In Japan, the national government issues vehicle registration plates for motor vehicles through the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Land Transportation Offices nationwide. However, the local municipality rather than the national government registers certain vehicles with small engine displacements. Broadly speaking, passenger automobiles with engine displacements at or smaller than 2000 cc receive 5-series plates, while passenger automobiles with engine displacements larger than 2,000 cc (120 cu in) or more receive 3-series license plates. The number on the top line begins with a "0" through "9" to indicate the series, followed by additional numbers for specific vehicle classification. Additional criteria include a numerical representation signifying length, width and height of the vehicle. Official vehicles of the Imperial household are exempt from the requirement to display such plates. Official vehicles of the Self-Defense Forces, foreign diplomats, and the U.S. military are required to display other plates.

Night image of jiko-shiki (literally "character-glowing type", which means illuminated letters) plate, as might be issued in Osaka The plates are installed on both the front and rear of the vehicle, with the rear plate permanently attached to the vehicle with a prefecture seal completely covering one of the attaching plate bolts. The plate is only removed when the vehicle has reached the end of service and has been sold for scrap, or exported. New vehicles are not delivered to the purchaser until the plates have been attached at the dealership. Since November 1, 1970, a "jiko-shiki" (字光式) plate has been offered for private vehicles at the owner's request. The green characters on this type of plate are replaced with molded green plastic that can be illuminated from behind the plate. From May 19, 1998, specific numbers can also be requested if the numbers are not already in use. From 2010, these are also available in blue. * These plates are issued by municipal governments.

Until 31 December 1974, kei cars had small green and white license plates. After this date, they received medium plates, now in black and yellow to distinguish them from regular cars.shadow motorcycle for sale in lebanon Please note that, to avoid any claims of invasion of privacy, the artist of these pictures has deliberately selected an invalid combination of characters.motorcycle shop plainfield ct The illustration shows what a plate might look like. motorcycle store subang jayaThe top line contains the name of the issuing office (Tama, shown, is in Tokyo) and a vehicle class code. motorcycle dealers iow

The bottom line contains a hiragana character and a four-digit serial number divided into two groups of two digits separated by a hyphen. motorcycle parts high wycombeAny leading zeros are replaced by centered dots.the motorcycle shop 400 w potter White plates can have the following hiragana (blue indicates rental vehicle characters):motorcycle tires 91335 Green plates can have the following hiragana: Some characters, including ones with a dakuten or a handakuten, cannot be used on any plates, including the yellow and black ones: A license plate in Japan thus follows this format: KK?*H##-## (e.g., 足立500き21-41), where KK is the name of the issuing office in kanji, H is a hiragana, ?

is a 5 for vehicles less than 2000 cc and a 3 for vehicles greater than 2000 cc (other numbers are less common—1 for large trucks, 2 for buses, etc.[1]), * is a number from 0 to 99 (pre-1971 license plates will omit this), and # is a number from 0* to 9 (*leading zeros are replaced by centered dots). A Tesla Roadster Sport bearing license plates issued in Shinagawa (品川) for a class 301 vehicle Vehicles owned by personnel with the United States military in Japan under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) have a "Y" on white plates, or an "A" on yellow plates, where the hiragana character is normally displayed. Earlier versions of the SOFA license plate displayed the letters "K", "M", "G", "H" and "E". These letters indicated the car was imported into Japan under SOFA and was left-hand drive. Today, cars with an "E" indicate that Japanese sales tax has not been paid and the vehicle will not remain in Japan when the military member departs. Since the 1980s, military commands have discouraged servicemembers assigned to Japan from shipping their vehicles from the U.S. into the country, so this is rarely seen.

Military members who retire in Japan use the hiragana "よ". Many opt to purchase second-hand domestic vehicles through used car dealers off-base, and from other servicemembers departing Japan at on-base "lemon lots". NHK announced in early 2009 that prefectures may now choose their own color scheme and possibly pattern. This is already being done with the motorcycle plates for Matsuyama, Ehime. Because the Japanese writing system, particularly the kana, is unique to Japan, standard-issue Japanese license plates are considered unacceptable for international travel. If a motorist wishes to take their vehicle abroad with them, the Ministry of Transport will issue them with a plate with the hiragana and kanji scripts replaced by Roman letters. The hiragana prefix is replaced by a Kunrei-shiki romanization of that character. The kanji prefecture/office code is replaced by a two- or three-letter abbreviation, the first two letters representing the prefecture, the third (if present) representing the office within the prefecture.