Road signs in Japan

Signs on Aichi prefectural road No.439 in Toyooka, Shinshiro, Aichi – road narrows; slow down; no lorries; speed limit 30 km/h

A stop sign with a pedestrian crossing sign

A no crossing sign

This page shows the road signs used in Japan.

Warning signs

Warning signs are diamond shape with yellow backgrounds, black borders and black pictograms.

Crossroads
Roundabout warning
Succession of more than two curves to the right
Children crossing
Traffic lights ahead
Slippery road
Falling rocks
Bumpy road
Merging traffic from the left
Left lane ends
Road narrows on both sides
Two-way traffic ahead
Steep descent (10%)
Steep ascent (10%)
Roadworks
Wild animals crossing (deer)
Other dangers

Regulatory signs

The stop sign is a red, downward-pointing triangle, with the text 止まれ (tomare) in white. Prohibition signs are round with white backgrounds, red borders, and blue pictograms. Mandatory instruction signs are round with blue backgrounds and white pictograms.

Road closed to all
Road closed to vehicles
No entry
No motor vehicles except motorcycles and mopeds
No trucks
No buses
No motorcycles or mopeds
No hand carts
No bicycles
No two-person or large motorcycles
Straight ahead or left turn permitted
Straight ahead or right turn permitted
Turn left
Turn right
No turns
Turn left or right
Directions permitted
Keep left
Keep right
No right turn crossing ahead
No U-turn
No overtaking
No stopping
No parking
Limited parking (60 mins 08.00–20.00)
No vehicles carrying dangerous goods
No vehicles weighing over 5.5 tonnes
No vehicles higher than 3.3 metres
No vehicles wider than 2.2 metres
Speed limit (50 km/h)
Speed limit (80 km/h)
Minimum speed limit (30 km/h)
Motor vehicles only
Bicycles only
Bicycle and pedestrian path
Pedestrians only
One-way street
One way street to the right
One-way street to the left
Two-stage right turn for mopeds
No two-stage right turn for mopeds
Sound horn
Slow
Give Way
Stop
Road closed to pedestrians
No pedestrian crossing

Other signs

Direction/distance signs have dark green backgrounds and white text for expressways. In urban areas and on national highways, direction signs have dark blue backgrounds. The signs are normally written in Japanese and English.

National highway shield (Route 1)
Expressway name (Tomei)
Asian Highway route shield (AH1)

Traffic signs

Signs	Warning sign Regulatory sign Prohibitory traffic sign Mandatory sign Special regulation sign Stop sign Yield sign Crossbuck Dead End sign One-way traffic Speed limit (by country) Advisory speed limit Information sign Direction, position, or indication sign Variable-message sign Bilingual sign Driver location signs Logo sign Priority to the right

By comparison	Comparison of European road signs Comparison of MUTCD-Influenced Traffic Signs Comparison of road signs of English-speaking countries

By country	Argentina Australia Austria Botswana Brazil Brunei Canada Chile China Colombia Czech Republic Estonia Finland Germany Greece Hong Kong Iceland India Indonesia Iran Ireland Israel Italy Japan Malaysia Mauritius Mexico Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Norway Pakistan Poland Singapore South Africa South Korea Sri Lanka Sweden Switzerland Thailand Ukraine United Kingdom Scotland Wales United States Zimbabwe

Lights	Traffic light Traffic-light signalling and operation Traffic light control and coordination

Typefaces	Alfabeto Normale (IT) Austria (AT) Caractères (FR) Clarendon (US) Clearview (MX/US/CA/ID) DIN 1451 (DE) Drogowskaz (PL) Highway Gothic (global) Frutiger (Europe) Hangil (KR) Motorway (Europe) NPS Rawlinson Roadway (US) Panno (KR) SNV (CH) Tern (Europe) Trafikkalfabetet (NO) Transport (UK) Tratex (SE)

Conventions	Geneva Convention on Road Traffic Vienna Convention on Road Traffic Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (US) Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (UK)

Road signs in Asia

Sovereign states	Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Burma (Myanmar) Cambodia China Cyprus East Timor (Timor-Leste) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen

States with limited recognition	Abkhazia Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus Palestine South Ossetia Taiwan

Dependencies and other territories	British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Hong Kong Macau

Road signs in Japan

Warning signs

Regulatory signs

Other signs

See also