registered in certain specific cities, towns and villages in or near the places marked below in green.

Issuing office		Marking			Former markings
Prefecture	Municipality	Jpn	Transliteration	Intl
Aichi	Komaki	一宮	Ichinomiya	ACI
		尾張小牧	Owari-Komaki	ACO
	Nagoya	名古屋	Nagoya	ACN	愛 (AC)
	Toyohashi	豊橋	Toyohashi	ACT
	Toyota	旭川	Mikawa	ACM
		岡崎	Okazaki	ACZ
		豊田	Toyota	ACY
Akita	Akita	秋田	Akita	ATA	秋 (AT)
Aomori	Aomori	青森	Aomori	AMA	青 (AM)
	Hachinohe	八戸	Hachinohe	AMH
Chiba	Chiba	千葉	Chiba	CBC	千 (CB)
		成田	Narita	CBT
	Funabashi	習志野	Narashino	CBN
	Noda	柏	Kashiwa	CBK
		野田	Noda	CBD
	Sodegaura	袖ヶ浦	Sodegaura	CBS
Ehime	Matsuyama	愛媛	Ehime	EH
Fukui	Fukui	福井	Fukui	FI
Fukuoka	Fukuoka	福岡	Fukuoka	FOF	福岡 (FO)
	Iizuka	筑豊	Chikuhō	FOC
	Kitakyushu	北九州	Kitakyūshū	FOK
	Kurume	久留米	Kurume	FOR
Fukushima	Fukushima	会津	Aizu	FSA
		福島	Fukushima	FS
	Iwaki	いわき	Iwaki	FSI
Gifu	Gifu	岐阜	Gifu	GFG	岐 (GF)
	Takayama	飛騨	Hida	GFH
Gunma	Maebashi	群馬	Gunma	GMG	群 (GM)
		高崎	Takasaki	GMT
Hiroshima	Fukuyama	福山	Fukuyama	HSF
	Hiroshima	広島	Hiroshima	HSH	広 (HS)
Hokkaidō	Asahikawa	旭川	Asahikawa	AKA	旭 (AK)
	Hakodate	函館	Hakodate	HDH	函 (HD)
	Kitami	北見	Kitami	KIK	北 (KI)
	Kushiro	釧路	Kushiro	KRK	釧 (KR)
	Muroran	室蘭	Muroran	MRM	室 (MR)
	Obihiro	帯広	Obihiro	OHO	帯 (OH)
	Sapporo	札幌	Sapporo	SPS	札 (SP)
Hyōgo	Himeji	姫路	Himeji	HGH
	Kobe	神戸	Kōbe	HGK	兵 (HG)
Ibaraki	Mito	水戸	Mito	IGM	茨城 (IGI), 茨 (IG)
	Tsuchiura	土浦	Tsuchiura	IGT
		つくば	Tsukuba	IGK
Ishikawa	Kanazawa	石川	Ishikawa	IKI	石 (IK)
		金沢	Kanazawa	IKK
Iwate	Yahaba	岩手	Iwate	ITI	岩 (IT)
Kagawa	Takamatsu	香川	Kagawa	KAK	香 (KA)
Kagoshima	Amami	鹿児島	Kagoshima	KOK	鹿 (KO)
	Kagoshima
Kanagawa	Aikawa	相模	Sagami	KNS
	Hiratsuka	湘南	Shōnan	KNN
	Kawasaki	川崎	Kawasaki	KNK
	Yokohama	横浜	Yokohama	KNY	神 (KN)
Kōchi	Kōchi	高知	Kōchi	KCK	高 (KC)
Kumamoto	Kumamoto	熊本	Kumamoto	KUK	熊 (KU)
Kyoto	Kyoto	京都	Kyōto	KTK	京 (KT)
Mie	Tsu	三重	Mie	MEM	三 (ME)
		鈴鹿	Suzuka	MES
Miyagi	Sendai	宮城	Miyagi	MGM	宮 (MG)
		仙台	Sendai	MGS
Miyazaki	Miyazaki	宮崎	Miyazaki	MZ
Nagano	Matsumoto	松本	Matsumoto	NNM
		諏訪	Suwa	NNS
	Nagano	長野	Nagano	NNN	長 (NN)
Nagasaki	Nagasaki	長崎	Nagasaki	NS
	Tsushima
	Sasebo	佐世保	Sasebo	NSS
Nara	Yamatokōriyama	奈良	Nara	NRN	奈 (NR)
Niigata	Nagaoka	長岡	Nagaoka	NGO
	Niigata	新潟	Niigata	NGN	新 (NG)
Ōita	Ōita	大分	Ōita	OT
Okayama	Okayama	倉敷	Kurashiki	OYK
		岡山	Okayama	OYO	岡 (OY)
Okinawa	Ishigaki	沖縄	Okinawa	ONO	沖 (ON)
	Miyakojima
	Urasoe
Osaka	Izumi	和泉	Izumi	OSZ	泉 (OSI)
		堺	Sakai	OSS
	Neyagawa	大阪	Ōsaka	OSO	大 (OS)
	Osaka	なにわ	Naniwa	OSN
Saga	Saga	佐賀	Saga	SAS	佐 (SA)
Saitama	Kasukabe	春日部	Kasukabe	STB
	Kumagaya	熊谷	Kumagaya	STK
	Saitama	大宮	Ōmiya	STO	埼玉 (STS), 埼 (ST)
	Tokorozawa	所沢	Tokorozawa	STT
		川越	Kawagoe	STG
Shiga	Moriyama	滋賀	Shiga	SIS	滋 (SI)
Shimane	Shimane	島根	Shimane	SN	嶋 (SM)
Shizuoka	Hamamatsu	浜松	Hamamatsu	SZH
	Numazu	沼津	Numazu	SZN
		伊豆	Izu	SZI
		富士山	Fujisan	SZF
	Shizuoka	静岡	Shizuoka	SZS	静 (SZ)
Tochigi	Sano	とちぎ	Tochigi	TCK
	Utsunomiya	宇都宮	Utsunomiya	TGU	栃木 (TGT), 栃 (TG)
		那須	Nasu	TGN
Tokushima	Tokushima	徳島	Tokushima	TST	徳 (TS)
Tokyo	Adachi	足立	Adachi	TKA	足 (TOA)
	Hachiōji	八王子	Hachiōji	TKH
	Kunitachi	多摩	Tama	TKT	多 (TOT)
	Nerima	練馬	Nerima	TKN	練 (TON)
	Shinagawa	品川	Shinagawa	TKS	品 (TOS)
Tottori	Tottori	鳥取	Tottori	TTT	鳥 (TT)
Toyama	Toyama	富山	Toyama	TYT	富 (TY)
Wakayama	Wakayama	和歌山	Wakayama	WKW	和 (WK)
Yamagata	Mikawa	庄内	Shōnai	YAS
	Yamagata	山形	Yamagata	YA
Yamaguchi	Yamaguchi	山口	Yamaguchi	YUY	山 (YU)
		下関	Shimonoseki	YUS
Yamanashi	Fuefuki	山梨	Yamanashi	YN
		富士山	Fujisan	YNF

See also

• Keicar
• Motor-vehicle inspection (Japan)

References

• "Motor Vehicle Registration System of Japan". 2004-03-27. http://www.tigerdude.com/japan/license/. Retrieved 2007-01-24. 
• "Internet Wayback Machine Archive of "How to Purchase and Register a Vehicle" from the USS Fitzgerald website". 2008-07-15. http://web.archive.org/web/20080715070606/http://www.fitzgerald.navy.mil/site%20pages/howtobuy.aspx. Retrieved 2012-01-14. 

External links

• Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (English page)