Definitions and other legal rules

323 questions

• Under the Road Traffic Act, vehicle categories include large, medium, and ordinary vehicles, but there is no category called "semi-medium vehicle" (junchugata).
• The categories of large motorcycle and ordinary motorcycle also include machines fitted with a sidecar.
• Where a road or part of a road is closed to pedestrians by a road sign, pedestrians must not walk there.
• A road closed to traffic by a road sign can never be used by a vehicle under any circumstances.
• If you have received a permit to use a road closed to traffic, you may leave the permit at home and do not need to carry it while driving.
• Certain kinds of processions, such as columns of students or funeral processions, must keep to the right edge of the roadway on roads that have a separate sidewalk and roadway.
• Processions that are not required to use the roadway may still walk on it where a sidewalk and roadway are separated, and in that case they must keep to the right edge of the roadway.
• Even when it is necessary for traffic safety, a police officer cannot order the leader of a procession to move to the left edge of the roadway.
• Even when the traffic light shows green, if a police officer's hand signal gives a different instruction, you must obey the police officer's hand signal.
• Only police officers may direct traffic with hand signals; traffic patrol officers (kotsu-junshiin) may not direct traffic at all.
• When a road is likely to become severely congested, a police officer may, to the extent necessary to ease the congestion, order drivers on the spot to back their vehicles up.
• The police measures for easing severe congestion (prohibiting or restricting traffic) also apply on national expressways and motor-vehicle-only roads.
• If road damage, a fire, or a similar situation is likely to create traffic danger, a police officer may temporarily prohibit or restrict pedestrians and vehicles from using that road, to the extent necessary.
• The meaning of the hand signals given by police officers and traffic patrol officers is decided separately by each prefectural public safety commission.
• A person remotely operating a remote-controlled small vehicle (delivery robot) traveling on a road must operate the remote-control device securely and reliably.
• A person remotely operating a remote-controlled small vehicle (delivery robot) only has to make an effort to move it at a speed and in a manner that does not endanger others; there is no legal obligation to do so.
• A person who operates a mobility-support small vehicle or a remote-controlled small vehicle (delivery robot) on a road must display the officially prescribed marker in a clearly visible place on the vehicle.
• When a car is towing another vehicle, the towed vehicle is treated as part of the towing car.
• On a road that has a bicycle track (a lane for bicycles physically separated from the rest of the road), the bicycle track and the remaining part of the roadway are treated together as one single roadway.
• "Slowing down (jokō)" means proceeding at a speed at which the vehicle can be stopped immediately.
• Stopping to load or unload cargo is not counted as "parking" as long as it does not exceed 10 minutes.
• "Stopping (teisha)" means any halt of a vehicle that does not qualify as parking.
• A "motor vehicle" is a vehicle driven by an engine, not running on rails or overhead wires, excluding mopeds, light vehicles and similar small carts.
• Under the Road Traffic Act, a "vehicle" includes streetcars (trams).
• "Overtaking" means catching up with a vehicle ahead, changing your course to pass alongside it, and moving out in front of it.
• "Obstructing traffic" means continuing or starting to move when doing so would force another vehicle to suddenly change its speed or direction to avoid danger.
• A "sidewalk" is the pedestrian part of the road marked off only by lines painted on the road surface.
• A "roadside strip" is a band along the edge of a road that has no sidewalk, marked off by road markings.
• Only crossroads count as an "intersection"; T-junctions are not included.
• A person pushing a motorcycle with a sidecar is also treated as a pedestrian.
• A "cycle track" is a part for bicycles marked off as a portion of the sidewalk.
• A "safety zone" includes island-shaped structures built in the road for people boarding or leaving streetcars.
• The "main carriageway" is the roadway formed by the main lanes of a national expressway or a motor-vehicle-only road.
• On a road with marked lanes, a vehicle must as a rule drive in the first lane counting from the left edge of the road.
• Where there are three or more lanes on the left side of the road, a car may use the rightmost lane depending on its speed.
• When road signs or markings designate a lane division different from the normal rule, a vehicle must follow the designated division.
• When overtaking, you must move into the lane immediately to the left of the lane you are currently in.
• On a road without marked lanes, light vehicles (such as bicycles) must keep to the far left edge of the road.
• On a road without marked lanes, cars must keep to the far left EDGE of the road.
• The keep-left rule has no exceptions, so a vehicle must stay to the left even when overtaking.
• When passing beside a pedestrian, for example on a road with no separate sidewalk, you must either leave a safe gap or slow down to a crawl.
