What IDP do I actually need for Japan?

The one issued by your home-country auto club. US: AAA or AATA. Canada: CAA. UK: AA or RAC. Singapore: AAS. Malaysia: JPJ. Australia: AAA (one of the state clubs). Get it before you fly — Japan does not let you sort this out at the airport.

I am from China, Vietnam, Taiwan or the UAE — what now?

Your country is not a 1949 Geneva signatory, so no IDP works in Japan. The only legal option is a JAF-translated licence: bring your passport and home licence to a JAF branch in Japan, pay around ¥3,000, get a 1-year translation. Most travellers from these countries use trains or hire a driver instead.

Why do other websites sell "IDPs for Japan"?

Many of them do not actually work. The 1949 convention only requires the destination country to recognise IDPs from authorised issuers in signatory countries — Japan interprets that strictly. Some sellers ship a printed booklet that looks correct but is rejected at the desk. We refuse to be one of them.

What about driving in Japan as a Japanese resident with a foreign licence?

If you live in Japan, you cannot drive on a foreign licence + IDP indefinitely. After three months of residency you must convert your licence to a Japanese one (gaimen kirikae) at the local licence centre. JAF can help with the translation step.

Will my home-country IDP work for Japan + Korea + Thailand?

A AAA, AAS or JAF-issued 1949 IDP works in Japan and Thailand. Korea also accepts 1949 IDPs from the official issuer of your home country. The same booklet covers all three — but it must come from your home auto club, not from us.

Not recognised

Driving in Japan

IDP for Japan: what actually works

Japan only accepts 1949 Geneva IDPs issued by your home-country authority — AAA, JAF, AAS or your national auto club. We do not sell to Japan-bound drivers.

See countries we cover

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Japan

Convention

1949

Drive on the

Left

Speed limits

40 · 60 · 100

city · rural · motorway (km/h)

Blood-alcohol

0.0 g/L

Fine without IDP

$300–3000

Major rental agencies: Toyota Rent a Car · Nippon Rent-A-Car · Times Car Rental · Nissan Rent a Car · Orix

Real-world experience

What actually happens at the rental desk in Japan.

At Toyota Rent a Car, Times Car Rental and Nippon Rent-A-Car desks at Narita, Haneda, Kansai and New Chitose, agents check the IDP issuer name on the cover. If it does not match an approved list (AAA, AAA-affiliated clubs, JAF, AIT/FIA member clubs in your country), the rental is refused and there is no negotiation.

Japanese traffic police check IDPs the same way. Driving without an accepted IDP is treated as driving without a licence: fine of around ¥300,000, possible detention, and a black mark on your visa record. The risk is not theoretical — it is regularly enforced in Hokkaido, Okinawa and Kyoto where rental cars are common.

If your home country is not a 1949 signatory (Switzerland, China, Vietnam, UAE, Taiwan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and a few others), the only legal route is a JAF-translated licence obtained at a JAF branch in Japan. There is no online shortcut for these passports.

About this destination

Japan is a signatory to the 1949 Geneva Convention and accepts the IDP format. The catch: Japanese police and rental agencies only honour an IDP issued by the official auto club of the country whose licence you hold. AAA for the US, CAA for Canada, JAF for Japanese citizens with a foreign licence, AAS for Singapore, and so on.

Privately issued IDPs — including ours, which is issued under UAE jurisdiction — are not on Japan's list of accepted issuers. We will not take your money for a permit you cannot use. Use your home country auto club instead.

Common questions about Japan

No. Japan only accepts 1949 IDPs issued by the official auto club of the country that issued your licence. Our permit is issued under UAE jurisdiction and will be refused at every Japanese rental desk and police stop. We will not sell you one for Japan.

Travelling further?

Nearby destinations

The same Official IDP works across all of these. Explore another country page to check local fines, conventions and rental experience.

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Guidare in Thailandia

Permesso di Guida Internazionale per la Thailandia

See country page