This page was translated from the Japanese version with the help of AI. If anything differs, the Japanese version takes precedence. View the Japanese version
Recent rule changes
Rule changes that affect the content of this site, newest effective date first.
Effective:
30 km/h default limit on residential roads
On general roads with no centre line or marked lanes and no median separating opposing traffic, the default speed limit (where no limit is posted) changed from 60 km/h to 30 km/h.
National Police Agency: Lower default speed limit on residential roads (Japanese)
Effective:
"Blue tickets" for bicycle offences
People aged 16 and over who commit certain traffic offences on a bicycle now receive a "blue ticket" (traffic infraction notice) and pay a fixed penalty. Examples: holding a phone to talk or look at the screen ¥12,000; running a red light ¥6,000.
Effective:
Foreign licence conversion tightened
Applicants must, in principle, submit a residence certificate (juminhyo) issued within the last 6 months, so short-term visitors such as tourists can no longer convert a licence. The knowledge test grew from 10 to 50 questions with a 90% pass mark, and the skills test became stricter.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police: Rule changes effective 1 October 2025 (Japanese)
Site update history
- Added the About & editorial policy page, privacy policy, contact form and this page (Updates & rule changes). Each page now shows its sources and the date they were checked.
- Corrected the licence conversion guide. It now reflects the review that took effect on 1 October 2025. Lithuania was removed from the list of exempt countries (it is not exempt). We now state that only 7 US states are exempt, and that Indiana is exempt from the skills test only.
- Corrected the essential rules. We added the 30 km/h default limit on residential roads (from 1 September 2026) and blue tickets for bicycles (from 1 April 2026), and rewrote the drink-driving limit and the rules on phones while driving to match the law.
- Replaced links to National Police Agency, Tokyo Metropolitan Police and other pages that could no longer be found.
- Fixed display and search-engine settings for all 38 language versions. Stopped showing advertising.