• When passing on the right of a specified small motorized bicycle (electric kick scooter) or a light vehicle (such as a bicycle) travelling in the same direction — other than when overtaking it — you must, if there is not enough space between you, proceed at a speed that is safe for that gap.
• Except when crossing the tramway strip (the part of the road where the streetcar tracks are laid) to turn right or left, cross the road, or make a U-turn, or when it is unavoidable in order to prevent danger, a vehicle must not drive within the tramway strip.
• When a vehicle is allowed to drive in the tramway strip (for example because the road space outside it is too narrow), that vehicle has priority over the streetcar.
• A vehicle driving inside the tramway strip must promptly move out of the strip, or keep a sufficient distance from the streetcar, when a streetcar approaches from behind.
• When you are driving in a lane marked as a priority lane for route buses and a route bus approaches from behind, you must move out of that lane promptly so you do not interfere with the bus's normal operation.
• You may drive in a route-bus priority lane even when traffic is so congested that you know you would be unable to leave the lane if a bus approached from behind.
• The rule about route-bus priority lanes has no exceptions, so you must always leave the lane even when road conditions make it unavoidable to stay.
• The rule that you must drive in the first (leftmost) lane on a road with marked lanes does not apply to a vehicle driving in the lane or road section immediately to the right of a route-bus priority lane.
• When driving, you must not brake suddenly except when it is unavoidable in order to prevent danger.
• Sudden braking is forbidden even when someone runs out in front of you and hard braking is the only way to avoid danger.
• When turning left to leave the road (for example, to enter a parking lot or shop), you must move as close as possible to the left edge of the road beforehand and slow down.
• When turning right to leave the road, if the road is one-way you must move over to the left edge of the road beforehand.
• When a vehicle signals that it is changing lanes in order to leave the road, the vehicle behind it must not obstruct that lane change — unless yielding would force the following vehicle to change its speed or direction suddenly.
• When a bus that has stopped at a bus stop to let passengers on or off signals with a hand signal or turn indicator that it is pulling out, a vehicle behind it must not obstruct the bus from changing lanes, except where doing so would force the following vehicle to change its speed or direction suddenly.
• When a bus signals to pull out from a bus stop, a following vehicle must always give way to the bus, even if doing so would force the driver to change speed or direction suddenly.
• When a vehicle with a higher legal top speed catches up to you, you must not speed up until that vehicle has finished passing you.
• If a vehicle with the same legal top speed catches up to you and you intend to keep driving slower than it, you are free to speed up.
• On a road without marked lanes, if a faster-class vehicle catches up and there is not enough room between you and the center of the road for it to pass, you must pull over as far left as possible and let it go by.
• The duty of a vehicle that has been caught up with to yield the way applies in the same way to route buses and trolley buses.
• When a vehicle that has been caught up with judges whether to yield, on a one-way road it uses the space to the right edge of the road instead of the centre of the road.
• At a railroad crossing with a traffic light, you must always stop right before the crossing, even when the light is green.
• If the warning bell at a railroad crossing is ringing but the barrier has not come down yet, you may enter the crossing.
• If your vehicle breaks down and cannot be driven while inside a railroad crossing, you must immediately alert railway staff or the police (for example with an emergency signal) and also take the steps needed to move the vehicle out of the crossing.
• At an intersection with a STOP sign, you must come to a complete stop just before the stop line when one is marked.
• At an intersection with a STOP sign, once you have stopped you may then pull out even if it obstructs vehicles traveling on the crossing road.
• When a fire-service vehicle approaches at or near an intersection, you must stop clear of the intersection.
• Away from an intersection, it is acceptable to obstruct an approaching fire-service vehicle.
• Emergency vehicles and other fire-service vehicles are exempt from the duty to stop clear of the intersection.
• A vehicle other than a motorcycle or small special-purpose vehicle may tow up to three vehicles.
• Even in an unavoidable case such as a breakdown, towing is never permitted with a vehicle that lacks towing equipment.
• If the Prefectural Public Safety Commission has issued you a towing permit, you must carry that permit while you are towing under it.
• If a vehicle is legally required to be fitted with a tachograph (a device that records speed and driving time), you must not drive it when the tachograph is missing, or when it has not been properly adjusted and therefore cannot make the required records.
• The user of a vehicle required to have a tachograph must keep the records made by it for three years.
• The ban on driving a vehicle in defective condition applies only to the vehicle's user (operator) or the person responsible for its maintenance, not to the driver.
