Can a Japanese Driver Drive in Portugal? — IDP + the Side Switch
Japan
Portugal
Yes — a Japanese licence holder can drive in Portugal, and an International Driving Permit is recommended alongside it. The one thing that catches Japanese drivers is the side switch — Japan drives on the left, Portugal on the right — so your first day on a roundabout needs full concentration.
A Japanese licence holder can drive in Portugal, and an International Driving Permit is recommended to carry alongside it. Portugal does not always demand the IDP by law, but rental offices and traffic police expect the certified translation it gives — so sort it in Japan before you fly, since you cannot obtain one once you arrive.
The licence is the simple part. The genuine adjustment for a Japanese driver is the side of the road. Japan drives on the left; Portugal drives on the right. Every instinct you have built up — which way you glance at a junction, which lane you drift into pulling away, which direction a roundabout turns — is reversed. The danger isn’t the motorway, where lanes are wide and signed; it’s the first petrol-station exit or town roundabout, where reflex takes over. Spend your first half-hour on quiet roads and narrate each turn to yourself until “right” stops feeling wrong.
Once that settles, Portugal is one of the easier European countries to drive. The motorways are modern and well-surfaced, with a 120 km/h limit, 90 on rural roads and 50 in towns. The catch most visitors miss is the toll system: many motorways use electronic tolling with no booths, so a rental’s transponder (or a registered card) matters — ask the rental desk how yours is set up before you drive off, or you’ll get a bill later.
The drink-drive limit is 0.05 BAC, a touch above Japan’s 0.03, but the safe policy is the same: nothing before driving. Speeding around 10 km/h over typically draws a fine in the EUR 60-300 band, and enforcement mixes fixed cameras with mobile patrols, particularly on the Algarve in summer.
Fuel runs to roughly $1.88 per litre — among the pricier in the region — so supermarket-attached stations off the motorway save real money. The emergency number is 112.
Confirm your paperwork with the Driving Permit Checker, read the full Portugal driving guide before you go, and if you do pick up a ticket, the Speeding Fine Calculator will estimate it.
Speed limits, fines, equipment & license requirements
Your home country driving rules for reference
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. A Japanese licence is accepted for tourist stays, but carry an IDP with it — rental desks in Portugal expect to see the certified translation an IDP provides, and it removes any doubt at a roadside check.
Yes — and this is the real adjustment. Japan drives on the left; Portugal drives on the right. Roundabouts, junctions and overtaking all flow the opposite way, so take your first hour somewhere quiet.
Portugal sets 0.05 BAC, slightly higher than Japan's 0.03 — but treat it as zero. Enforcement is routine and penalties run to heavy fines and licence confiscation.