The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to Standardize "Local License Plates" Nationwide to Full Color — Monochrome Versions to be Completely Phased Out by Fiscal Year 2027

Table of Contents

1. What are Local Specialty License Plates?

2. Background of the Monochrome Version Discontinuation

3. Aims and Benefits of Full-Color Standardization

4. Implementation Schedule for Fiscal Year 2026–27

5. Details on Fees, Donations, and Procedures

6. What is the "Hometown Version" System?

7. Impact on Foreign Drivers and Rental Car Users

8. Verification of Traffic Safety and Visibility

9. Tourism and Regional Branding Effects

10. Comparison with Overseas Graphic Plate Systems

11. Challenges and Future Discussion Points

12. Conclusion
    
    

1. What are Local Specialty License Plates?

Local specialty license plates feature designs depicting regional tourist attractions or specialty products. Since the first issuance in 2018, they have expanded to 73 regions mlit.go.jp. By paying a donation of 1,000 yen or more, full-color plates could be chosen, while monochrome was available without a donation. Recently, over 90% of users prefer the color version.

2. Background of the Monochrome Version Discontinuation

In June 2025, an expert panel from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism pointed out that the complexity of the manufacturing line burdens small and medium-sized enterprises. Following this, the policy to discontinue the monochrome version was announced on the 17th of the same month mainichi.jp. Additionally, safety concerns from users that "black and white is hard to distinguish from a distance" also supported this decision minkara.carview.co.jp.

3. Aims and Benefits of Full-Color Standardization

1. Cost Reduction: By unifying the printing and painting equipment, a cost reduction of approximately 200 yen per plate is expected.

2. Traffic Safety: With higher color contrast, the visibility rate of numbers is estimated to improve by 6% at night kumanichi.com.

3. Regional Promotion: Donations are expected to increase to around 1.9 billion yen annually, which will be reinvested in road maintenance and tourism campaigns.

4. 2026–27 Fiscal Year Implementation Schedule

5. Details on Fees, Donations, and Procedures

• Issuance Fee: 7,700–9,200 yen for two plates for registered vehicles (varies by region).

• Donation: 1,000 yen or more (optional) when choosing color.

• Online Application: Planned to be available via My Number Portal within the 2026 fiscal year.

Vehicles equipped with existing monotone plates are not required to exchange them. However, it is being adjusted to recommend replacement during vehicle registration document updates. kumanichi.com.

6. What is the "Hometown Version" System?

A new system allowing the choice of regional designs regardless of one's home base. Aiming for introduction in the 2029 fiscal year, there is also a proposal to expand the donation cap to 5,000 yen under discussion kumanichi.com. This would allow, for example, a resident of Hokkaido to use an Okinawa design.

7. Impact on Foreign Drivers and Rental Car Users

• Rental Car Companies may standardize popular area designs for regional promotion purposes.

• Short-term Visitors will not require additional procedures when driving with an international driver's license.

• Souvenir Effect: An increase in demand is expected for taking home old plates as interior decor after exchange.

8. Verification of Traffic Safety and Visibility

In MLIT's demonstration experiment, the average plate identification speed at night was reduced by 0.3 seconds, and the time to detect the risk of rear-end collisions improved by 6% mlit.go.jp.

9. Effects on Tourism and Regional Branding

With unified colors, donations are stably secured and allocated to tourism promotion measures. Example: Kumamoto Prefecture subsidizes anti-misstep devices for the elderly with donations mlit.go.jp. The design itself is Instagrammable, spreading regional identity as a "moving poster" both domestically and internationally.

10. Comparison with Overseas Graphic Plate Systems

• United States: Diverse designs are adopted by each state, and donations go to nature conservation organizations.

• United Kingdom: Prioritizes identifiability and limits designs.

• Australia: Personal customization is free but expensive.
  Japan's new system aims for a balanced model of "Tourism PR × Donations × Safety."

11. Challenges and Future Issues

• Counterfeit Measures: Increased costs for introducing IC tags and holograms.

• Visual Overload: Concerns remain that overly flashy designs make numbers difficult to read.

• Business Burden: Support measures for small suppliers without dedicated color painting facilities.
  
  
  
  

12. Summary

The abolition of monotone is not "diversification" but a decision to enhance convenience and safety through "unification." Full-color expression will make regional characteristics more vivid and become a new driver for tourism and industrial promotion. For foreign travelers, it will expand the enjoyment of "taking home" stories from various parts of Japan through license plates. The details of the system revision will be finalized in future government ordinance revisions, so those considering changing their car plates should keep an eye on the latest information.

Reference Articles

• Mainichi Shimbun "Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to Standardize Local License Plates to Color Version, Monotone to be Abolished" (June 18, 2025)mainichi.jp

• Kyodo News "Design License Plates to Include 'Hometown Version', Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Considering Optional Selection" (June 17, 2025)kumanichi.com

• Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Document "Current Status of License Plates with Designs" (September 2024)mlit.go.jp

• Minkara Blog "Thoughts on Standardizing Local License Plates to Color" (June 18, 2025)minkara.carview.co.jp