• A vehicle whose equipment fails to meet legal standards, creating a traffic hazard or a nuisance to others, counts as a "poorly maintained vehicle"; you must neither drive it nor let someone else drive it.
• You must not drive a vehicle equipped with an automated driving system if its operation-status recording device cannot correctly record the information needed to check the system's operating status.
• For a vehicle equipped with an automated driving system, it is the driver who is legally required to keep the data recorded by the operation-status recording device.
• It is prohibited for two or more drivers of automobiles or mopeds to take two or more vehicles along the road in a line or side by side and act together in a way that seriously endangers traffic.
• The ban on joint dangerous acts applies only to drivers of automobiles, not to riders of mopeds.
• You must keep the steering wheel, brakes and other controls of your vehicle under sure and reliable operation.
• As long as you stay under the posted speed limit, you may drive at any speed and in any manner regardless of the road or traffic conditions.
• The rule banning you from driving a vehicle without a muffler (exhaust silencer) applies to mopeds as well as to cars.
• As long as a muffler is physically fitted, you may drive the vehicle even if that muffler has been cut or otherwise modified so its silencing function is seriously impaired.
• If your vehicle has an automated driving system, you may use that system even when its operating conditions are not met.
• One requirement for the ban on using a phone or gazing at a screen while driving to be lifted when an automated driving system is in use is that the vehicle is not in defective mechanical condition.
• You must not drive a car without wearing the seat belt that the vehicle is legally required to have.
• A driver who, because of illness, should not wear a seat belt for medical reasons, and a driver of an emergency vehicle while driving that emergency vehicle, are exempt from the seat belt requirement.
• For seats other than the driver's seat, the driver breaks no rule by driving with passengers who are not wearing seat belts.
• You must not drive with a young child (under six) who is not secured in a child seat (child restraint device).
• The Road Traffic Act's seat belt rules apply equally to riders of large and ordinary motorcycles.
• If your licence carries a condition because of a specified level of hearing impairment, you must display the designated mark on both the front and the rear of the car when you drive.
• If your licence carries a condition because of a physical disability and that disability may affect your driving, displaying the designated mark on the front and rear of the car is an absolute legal duty, not merely a duty to make an effort.
• After a traffic accident, passengers in the vehicle (other than the driver) must not interfere with the driver taking the required measures or reporting the accident to the police.
• The only thing passengers are forbidden to obstruct is the driver's report to the police; obstructing the driver from taking rescue and safety measures at the scene is not prohibited.
• When a vehicle is driven for a company's business, the vehicle's user (the employer) must make efforts to ensure that the driver and the safety driving manager comply with the rules on safe driving.
• Complying with the rules on speed, parking, loading, and the driver's physical and mental condition is solely the driver's responsibility, and the vehicle's user (the employer/operator) has no obligation to make efforts in this regard.
• The user of a fire engine, ambulance, or similar vehicle must always provide traffic safety education to its drivers, even if a safety driving manager has already been appointed.
• When driving through mud or puddles, you must use mud flaps or slow down so that you do not splash mud or dirty water onto other people.
• If a blind person is walking with a white cane or with a guide dog, it is acceptable to keep your speed and simply sound the horn to warn them.
• When elderly pedestrians, pedestrians with disabilities, or other pedestrians who have difficulty getting around are passing, you must come to a temporary stop or slow down so as not to obstruct them.
• You must always come to a complete stop when passing a school or kindergarten bus that is stopped to let children get on or off.
• When passing a safety zone (anzen chitai) - a marked or raised island for pedestrians - on the left side of the road, you must slow down if there are pedestrians on it.
• You must close the doors and load cargo securely, taking the measures needed to prevent occupants from falling out and cargo from falling off or scattering.
• If your cargo falls onto the road or scatters, you as the driver have no duty to remove it yourself.
• You must not open a door or get out without checking that it is safe, and you must also take measures to stop passengers from creating traffic danger by doing so.
• It is acceptable to leave the engine running when you step away from your vehicle, as long as it is only for a short time.
• When leaving a car or a moped, you must take the measures needed to prevent it from being driven by someone else without permission.
• Making sudden starts or accelerating sharply without a legitimate reason, in a way that produces noise seriously annoying to others, is not specifically restricted under the Road Traffic Act.
• Except when unavoidable to prevent danger, you must not squeeze in beside a vehicle displaying a beginner or similar mark, or one driven by a provisional-licence holder.
• Holding a mobile phone to make a call is prohibited even when the vehicle is completely stopped.
