Driver Duties in Japan: Alcohol, Seat Belts, Phones, License

Drunk driving and driving while impaired

Driving after drinking any amount of alcohol is prohibited (Road Traffic Act Art. 65). For penalties there are two categories: driving under the influence (酒気帯び運転), defined by breath alcohol concentration, and driving while intoxicated (酒酔い運転), which means being in a state where you may not be able to drive normally, regardless of the number. Even below the threshold, if you are unsteady from drink, it counts as the heavier drunk-driving offense.

It is not only the driver who is punished: so are people who lend a car to someone who has been drinking, people who serve alcohol to or encourage drinking by someone who will drive, and people who, knowing the driver has been drinking, ask to be driven and ride along.

Driving when fatigue, illness or the effects of drugs may prevent you from driving normally is also prohibited (Art. 66), whether or not you cause an accident. This includes cold medicine that causes drowsiness.

Seat belts and child seats

Drivers must wear a seat belt and make passengers wear one, not just in the front passenger seat but in the back too (Art. 71-3). When carrying a child under 6, you must in principle use a child seat (チャイルドシート).

Neither rule applies "in all cases". The exceptions are set out in Enforcement Order Art. 26-3-2.

• Seat belt exceptions: injury, disability or pregnancy making a belt unsuitable for health; reversing the car; driving an emergency vehicle; jobs requiring frequent getting in and out such as mail collection, etc.
• Child seat exceptions: carrying a child on a bus or taxi; feeding, diaper changing or other care that cannot be done with the seat on; injury or disability; a seat that cannot hold a child seat; rushing a sick child to hospital, etc.

Mobile phones and navigation screens

What is prohibited is, while the vehicle is moving, holding a phone to talk, or staring at the screen of a hand-held phone or a mounted display such as a car navigation unit (カーナビ) (Art. 71 item 5-5). A hands-free call does not violate this provision (some prefectures may have separate restrictions).

Using a phone while the vehicle is completely stopped falls outside this violation. Handling your phone while stopped at a red light does not breach this rule, but it is best avoided for safety, for example because you may be slow to move off.

Penalties: holding a phone to talk or staring at a screen is up to 6 months' imprisonment or a fine up to 100,000 yen; if it causes a traffic hazard, up to 1 year or a fine up to 300,000 yen.

Driver's license, compulsory insurance and beginner marks

You must carry your license while driving (Art. 95). Leaving it at home is "failure to carry a license" (免許証不携帯), not unlicensed driving. On the other hand, an expired license is no longer valid, so driving on it, however few days after expiry, is unlicensed driving (無免許運転). "It is not unlicensed driving within 6 months" is FALSE; within 6 months you only get part of the test waived when you re-apply.

Cars and mopeds may not be driven without compulsory liability insurance (自賠責保険, or mutual liability coverage), and the certificate must be kept in the vehicle (Automobile Liability Security Act Arts. 5 and 8). Keeping it at home is a violation.

Passenger capacity and load limits

Seating capacity is counted in people aged 12 or over; 1.5 children under 12 count as one adult (3 children = 2 adults). A 5-seat car can carry the driver, one adult and four children under 12 (about 2.7 adults' worth).

Load sizes are set by Enforcement Order Art. 22. Currently, load length and width may each be up to 1.2 times the vehicle's. An indivisible load that exceeds the limits may be carried with a permit from the chief of the police station (警察署長) with jurisdiction over the starting point (Art. 57(3)).

Commonly mistaken patterns

Watch for absolute statements such as "in all cases" or "it is not a violation unless...".

