Yes, with an international driving permit (internationellt körkort) of the 1949 type. Japan recognises permits under the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic and no other. Sweden is a party to that convention and also to the 1968 Vienna one, so it matters which version you ask for.
Where do I get it in Sweden?
Not from Transportstyrelsen. The agency points drivers to the organisations that handle the permit: Caravan Club of Sweden, KAK, MHF, M Sverige and OK Marknadsservice/Vi Bilägare. Any of them can tell you the current price and how long delivery takes.
Why won't a 1968 permit do?
Because Japan never joined the 1968 convention. Sweden ratified the 1949 Geneva Convention in 1952 and the 1968 Vienna Convention in 1985, according to the UN treaty records, so both kinds of permit exist. For Japan, only the 1949 one is valid.
How long can I drive on it here?
Up to a year from the day you land, or until the permit itself expires if that's sooner. Carry it with your Swedish licence and your passport.
What will be new behind the wheel?
Keeping left. Japan drives on the left, with right-hand-drive cars. Take the first hour slowly, somewhere without much traffic. Then there are the tolls, which we cover in paying tolls without an ETC card, and, if you go north in winter, Hokkaido's snow roads.
Where would we suggest?
South, as it happens. We live in Fukuoka on Kyushu and rent campervans there under the name VAN TRIP JAPAN. The note at the end of this page explains.
Checked against Transportstyrelsen's page on driving outside the EEA, 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.
