Japan license plates
Format, region codes and a plate generator for Japan.
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Custom text: real plates never carry this combination.
This image is not a license plate: it must not be fitted to a vehicle and does not mean the combination is available.
Plate types
How to read the plate
A Japanese plate reads in two lines. On top is the place name in kanji or kana (1–4 characters) and the three-digit vehicle class number (多摩 500); below are a hiragana character and a number of 1–4 digits (き 12-34), with short numbers padded with dots (・・12). The name shows where the car is based, not just the issuing office, so the plate is changed when the owner moves. There are 138 such names, 51 of them «local» plates (ご当地ナンバー) introduced since 2006. Private cars have white plates with green characters.
Region map
Click a region to see its codes.
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Region codes
138 regionsHistory
From 1913 prefectures were shown by Latin letters, later by a single kanji (品, 横, 札, 京) — such abbreviations survived on old small plates into the 1970s. Since 1955 the full place name has been used; in Tokyo plates carried no name until 1962. «Local» plates have been issued since 10 October 2006, with new names added in 2006–2008, 2014, 2020 and 2025.
Neighbouring countries
News from Japan
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Exhibition · Fukuoka
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Updated: 08.11.2026
Regular
$1.07 /L
JPY170.00 · €0.96/L
30 of 175
cheaper than 83% of countries
High-octane
$1.14 /L
JPY180.96 · €1.02/L
15 of 103
cheaper than 86% of countries
Diesel
$1.01 /L
JPY159.76 · €0.90/L
20 of 174
cheaper than 89% of countries
LPG
$0.87 /L
JPY138.20 · €0.78/L
21 of 56
cheaper than 64% of countries
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Reference data, not legal advice. Rules change without notice — check with the consulate or at the border.
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