Cars and Driving

Over the years, we’ve told you about the process of getting a driver’s license and buying cars and motorcycles in Japan, but we’ve never gone into detail on the inspection and taxation process that all vehicle owners must deal with every two years or less. It can be a real hassle because like most any government process anywhere, it’s convoluted, changes depending on your type and size of the vehicle, and involves anywhere from half a day to sometimes weeks of back and forth. So let’s shed some light on it a bit and make it as pain-free as possible. Shaken, Not Stirred Let’s start with the word shaken (車検) pronounced sha-KEN. It means car inspection and is the shortened form of Jidōsha Kensa Tōrokuseido (自動車検査登録制度, automobile inspection registration system). Every vehicle from large motorcycles over 250cc to large trucks must undergo this inspection annually or bi-annually. For us passenger car owners, this also coincides with the payment of road weight taxes and compulsory liability insurance (jibaiseki hoken 自賠責保険, but colloquially called ‘JCI’, Japan Compulsory Insurance by expats) which are also due at the time of inspection. There are several ways to go through this process, but for us, it…