A Dutch licence works in Japan together with an international driving permit (internationaal rijbewijs, or IRB), but only one of the two IRBs that ANWB sells. Japan accepts the 1949 model. The three-year 1968 model, which plenty of Dutch drivers already have from trips elsewhere, is not valid here.
Where do I get the IRB?
In an ANWB shop, in person. ANWB Retail issues the Dutch IRB and it can't be ordered online. The 1949 model costs €18.95 and lasts one year. The 1968 model costs €24.95 and lasts three.
Why doesn't the 1968 model work in Japan?
Japan never joined the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. It recognises permits under the 1949 Geneva Convention only. The Netherlands ratified the 1949 convention in 1952 and joined the 1968 one in 2007, according to the UN treaty records, which is why ANWB offers both. For Japan, ask for the 1949 IRB by name.
Do I need a Japanese translation instead?
No. Japan's translation route is only for licences from Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco and Taiwan. It's easy to assume it covers the whole EU, but it doesn't, and a Dutch licence doesn't need it. The 1949 IRB is the document.
What goes in the car?
Your Dutch licence card, the 1949 IRB and your passport. In Japan you can drive on the permit for up to a year from the day you arrive, provided its own one-year validity hasn't run out. Buy it close to the trip rather than months ahead.
What should I know before the first drive?
Japan drives on the left, with the wheel on the right. Take the first hour slowly. Expressways are tolled; many rental companies can add an ETC card, and if yours can't, here is how to pay tolls without one. Rental insurance works a little differently too, with a separate charge for lost rental days, which we explain in CDW and NOC explained.
Where do we come in?
We run this site from Fukuoka, on Kyushu, where we also rent campervans under the name VAN TRIP JAPAN. Some of our recent guests came from the Netherlands. The note at the end of this page tells you more.
Checked against ANWB's page on the internationaal rijbewijs, the UN Treaty Collection (1949 and 1968 road traffic conventions) and Japan's National Police Agency guidance in September 2026. Karen and Doko Shibagaki, Camjyo Inc., Fukuoka.
