Spain on a Japanese Licence — The Side Switch Is the Whole Job

Can a Japanese tourist rent a car in Spain? Yes, at 18 or older, with the Japanese licence and either a 1949-format International Driving Permit or an official Spanish translation. Article 21 of the General Drivers Regulation sets that rule, and a visitor may drive on those documents for six months from entry. The Japanese card is written in Japanese and does not follow the convention model, so on its own it is not enough. Get the IDP in Japan before departure, and carry it with the licence and passport.

After the paperwork, the job is the side of the road.

You are now on the right

Japan drives on the left and Spain on the right. That reversal catches Japanese drivers far more than the signs or the limits do. Leaving a service station, entering a roundabout that now flows anticlockwise, or looking the wrong way at a T-junction are the classic first-day errors. Spend the first hour on quiet roads rather than the Madrid M-30, and check every turn deliberately until it feels normal.

Spanish speeds against Japanese ones

Spanish town limits depend on the street: 50 km/h where there are two or more lanes each way, 30 km/h with one lane each way and 20 km/h where road and pavement share one level. Japanese drivers who are used to 60 in town will find Spanish centres tighter, and the open road much faster.

What the fines cost

The lowest speeding band is EUR 100 without points. On a 120 km/h road that covers 121 to 150 km/h; the next band, 31 to 50 over, is EUR 300 with 2 points, then EUR 400 for 51 to 60, EUR 500 for 61 to 70 and EUR 600 beyond that. On roads limited to 50 or less, the steps start earlier, at 21 over. Other fixed penalties are EUR 200 and 6 points for a phone, EUR 200 and 4 points for a missing seatbelt, and EUR 200 and 4 points for a red light. Japan’s phone fine is JPY 18,000 plus 3 points, so the Spanish version looks similar but costs more points. For your own case, put the excess into the speeding fine calculator.

Renting at the airport

Before you accept the keys, show the desk both the licence and the IDP or translation, and ask for the rental agreement to be in a language you can read. Walk round the car with the agent and photograph the bodywork. Check for the V-16 beacon and the spare wheel or repair kit while you are still in the lot, because a missing item is easier to fix there than on the hard shoulder. Then program your route and drive somewhere calm first.

Alcohol

Spain’s limit is 0.5 g/l in the blood, and 0.3 g/l in the first two years of holding a licence. Japan’s is 0.3 g/l, so the habit you already have fits well; keep to it and drink nothing before driving.

What the car must carry

Spanish-registered cars, hire cars included, must carry a connected V-16 beacon, which replaced warning triangles for them on 1 January 2026; check it is on board at collection. The list also includes a reflective vest and a spare wheel or repair kit. Japanese rules ask only for a warning triangle, so look in the boot before you sign.

Emergency numbers

112 works everywhere. Spain also keeps separate lines: 091 for police, 061 for an ambulance and 080 for the fire service. Japan’s 110 and 119 do not connect.

The driving permit checker covers other countries on your route, and the Spain driving guide has the rest of the rules.

Sources

• Reglamento General de Conductores (RD 818/2009), article 21 (IDP or official translation; six months from entry): boe.es
• UN Treaty Collection, 1949 Convention on Road Traffic (Japan and Spain parties): treaties.un.org
• Reglamento General de Circulación (RD 1428/2003), article 20 (0.5 g/l; 0.3 g/l for new drivers) and article 50 (urban 20/30/50 km/h): boe.es
• Real Decreto Legislativo 6/2015, Annex IV (speeding bands, EUR 100 to EUR 600): boe.es
• Real Decreto 159/2021 (V-16 beacon): boe.es
• WHO Global status report on road safety 2023, Japan profile (0.03 g/dl; 100 km/h motorway): who.int
• WHO Global status report on road safety 2023, Spain profile (90 km/h rural, 120 km/h motorway): who.int