What Do The Japanese Symbols & Colors Represent?

There are a total of 106 different issuing municipalities covering the 47 prefectures, territories and metropolises of Japan, each with their respective names displayed in Kanji. Tokyo, being the largest urban area in Japan, has a total of five: Adachi, Hachioji, Nerima, Shinagawa and Tama, as shown in the image below.

Vehicle Classification

While vehicles are categorized from 0-9, privately registered vehicles utilize numbers 3 and 5 only. Standard cars with a maximum capacity of ten persons will display 3xx, with small and kei cars displaying 5xx. In addition, cars utilising only two numbers for classification can still be seen today, e.g. 3x and 5x. These vehicles were registered prior to the 14th of May, 1999.

Hiragana Characters

The hiragana symbols to the left of the number plate specifically identify the type of use for each vehicle. Privately owned vehicles of small and standard cars use the following:

さ・す・せ・そ・た・ち・つ・て・と・な・に・ぬ・ね・の・は・ひ・ふ・ほ・ま・み・む・め・や・ゆ・ら・り・る

While kei cars use the following:

あ・い・う・え・か・き・く・け・こ・さ・す・せ・そ・た・ち・つ・て・と・な・に・ぬ・ね・の・は・ひ・ふ・ほ・ま・み・む・め・や・ゆ・ら・る・を

Color Options

The color of the plate also has significance.