• While driving, you must not gaze at images displayed on a screen installed in or brought into the vehicle.
• Before driving onto an expressway, the driver must check the levels of fuel, coolant, and engine oil, and the condition of the load, in advance.
• Even when it is necessary, taking measures to stop cargo from falling or scattering on an expressway is left entirely to the driver's discretion.
• You must not leave objects on the road in a way that obstructs traffic.
• Playing ball games or roller skating on a busy road is not prohibited.
• You must not throw objects from a vehicle that is moving on the road.
• Jumping onto a moving car is banned, but hanging on to it from outside is allowed.
• A towing vehicle pulling a heavy trailer must, as a rule, drive in the first lane counted from the left edge on the main carriageway of a national expressway that has marked lanes.
• A towing vehicle pulling a heavy trailer may leave its designated lane when overtaking a vehicle travelling below the minimum speed.
• Large special vehicles are not included in the "towing vehicles" covered by the lane rules for vehicles towing a heavy trailer.
• When a towing vehicle pulling a heavy trailer overtakes, it must use the lane immediately to the right of the lane it is currently in.
• A person who took the designated course within one year before the renewal period expires does not need to take the renewal course.
• Even if the aptitude test shows the person is fit to drive, the Public Safety Commission may refuse to renew the license if the required renewal course has not been taken.
• If you will be 70 or older on the last day of your renewal period, you must take a course held by the public safety commission of the area where you live within the 6 months before that day in order to renew your licence.
• The pre-renewal course for drivers aged 70 or over must be taken within the 3 months before the renewal period ends.
• Even among drivers aged 70 or over, some people are designated as exempt from that course.
• The cognitive function test is required of all drivers who are 70 or older at the end of the renewal period.
• Unless a listed exception applies, a driver aged 75 or over must take a cognitive function test within the 6 months before the renewal period ends.
• The driving skills test must be taken by every driver aged 75 or over.
• If the driving skills test result meets the standard showing the person has difficulty driving, the public safety commission may refuse to renew the licence.
• The public safety commission may send notices about these courses and tests, but sending them is entirely optional.
• If you move a road sign installed by the Public Safety Commission to another place without breaking it, you cannot be punished even if this creates a danger to traffic.
• A person who tampers with a traffic light without good reason and thereby creates a danger to road traffic can face imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to 200,000 yen.
• If someone else's building is damaged during a designated automated driving operation, no penalty can be imposed on the person conducting that operation.
• The penalty of up to 5 years imprisonment or a 500,000 yen fine for failing to give aid after an injury accident also applies to riders of light vehicles such as bicycles.
• Serving alcohol to someone likely to drive under the influence, where that person then actually drives with alcohol in their body, is punishable by up to 2 years imprisonment or a fine of up to 300,000 yen.
• A person who serves alcohol to a driver is punished for supplying alcohol regardless of whether the person who received it actually drove.
• A passenger who rides in a vehicle driven by a drunk driver can also be punished under the Road Traffic Act.
• Under the Road Traffic Act, being "in a drunken state" means being in a condition where alcohol makes it likely that you cannot drive properly.
• A person who drives while drunk faces a fine of up to 500,000 yen at most.
• If you lend your vehicle to someone who has been drinking, the penalty of up to 5 years imprisonment or a 1,000,000 yen fine applies even if that person never actually drives while drunk.
• Driving while narcotics, cannabis, opium, or stimulants make it likely you cannot drive properly carries a heavy penalty: up to 5 years imprisonment or a fine of up to 1,000,000 yen.
• The person who keeps and uses a vehicle (for example, the employer of the driver) is punished for ordering drunk driving, but is not punished if they merely turned a blind eye and allowed it.
• A person who submits the questionnaire required when applying for a driver's license or renewing a license, and knowingly writes false information on it, is subject to criminal punishment.
• The maximum penalty for submitting a license-related questionnaire with false statements is imprisonment for up to 6 months or a fine of up to 100,000 yen.
• If the Public Safety Commission requests a report from a licensed driver, giving a false report carries no criminal penalty.
• If you break the maximum speed limit rules, you can be punished with imprisonment of up to 6 months or a fine of up to 100,000 yen.
• If you exceed the speed limit by negligence (carelessly), the penalty is also imprisonment of up to 6 months or a fine of up to 100,000 yen.
• A person under 16 years old who rides a specified small motorized bicycle (electric kick scooter) in breach of the ban is subject to criminal penalty.
