Japan on a Norwegian Licence — Geneva IDP, Left-Hand Roads & a 0.03 Limit

A Norwegian driver can legally take the wheel in Japan with one extra document: the 1949 Geneva International Driving Permit. Norway is a Geneva signatory, so the permit NAF issues is accepted, and it covers stays of up to 12 months. Japan does not issue it on arrival. If you land without it, the rental desk will turn you away, so order it at home. The Driving Permit Checker will confirm the paperwork for your licence.

Left side, and what that does to your hands

Norway keeps right; Japan keeps left. Most of the trouble comes in the first hour: turning into the far lane, glancing the wrong way at a crossing, or flicking the wipers on when you meant to indicate. The two stalks are swapped on many Japanese cars. Pick the car up somewhere quiet instead of in the middle of a big city, and say “left, left” aloud at each turn until it sticks.

Same digits, different services

Here is a trap that only Norwegians fall into. In Norway, 110 is the fire brigade. In Japan, 110 is the police and 119 covers both ambulance and fire. Your muscle memory for 112 and 113 leads nowhere here. Put 110 and 119 in your phone before you drive off.

A slightly higher limit is not a licence to drink

Japan’s limit is 0.03, a touch above Norway’s 0.02. It would be a mistake to read that as slack. The easy rule is the same as at home: if you are driving, you do not drink.

Speeds, and what a camera costs

Off the expressways the default limit is 60 km/h. Where there is no centre line on the road, or where a sign says so, it falls to 30 km/h, and from September 2026 narrow residential roads default to 30 km/h. Expressways run at 100 km/h, with 120 km/h on a few designated sections.

Norwegians are used to a fixed tariff for speeding, and Japan works the same way, though the amounts are smaller:

For comparison, Norway charges NOK 3,350 for going 10 km/h over, so the yen amounts look mild. Do not be lulled: the criminal threshold in Japan is 30 km/h over on ordinary roads and 40 on expressways, and at 30 or more over you face points and licence suspension. Test a figure of your own in the Speeding Fine Calculator.

Other fines worth knowing

• Red light: JPY 9,000 plus 2 points (about EUR 55).
• Phone in hand: JPY 18,000 plus 3 points (about EUR 115).
• Seatbelt: a warning and 1 point on a first offence, with no fine.

Packing the car, Norwegian style

At home you carry a reflective vest and a warning triangle. In Japan only the warning triangle is on the list, and the rental company will normally supply it. Leave it in the boot. Your own vest costs nothing to bring and is useful if you must stop on a dark road, but it is not a legal requirement there.

Expressways and tolls

Expressways are the quick way between cities, and tolls add up. Ask the rental firm whether the car has an ETC card when you pick it up, because it lets you pass the toll gates without stopping to pay each time.

Read the Japan driving guide for the wider rules, and keep your passport, Norwegian licence and Geneva permit together in the glovebox.

Sources

• Norway and Japan road records on this site: IDP (1949 Geneva only), 12-month limit, left-hand traffic, 0.03 and 0.02 alcohol limits, speeding ladder, penalties, emergency numbers.
• Japanese Enforcement Order art. 11 and the schedule of criminal speeding thresholds, as recorded in the Japan road record.