Hello everybody, I’m a 29 years old German working currently in Nagoya, Japan. After 3 years working as a corporate slave for a Japanese Automotive T1 Supplier, I recently decided to plan to go back to Germany for better working conditions / Work Life Balance.
While living in Japan, thanks to my German driver’s license, I got myself a regular Japanese one just by going to the Driver’s License Center without taking any tests or so unlike all the Brazilians there（笑）. I was wondering if it is possible to take it with me and update it back in Germany as well, because I’d like to visit Japan in the future as a tourist again. There I thought that it would be convenient if I still had the license, so that I can rent cars for example. Does anybody have any information or experience with that? I thought that Japanese people have to update it abroad as well, so there might be a chance for foreigners as well.
Another question is regarding Kei Cars in Europe, especially Germany. I heard that most Kei Cars are not allowed because of security concerns. I bought myself a Mitsubishi EK Cross and would like to take it with me, if possible of course. Unfortunately I can’t find any rules/regulations online or how to determine if a registration would be possible. So if anybody has some experience/information regarding that as well, it would be highly appreciated!
Thanks in advance.
6 comments
Japan and Germany have a reciprocal DL agreement. You can convert your license directly. I don’t remember if I had to come back and get it or if it was just one trip. IIRC I had to get a translation done by ADAC.
Japan should have let you keep your German license so it’s a moot point you should still have your license unless it’s expired? (IDK mine is the old license that doesn’t expire I heard they finally put expiration dates on them).
My reason for pointing that out is Germany will take your Japanese license when you convert. You can get it back if you return to Japan by returning the German license.
Kei – talk with an importer/automeister. I suspect it will be prohibitively expensive. I wouldn’t want to get on the Autobahn with a kei though it would be dangerous.
> I’d like to visit Japan in the future as a tourist again. There I thought that it would be convenient if I still had the license, so that I can rent cars
If you are visiting short term it’ll be easier just to get a IDP in Germany. You can rent cars with IDP in Japan. *However you may not be able to rent a Toyota Hiace Grand Cabin depending on your countries license limitation.*
> I heard that most Kei Cars are not allowed because of security concerns
Do you mean safety? Either way it’s probably not worth importing/bring back your Kei car to euro as Kei cars are made only for the JDM. Sourcing parts will be hard and finding a shop that’s specialize working on JDM cars might also be expensive. As someone else has said if you really want to, you should contact a JDM car importer.
Are you asking if you can put your German address on your Japanese license? I highly doubt it. Most Japanese that go abroad do so temporarily, and they just keep their own address or use their family’s address on the card while they’re abroad. They get an international driving permit to actually drive abroad.
You can take your car with you as chattel, but you’ll have to undergo homologation in EU.
It’s relatively easy if it’s a model that’s sold around the world (like Corolla) where you’d have to change headlight mirrors (since you’re driving on the other side of the road) and maybe rear lights cluster or add some side blinkers.
It’s hard when it’s a niche model.
There are all kinds of exemptions, e.g. for cars that are quite old.
I would advise you to research German car enthusiast forums. People have done this before.
Some small cars, like I-miev were/are sold in Europe, but many are not.
Importing a JDM car is a huge hassle because they do not have the European Certificate of Conformity. So you basically have to prove by yourself (or more likely by a 3rd party) that the vehicle is compliant with all the regulations and do a one-off homologation. (Looked at importing a Super Cub into Switzerland and quickly gave up).
My best recommendation would be to contact an importer in Germany. They know the process inside and out and should promptly tell you if it is feasible and at what cost.
PLUS you’ll drive on the wrong side of the vehicle so any drive-through, parking machine, road toll, etc. Will be a hassle.
PLUS your headlights beam pattern will be reversed, blinding oncoming traffic and you won’t see anything curbside. This alone might be a problem for homologation if you don’t find LHD headlights.
And driving a kei on the Autobahn… Oh boy. Wasn’t the MAX speed around 120 on these cars? Poor engine won’t like it. Or you stick at 90 behind a truck.
Mitsubishi EK Cross = not worth it, S660 worth it, highway speed no problems and with a mod you can go past the 140kph limiter.