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Japan vs China Road Signs: Key Differences for Drivers

Updated: 2026-10

If you learned to drive in mainland China, a few Japanese signs look familiar but mean something else. Japan's stop sign (止まれ) is a red inverted triangle, while China's (停) is an octagon. And the white, red-bordered inverted triangle that means "yield" (让) in China has the same shape and colours as Japan's 徐行 sign, which requires you to move at a speed at which you can stop immediately. This table compares China's national standard GB 5768.2 with Japan's road sign regulations, focusing on what gets confused in the test.

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Comparison table: Japan vs mainland China

China: national standard GB 5768.2 "Road traffic signs and markings - Part 2: Road traffic signs" (2022 edition, in force since 1 October 2022) and the Implementing Regulations of the Road Traffic Safety Law. Japan: the Order on Road Signs, Lane Lines and Road Markings (道路標識、区画線及び道路標示に関する命令; sign numbers in brackets), the Road Traffic Act Enforcement Order (道路交通法施行令) and the National Police Agency's Rules of the Road. Chinese sign designs were also checked against the 2009 edition.

Item	Japan	China
Stop and check	一時停止 (330): red inverted triangle, white text 止まれ. Since July 2017 a version with "STOP" is also allowed	停车让行: regular octagon, red with white 停. Stop completely before entering the junction
White inverted triangle, red border	徐行 (329): blue text 徐行. You must move at a speed at which you can stop immediately (regulatory)	减速让行: black text 让. Slow down or stop and give way to the crossing road
"Slow" sign	徐行 is a regulatory sign you must obey	The yellow-triangle 慢 warning sign (慢行) was in the 2009 edition but removed in 2022
Maximum speed	White, red border, blue numbers (323)	限制速度: white, red ring, black numbers
Minimum speed	Same colours as maximum speed, with a line under the number (324)	最低限速: blue instruction sign with white numbers, mounted with the maximum speed sign
End of speed limit	Shown with auxiliary signs such as 終わり (end)	解除限制速度: white, black ring, thin black diagonal stripes, black numbers
No parking (one slash)	駐車禁止 (316): blue, red border, red slash. 停車 is allowed	禁止车辆长时停放 (formerly 禁止长时停车): blue, red ring, red slash. 临时停放 allowed
No stopping or parking (×)	駐停車禁止 (315): neither 駐車 nor 停車 allowed	禁止车辆停放 (formerly 禁止停车): no stopping or parking, whether or not the driver leaves the car
Arrow signals	A green arrow lets you go in its direction even on red or yellow. Yellow arrows are for trams. The enforcement order's table has no red arrow	Lane signals: a green arrow means the lane may proceed; a red × or red arrow closes that lane

止まれ is an inverted triangle; 停 is an octagon

China's 停车让行 is a regular octagon, red with white text, meaning you must stop completely before entering the junction and proceed only once it is safe (GB 5768.2-2022). The Japanese sign with that meaning is 一時停止 (ichiji teishi): a red inverted triangle reading 止まれ (tomare). According to Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, from 1 July 2017 designs adding "SLOW" to the 徐行 sign and English text to the 一時停止 sign and others were introduced, so you may also see the inverted triangle with "STOP".

You stop right before the stop line, or right before the intersection if there is none (Road Traffic Act, Article 43). After stopping you must not obstruct vehicles on the crossing road. Merely slowing down to check is a violation; the knowledge test includes "At an intersection with this sign, you may drive through as long as you slow down and check that it is safe.", and the answer is False.

In China the octagon is an easy "always stop" shape. In Japan, retrain your eye: you stop at the red inverted triangle.

White inverted triangle with a red border: China's 让 vs Japan's 徐行

China's 减速让行 is an inverted equilateral triangle, white with a red border and black 让: the crossing road has priority, so you slow down or stop and let it go first. Japan's 徐行 (jokō) sign is also a white inverted triangle with a red border, with blue text 徐行. Because shape and colours match so closely, drivers from China tend to read it as "yield".

Japanese law defines 徐行 as moving at a speed at which the vehicle can stop immediately (Road Traffic Act, Article 2(1)(xx)), with no km/h figure. It is not "give way if someone is there" like 减速让行; it is a duty to slow to a stop-at-once speed wherever the sign applies, whether or not other traffic is present.

Japan also has a separate regulatory sign, 前方優先道路 (329-2), showing that the road ahead has priority; its colour rules are the same as 徐行. China's 慢行 sign (yellow triangle with 慢) was only a warning sign and was dropped from GB 5768.2 in 2022. Japan's 徐行 is regulatory, so ignoring it is an offence.