• The maximum fine for driving a vehicle loaded beyond the weight limit is 500,000 yen.
• Using a mobile phone for a call while driving, or holding a screen device in your hand and gazing at its display, is a punishable offense.
• Driving on a provisional (learner's) licence for practice without a qualified supervisor in the passenger seat is not a punishable offence under the Road Traffic Act.
• If you park in a no-parking area and leave the vehicle in a state where you cannot drive it away immediately, you can be fined up to 150,000 yen.
• Even when abandoning a vehicle in a no-stopping or no-parking place happens through carelessness rather than intent, a fine of up to 150,000 yen can still apply.
• If the user (operator) of a vehicle orders or condones leaving the vehicle parked illegally, that user is fined up to 50,000 yen.
• Driving while your licence is suspended is punished the same as driving without a licence at all.
• Even someone allowed to drive on an International Driving Permit becomes punishable if they drive after staying in Japan for more than one year counted from the day of entry.
• The penalty for driving without a licence is imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to 1,000,000 yen.
• A person who serves alcohol to a driver is also punishable if that driver then drives while intoxicated.
• A passenger who rides knowing the driver is intoxicated is also punishable if the driver actually drives in that state.
• Driving while so fatigued that you may not be able to drive properly is not covered by any penalty in the Road Traffic Act.
• Slamming on the brakes or tailgating in a dangerous way, done with the aim of obstructing another vehicle, is punishable.
• Sounding the horn or misusing the headlights to harass another driver is not among the obstructive-driving (road rage) acts listed in the Road Traffic Act.
• The obstructive-driving list only covers driving too fast; driving below the minimum speed or stopping/parking on an expressway is not included.
• If you lend someone your car and they drive it without a licence, the person who lent the car is never punished.
• Obtaining a Japanese driving licence, or a Japan-issued International Driving Permit, by false or improper means is also punishable.
• If you ignore a traffic signal or fail to make a required stop at a designated stop point, you can be punished by imprisonment of up to 3 months or a fine of up to 50,000 yen.
• Violating the ban on sudden braking is not punishable under the Road Traffic Act.
• A violation of the rule on keeping a safe following distance carries "up to 3 months imprisonment or a fine of up to 50,000 yen" even when it happens on an ordinary road.
• If you fail to give priority to pedestrians at a pedestrian crossing, you face up to 3 months imprisonment or a fine of up to 50,000 yen.
• If you violate the duty of safe driving, you face up to 3 months imprisonment or a fine of up to 50,000 yen.
• If the duty of safe driving is violated through negligence, the penalty is a fine of up to 100,000 yen.
• A person who fails to report a traffic accident to the police faces up to 3 months imprisonment or a fine of up to 50,000 yen.
• The penalty of up to 3 months imprisonment or a 50,000 yen fine for driving a vehicle in poor mechanical condition also applies to light vehicles such as bicycles.
• Driving in breach of a condition attached to your licence by the Public Safety Commission (such as wearing glasses) is not punishable under the Road Traffic Act.
• The fine for offences such as ignoring a signal or failing to stop at a designated stop point is capped at 30,000 yen.
• When offences such as ignoring a signal or breaching the duty of safe driving are committed through negligence, the maximum fine is 50,000 yen.
• Failing to make a required stop at a designated stop point carries up to 3 months imprisonment or a fine of up to 50,000 yen.
• Violating the rules on passing over a railway crossing is not punishable under the Road Traffic Act.
• Failing to carry or show your driver's licence, or failing to display the new-driver (shoshinsha) mark, is punishable by a fine of up to 20,000 yen or a petty fine.
• Failing to display a beginner driver mark or to carry your license is never punished if it was only careless, not deliberate.
• A person who ignores a police officer's on-the-spot directions, or a prohibition or restriction imposed by a police officer, is also punishable under the Road Traffic Act.
• When rules on how a procession may use the road are broken, it is the leader of the procession who is punished.
• Failing to report a change to the details recorded on your driver's licence is not an offence under the Road Traffic Act.
• Under the law, baby strollers and shopping carts are included in the category of "walking aids and similar devices" (hokoho-josha-to).
• A device with a motor or engine can never be classified as a "walking aid or similar device" under any circumstances.
• A "hansoku" violation (one handled under the fixed-penalty traffic ticket system) means a comparatively minor offence of a type specified by law, punishable under the Road Traffic Act and committed by the driver of a vehicle.
• A person who was driving while drunk is still treated as a "hansokusha" (someone eligible for the fixed-penalty system).