• You must wear a seat belt in all cases → FALSE (exceptions such as reversing, pregnancy)
• You must use a child seat in all cases → FALSE (exceptions such as taxis, feeding)
• Rear-seat passengers need not wear belts → FALSE
• A small amount of alcohol is fine → FALSE
• Someone who merely rides with a drinking driver is not punished → FALSE (knowingly asking to be driven is punishable)
• Handling a phone while stopped at a red light is a violation → FALSE (stopped vehicles are outside this rule)
• Forgetting your license is unlicensed driving → FALSE (failure to carry a license)
• Drivers aged 70+ are punished for not displaying the senior mark → FALSE (duty to try)
• Loads may be 1.5 times the vehicle length → FALSE (1.2 times)

Learn the exceptions with a mock test

Driver-duty questions combine a rule with its exceptions. You need 45 of 50 correct, so repeat the "in all cases" type questions with menkyopass's mock test in English.

Practice questions on this topic

• Driving with 0.15 mg or more of alcohol per liter of breath counts as driving under the influence of alcohol.
• Even if the alcohol level in your breath is below the legal threshold, driving in a condition where alcohol may prevent you from driving normally counts as driving while intoxicated (drunk driving).
• A small amount of alcohol does not affect driving, so it is fine to drive after about one glass of beer.
• A person who lends a car to someone who has been drinking, or who offers alcohol to someone who is about to drive, can also be punished.
• A person who rides in a car knowing the driver has been drinking will not be punished, because they are not the one driving.
• When driving a motor vehicle, you must wear a seat belt in every situation, without exception.
• You do not need to make passengers in the back seats wear seat belts.
• When carrying a child under 6 years old in a standard motor vehicle (regular car), you must use a child seat in principle.
• When carrying a child under 6 years old in a car, you must use a child seat in every case, without exception.
• While driving, you may use a mobile phone with a hands-free device, as long as you do not hold the phone in your hand to talk.
• Holding and operating a mobile phone while stopped at a red light counts as use while driving, so it is a violation.
• Staring at a car navigation screen while driving is prohibited, just like using a mobile phone.
• If you leave your driver's license at home and drive, it counts as unlicensed driving.
• Even if your driver's license has expired, it does not count as unlicensed driving as long as no more than 6 months have passed.
• Driving while fatigue or illness may prevent you from driving normally is not a violation unless you actually cause an accident.
• If you have taken cold medicine that causes drowsiness, you must not drive when it may prevent you from driving normally.
• In a regular car with a riding capacity of 5, the driver can carry 1 adult and 4 children under 12 years old.
• When loading cargo on a standard motor vehicle (regular car), the height limit is 3.8 meters or less measured from the ground.
• A standard motor vehicle (regular car) may carry cargo up to 1.5 times the length of the vehicle.
• If cargo that cannot be divided exceeds the loading limits, you may carry it if you get permission from the chief of the police station at your departure point.
• A driver who has held a regular license for less than 1 year must display beginner driver marks at the designated positions on the front and rear of the car.
• Drivers aged 70 or older must display the elderly driver mark, and they are punished if they do not.
• With a regular license, you can drive vehicles with a gross weight under 3.5 tons, a maximum load under 2 tons, and a riding capacity of 10 or fewer, among others.
• A motorized bicycle (moped) must also be covered by compulsory automobile liability insurance (or mutual liability insurance) before it may be driven.
• It is best to keep your compulsory automobile liability insurance certificate safely at home so that you do not lose it.

FAQ

Related guides

• Accidents and Breakdowns in Japan: What to Do, Railroad Crossings
• Japanese License Classes You Can Get by Converting (incl. AT)
• Japan Traffic Rules That Trip Up Foreign Drivers: 6 Key Rules
• How to Study for Japan's License Conversion Knowledge Test

Sources (in Japanese)

• e-Gov法令検索「道路交通法」（第57条・第65条・第66条・第71条・第71条の3・第71条の5・第95条・第117条の2・第117条の2の2・第117条の4・第118条、附則（高齢運転者標識表示義務に関する当面の措置））
• e-Gov法令検索「道路交通法施行令」（第22条・第26条の3の2・第44条の3）
• e-Gov法令検索「道路交通法施行規則」（第2条 自動車の種類）
• e-Gov法令検索「自動車損害賠償保障法」（第5条・第8条）
• e-Gov法令検索「道路運送車両の保安基準」（第53条 乗車定員）