Speed signs: minimum speed looks different

Maximum speed signs in both countries are a red ring with a number, but the number colour differs: black in China, blue in Japan.

The big difference is minimum speed. China's 最低限速 is a blue instruction sign with white numbers, so the colour tells you what it is. Japan's 最低速度 (saitei sokudo) uses the same colours as the maximum speed sign (white, red border, blue number); the only difference is a line under the number. The underlined one is the speed you must not go below.

China marks the end of a speed limit with the 解除限制速度 sign (black ring and stripes). In Japan, the end of a restriction is shown with auxiliary signs such as 終わり (end).

No parking vs no stopping: same slashes, different idea of "stopping"

The designs are very similar: blue with a red ring or border, one slash for "no long stays" and two slashes (×) for "no stopping at all". In the 2022 edition China renamed them 禁止车辆长时停放 and 禁止车辆停放.

The difference is what counts as a permitted short stop. The Chinese standard describes 临时停放 as stopping to let passengers on or off or to load goods, with the driver in or beside the vehicle, and sets no time limit. In Japan, 停車 (teisha) covers letting people on or off and loading for 5 minutes or less. Waiting continuously for passengers or cargo is 駐車 (chūsha) even if the driver stays in the car (Road Traffic Act, Article 2(1)(xviii)).

So the Chinese idea that "it is fine if the driver stays with the car" can get you a violation for waiting in a 駐車禁止 zone in Japan. The test often swaps this number, e.g. "Stopping for up to 10 minutes to load or unload goods counts as stopping, not parking." (False; it is 5 minutes).

Auxiliary signs and arrow signals

In both countries auxiliary signs sit directly under the main sign and limit its times, vehicle types or section. China's are white rectangles with black text and a black border, with times written like "7:30-10:00". Japan's 補助標識 are basically black on white too (vehicle types on pale yellow), with times written like "8-20" (8:00 to 20:00). Watch for exclusions such as 原付を除く (except mopeds).

Arrow colours are used differently. Under China's Implementing Regulations, on lane signals a green arrow lets that lane go in the arrow's direction, while a red × or red arrow closes the lane. The signal table in Japan's Road Traffic Act Enforcement Order has only green arrows (go in the arrow's direction even on yellow or red; a right arrow also allows a U-turn) and yellow arrows for trams. "When a yellow arrow signal is shown, vehicles may proceed in the direction of the arrow." is False.

Turning on red is also reversed: China allows right turns on red, while Japan bans turning on red unless there is a 左折可 (left turn permitted) plate. See the article on Japan's traffic rule differences.

How it appears in the test: real questions

Sign questions in the knowledge test are true/false with a picture. These are questions from the menkyopass set where the China difference matters. You can take the test in English or Chinese, but sign shapes and meanings follow Japanese rules.

The menkyopass conversion drill lets you practise sign questions with explanations in English, Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese (first mock test and 3 topics free; all questions ¥2,980, one-time purchase).

Related sign	Question	Answer
Picture of the 一時停止 (止まれ) sign	At an intersection with this sign, you may drive through as long as you slow down and check that it is safe.	False
Picture of the 駐車禁止 sign	Where this sign is posted, not only parking but also stopping is prohibited.	False
Picture of the 駐停車禁止 sign	Even where this sign is posted, you may stop to let people get on or off.	False
Auxiliary sign	If a No Parking sign has an auxiliary plate reading '8-20,' parking is prohibited only between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.	True
Arrow signal	When a yellow arrow signal is shown, vehicles may proceed in the direction of the arrow.	False

FAQ

Q. Does Japan have an octagonal stop sign?

A. Japan's 一時停止 sign is a red inverted triangle reading 止まれ (some also show "STOP"). It is not an octagon like China's 停, so remember: in Japan you stop at the inverted triangle.

Q. Does a white inverted triangle with a red border mean "yield"?

A. In China it is 减速让行, but in Japan the sign with the same shape and colours is 徐行: you must move at a speed at which you can stop immediately, even when there is no one to give way to.

Q. How do I recognise the minimum speed sign?

A. In Japan it has the same colours as the maximum speed sign (white, red border, blue number) with a line under the number. It is not a blue sign with white numbers as in China.

Q. Is China's 禁止停车 the same as Japan's 駐停車禁止?

A. The design (blue with a red ×) and the meaning "no stopping at all" are almost the same. The difference is in the one-slash sign: in Japan, permitted 停車 is limited to letting people on or off and loading for 5 minutes or less.