• A person who commits such a violation is not a "hansokusha" if they are under 18 years old.
• The "hansokukin" (fixed penalty payment) is money paid to the national government by a violator who wishes to be handled under this system.
• Turning or changing lanes without signalling, or failing to give way to an emergency vehicle, is punishable by a fine of up to 50,000 yen.
• The maximum fine for changing lanes without signalling, or for failing to give way to an emergency vehicle, is 100,000 yen.
• A person who gives away or lends their driver's licence to someone else may be fined.
• The special parking permit mark for elderly drivers may be freely given or lent to others without penalty.
• Failing to keep a safe following distance is not punishable when it happens on an ordinary road.
• Violating the rules on giving way to emergency vehicles or on conduct at intersections is punishable by a fine of up to 50,000 yen.
• Driving below the minimum speed on an expressway, where the minimum-speed rule applies, is punishable by a fine of up to 50,000 yen.
• After a traffic accident, ignoring a police officer's order is not punishable.
• Failing to attach the prescribed provisional-licence (learner) plates to the front and rear of the car while practising is also punishable by a fine of up to 50,000 yen.
• Riding a bicycle that does not meet the brake requirements is not punishable.
• Ignoring a police officer's order to stop for a bicycle inspection is not punishable.
• A procession carrying flags or banners and making a show of force counts as one that must keep to the right-hand edge of the roadway, regardless of how many people take part.
• A person leading a large animal such as an elephant or a giraffe, and any procession that person takes part in, must keep to the right-hand edge of the roadway on a road that has a separate sidewalk.
• A white or yellow cane used by a person who is blind is the cane designated by law.
• The harness or gear worn by a legally recognized guide dog must be red or blue.
• The disabilities protected by law include not only mobility and visual impairments but also hearing and balance-function impairments.
• On a road with three or more marked lanes, cars must as a rule drive in a lane other than the rightmost one.
• On a road with three or more lanes, even when you drive far slower than the road's maximum speed and would thereby obstruct other cars, the rule of using a lane other than the rightmost lane still applies unchanged.
• The category of "route buses, etc." covers only scheduled-route public buses; school and kindergarten buses are not included.
• A vehicle used for a passenger- or freight-transport business can also count as a "route bus, etc." if the Public Safety Commission designates it as especially necessary for smooth traffic flow on that road.
• When using a parking meter, you must operate it in the way indicated on that parking meter.
• In a vehicle with a windscreen, it is enough to display the parking ticket on the rear window.
• Even a vehicle without a windscreen must display the parking ticket so that it is easy to see from the front.
• A school or kindergarten bus must switch on its hazard warning lights while it is stopped to let children get on or off.
• The legal category of "school/kindergarten bus" covers only vehicles carrying elementary and junior high school pupils, and does not include buses for kindergartens or nursery schools.
• Taxis and buses while on duty are excluded from the ban on riding in a vehicle driven by an unlicensed or alcohol-affected driver.
• The only vehicles excluded from the ban on riding with an unlicensed or alcohol-affected driver are those used for passenger transport business; substitute-driving vehicles are not included.
• Even during daytime, if your car is stopped in a tunnel or another place where visibility is 200 meters or less, you must set out the nighttime-type warning triangle (stop-indicator device).
• When your car breaks down and cannot be driven, the warning device must be placed where drivers of cars coming toward you from the front can see it easily.
• If you are pregnant and wearing a seat belt is unsuitable for you for medical or health reasons, you are not required to wear one.
• When driving a vehicle in reverse, the driver does not have to wear a seat belt.
• In work such as mail collection and delivery that requires getting in and out of the vehicle frequently, the driver may be exempt from wearing a seat belt on that section of the route.
• A candidate or campaign worker driving a vehicle used for election campaigning under the Public Offices Election Act is exempt from wearing a seat belt.
• Even a driver of a fire service vehicle has no exemption from wearing a seat belt.
• A person who cannot properly wear a seat belt because of their physical condition, such as having an unusually high seated height or being extremely obese, must still wear one without exception.
• When there are more occupants than seats and some cannot wear a seat belt, the exemption applies even if the legal passenger limit is exceeded.
• A public officer driving in the course of duties such as arresting a suspect or preventing the escape of a person in custody is exempt from wearing a seat belt.
• A driver of a vehicle being escorted or guided by a police vehicle in a parade has no exemption at all from wearing a seat belt.
• When a child is seated in a seat where a child restraint cannot structurally be fastened, the exemption applies even if the restraint could be used in another seat.
