Les voitures à conduite à gauche au Japon: a guide for European buyers

Why look for an LHD car in Japan?

LHD means left-hand drive: the steering wheel is on the left of the cabin. It does not describe the car’s country of manufacture, its original sales market or its current registration status. Japan’s used-car market includes imported vehicles, so a search there can extend beyond familiar right-hand-drive Japanese models.

For a buyer in continental Europe, the opportunity is to locate a particular specification: a preferred engine, gearbox, colour, equipment package or generation. Treat Japan as another sourcing market and assess each candidate against comparable cars elsewhere. There is no automatic price, condition or collectability advantage simply because a car has spent time in Japan.

Establish the vehicle’s original specification

A car offered in Japan may have been supplied through an official distributor or brought in from another market. Ask which route applies and request documents that connect its identity to its history. “European brand”, “LHD” and “European specification” are different descriptions.

• Match the VIN or chassis number on the vehicle, listing and documents.
• Confirm the manufacturing specification, model year and first-registration information.
• Check the original market and any later registration or import history.
• Verify steering position with clear cabin photographs; ask about any conversion.
• Identify changes to lighting, instruments, exhaust, electronics or other equipment.

Factory ordering options also vary by model and period. A current brochure cannot establish the specification of an older used car; use records tied to the individual vehicle.

Review history as carefully as the specification

Request the available service records, auction sheet and condition photographs. Compare recorded mileage over time and ask about repairs, corrosion, modifications and warning lights. Gaps should remain visible in the buying decision rather than being filled with assumptions about a careful previous owner.

If the car is at auction, read the Japanese comments as well as the headline grade. Agree what further inspection is possible before bidding and which questions will remain unanswered. For a rare version, consider the availability of model-specific parts and documentation before stretching the budget.

Our Japanese auction guide explains the main checks, while the R and RA grade guide covers repair-history labels.

Check the destination requirements before buying

Steering position alone does not establish whether a car can be registered in your country. Review the actual vehicle’s technical conformity, documents and import position before committing to the purchase.

For France, Service Public’s foreign-vehicle guidance lists customs and technical-conformity documents among the requirements. Depending on the case, conformity evidence can include a European certificate of conformity, an identification attestation or an individual approval report. Ask the manufacturer or the competent authority which route applies.

Build the budget around purchase, agency costs, export, freight, insurance, destination charges and any required work. Obtain a vehicle-specific assessment of duties, taxes and registration costs rather than using one percentage for every import.

If you plan to drive the car in Japan

JAF confirms that traffic keeps left in Japan. An LHD driver therefore sits toward the kerb side, which changes sight lines and access to some roadside facilities. Consider this practical difference if you plan to use the car there before export.

Confirm the vehicle’s registration, insurance and your eligibility to drive separately from the purchase. If the car will be stored first, discuss that plan through the Japan storage guide.