• A child may be carried without a child restraint while someone other than the driver is giving care such as breastfeeding that cannot be done with the restraint in use.
• A driver of a vehicle used for general passenger transport business, such as a bus or taxi, does not need to use a child restraint for a child who is a passenger of that business.
• Even when a child must be urgently transported to a medical institution or other facility for emergency first aid, a child restraint must always be used.
• Even a child for whom using a child restraint is medically unsuitable due to injury or disability must use one without exception.
• A walking-assist vehicle must use an electric motor as its power source.
• A walking-assist vehicle may be built so that it can reach speeds of up to 10 km/h.
• A walking-assist vehicle must not exceed 120 cm in length, 100 cm in width, and 120 cm in height.
• A walking-assist vehicle may be built so that its motor keeps running even after the person operating it moves away from the vehicle.
• A device that counts as a walking-aid vehicle — whose user is treated as a pedestrian — and that runs without rails or overhead wires must be no longer than 190 cm and no wider than 60 cm.
• A small mobility device (idō-yō kogata-sha) must be built so that it cannot go faster than 6 km/h.
• The body width of a small mobility device must not exceed 90 cm.
• A remote-controlled small vehicle (delivery robot) must be built so that it cannot travel faster than 6 km/h.
• The body width of a remote-controlled small vehicle (delivery robot) must not exceed 100 cm.
• One type of vehicle classified as a "specified ordinary vehicle" is an agricultural chemical-spraying vehicle built so that it cannot reach a speed of 35 km/h or more.
• A large special vehicle (other than a farming work vehicle) counts as a "specified ordinary vehicle" if it is no more than 4.70 m long, 1.70 m wide and 2.80 m high and cannot exceed 25 km/h.
• Equipment used for towing must be sturdy and strong enough to withstand the stresses of driving.
• A safety device that prevents the towing and towed vehicles from separating due to vibration or shock while driving is only recommended, not required.
• A bicycle's brakes must be able to stop both the front wheel and the rear wheel.
• On a dry, flat paved road, a bicycle's brakes must be able to bring it to a stop within 5 meters from the point where braking begins, when travelling at 10 km/h.
• A rear reflector fitted to a bicycle must be visible at night: when a headlight meeting the official standard shines on it from 100 meters behind, the reflected light must be easy to see from where the light is shining.
• The light reflected by a bicycle's reflector must be white or blue.
• A vehicle with a seating capacity of 30 or more people is classified as a large vehicle (ogata).
• The maximum load criterion for a semi-medium vehicle (jun-chugata) is 3,000 kg or more but less than 4,500 kg.
• Any motorcycle with an engine displacement over 0.250 liters is a large motorcycle.
• A small special vehicle is one built so that it cannot exceed a speed of 20 km/h.
• A small special vehicle must be no longer than 4.70 m and no wider than 1.70 m.
• A small special vehicle must always be 2.00 m or less in height, even if it has a head guard or safety frame.
• A three-wheeled vehicle that is officially designated as handling like a two-wheeler is treated as a two-wheeled vehicle when deciding its class.
• Forklifts and road rollers are classified as large special vehicles unless they fall under the small special vehicle category.
• Cutting the muffler (exhaust silencer) counts as a modification that seriously impairs the muffler's function under the law.
• Removing the noise-reduction mechanism from a muffler is not treated as a modification that seriously impairs the muffler's function.
• The reflected light from a plate-type warning device (a warning triangle, known as a "stop-indication board") must be red.
• The light of a flashing warning lamp (stop-indication lamp) must be yellow.
• A stop-indication board must be visible by its reflection when lit by headlights from 100 meters away at night.
• A warning triangle (stop indication board) must have fluorescent material that can be easily seen from a distance of 200 meters in daylight.
• The light of a stop indication lamp (a warning lamp placed on the road behind a stopped vehicle) must be red.
• A stop indication lamp (a warning lamp placed on the road behind a stopped vehicle) must be of the flashing type.
• Even on a road where signs ban traffic, the ban applies only to vehicles, so pedestrians may still use the road.
• You must not brake suddenly, even when it is unavoidable in order to prevent danger.
• When a vehicle signals to change course in order to leave the road, the vehicle behind must not obstruct it, even if doing so would force that vehicle to change its own speed or direction suddenly.
• When a route bus that stopped at a bus stop to let passengers on and off signals that it is pulling out, the vehicle behind must not overtake it.
• When a vehicle with a higher maximum speed catches up with you, you must not change course until it has finished overtaking.
• No motor vehicle of any kind may be driven unless it is fitted with a tachograph.
• A vehicle without an automated driving system must also not be driven unless it has an operating-state recorder.
• You must not drive with a child aged six or over unless they are in a child seat (child restraint device).
• When a traffic accident happens, a passenger must not give aid to the injured in place of the driver.
• Even when crossing the tramway strip in order to turn right or left, you must not travel on the tramway strip.
• On a road with a separate footway, processions such as student columns or funeral processions must keep to the left edge of the carriageway.
• A procession that is not required to use the roadway must always use the footway on a road with a separate footway.
• When the light is red you must stop, even if a police officer signals you to go.
• A person remotely operating a remote-controlled small vehicle (delivery robot) on a road must stay beside it while doing so.
• A person operating a mobility-support small vehicle or a remote-controlled small vehicle (delivery robot) on a road must wear the prescribed marker themselves.
• On a road with marked lanes, a vehicle must as a rule use the second lane counting from the left edge.
• On a road without marked lanes, a light vehicle must travel towards the centre of the road.
• When passing a pedestrian on a road with no separate footway, you must both leave a safe gap and always slow down.
• A vehicle on the tramway strip must stop where it is when a tram approaches from behind.
• When a route bus approaches from behind while you are in a bus-priority lane, you must speed up and stay in that lane.
• When turning left to enter a facility off the road, you must first move towards the centre of the road and slow down.
• On a road without marked lanes, when a vehicle with a higher maximum speed catches up with you, you must always stop to let it by.
• If your car breaks down inside a railway crossing, you must leave the scene and telephone the police first.
• At an intersection with a stop sign you must stop just before the intersection, even where there is a stop line.
• When a fire service vehicle approaches at or near an intersection, a vehicle must stop inside the intersection.
• A driver issued a towing permit by the Public Safety Commission must return it to the Commission once the towing is over.
• A driver whose licence carries a condition because of a specified level of hearing impairment must display the designated mark on the front of the car only.
• A police officer may give a hand signal that differs from the traffic light where they consider it specially necessary for the safety and smooth flow of traffic.
• A procession that is not required to use the roadway may still use the carriageway on a road with a separate footway.
• You may cross the tramway strip in order to turn right or left, to cross, or to make a U-turn.
• When you can keep a safe gap from a pedestrian, you do not have to slow down to pass them.
• When you are on a road with marked lanes, you do not have to pull to the left edge to let by a vehicle with a higher maximum speed.
• When turning left to enter a facility off the road, you do not have to move towards the centre of the road first.
• When there is enough space between you and a specified small motorized bicycle (electric kick scooter) travelling in the same direction, you do not have to reduce your speed.
• Passing a pedestrian on a road with no separate footway, I could not leave enough space, so I slowed right down as I went by.
• The vehicle ahead stopped suddenly, so I braked hard to avoid running into it.
• To turn left into a car park off the road, I first moved close to the left edge of the road and slowed right down.
• A vehicle with a higher maximum speed caught up with me, so I held my speed until it had finished overtaking.
• My car would not move inside a railway crossing, so I set off the emergency signal and took steps to get the car off the crossing.
• At an intersection with a stop sign, I stopped just before the stop line, checked that it was safe, and then went on.
• A fire service vehicle approached near an intersection, so I kept clear of the intersection and stopped.
• While driving, I took one hand off the wheel to use my smartphone.
• It was only a short trip, so I drove without wearing my seat belt.
• I drove with an infant held on a lap instead of in a child seat.
• When a traffic accident happened, I helped the driver give aid as a passenger.
• Before getting out of the car, I checked that it was safe behind me and then opened the door.
• I was on the tramway strip when a tram came up behind, so I moved off the strip promptly.
• I was in a bus-priority lane when a route bus came up behind, so I left the lane promptly.
• On a road without marked lanes, a faster vehicle caught up with me and there was no room beside the centre, so I pulled to the left edge and let it by.
• The vehicle was one required to carry a tachograph and it could not record, but I drove it anyway.
• The car had an automated driving system whose operating-state recorder could not record accurately, but I drove it anyway.
• When loading, I secured everything so that nothing would fall off while driving.
• I was over 70 on the last day of my renewal period, but I went to renew without taking the course.
• I drove far over the speed limit but caused no accident, so I took the view that it was not an offence.
• I unfastened my seat belt in order to reverse the car.
• I had been issued a towing permit by the Public Safety Commission, so I carried it while towing.