How to read a Japanese shaken certificate, box by box

The shaken certificate (jidōsha kensa-shō) is the document a car registered in Japan has to carry. Sellers often send a photo of it, and it's all in Japanese. Below is our own car's, with every box translated.

Two things surprise most buyers. The date the shaken runs out isn't printed on the card at all. And a car with a long shaken left hasn't been checked for anything more than the government's minimum on the day it was tested. Photos show less than you think, and so does this card.

The boxes on the printed card

Since 2023, the certificate has been a small card with an IC tag (kei cars since 2024). Japan's transport ministry (MLIT) lists what's printed on it. This is how each box reads on our own car, a Toyota Prius α.

Box (in Japanese, romanised)	In English	On our car	What it tells you
Jidōsha tōroku bangō	Registration number	Covered	The number plate. It ends when the car is deregistered for export
Kōfu nengappi (top line)	Date this card was issued	Reiwa 7, 17 June (2025)	When this card was printed, not when the car was made or tested
Shodo tōroku nengetsu	Month of first registration	Heisei 24, August (2012)	The month the car was first registered in Japan. It's usually the only date on the card close to its age
Jidōsha no shubetsu	Vehicle class	Futsū (standard)	Standard-size, small or kei
Yōto	Use	Jōyō (passenger)	Passenger or goods
Jikayō / jigyōyō no betsu	Private or commercial	Jikayō (private)	A commercial car, such as a taxi or a rental, is jigyōyō
Katashiki shitei bangō, ruibetsu kubun bangō	Type approval and category numbers	16806 / 0009	Japan's numbers for the exact version. Some importing countries ask for them
Shamei	Make	Toyota
Shatai no keijō	Body type	Station wagon (estate)
Shadai bangō	Chassis number	ZVW41- (rest covered)	Match it to the stamping on the car. See Japanese chassis number check
Nenryō no shurui	Fuel	Gasoline (petrol)	Our car is a hybrid; that shows in the remarks, not here
Katashiki	Model code	DAA-ZVW41W
Gendōki no katashiki	Engine model	2ZR-5JM	As printed. Compare it with the model plate and the listing
Sō haikiryō	Engine size	1.79 L
Jōsha teiin	Seats	5
Sharyō jūryō / sharyō sō jūryō	Weight / gross weight	1,470 kg / 1,745 kg
Nagasa, haba, takasa	Length, width, height	461, 177, 157 cm
Jikujū	Axle weights	890 kg front, 580 kg rear
Shiyōsha no shimei mata wa meishō	User's name	Covered	Whoever uses the car. The owner can be someone else, such as a finance company
Bikō	Remarks	Hybrid; Heisei 10 (1998) noise standard, 96 dB; exhaust acceleration noise rule applies	Notes that apply to this car. MLIT lists dozens of possible items

Reading the dates. Japanese documents count years by era. Reiwa 1 is 2019, so add 2018 to a Reiwa year. Heisei 1 is 1989, so add 1988 to a Heisei year.

What isn't on the printed card

According to MLIT, these are kept only on the IC tag, not printed:

• when the shaken runs out
• the owner's name and address
• the user's address
• where the car is based

The free certificate reader app, or the inspection record sheet (jidōsha kensa-shō kiroku jikō) that's been handed out with the card, shows them. MLIT says the sheet is given out at the transport offices until the end of 2027, though for some procedures that stopped at the end of 2025. Our own car's sheet also records its odometer readings at the shaken. More on that on our page about Japanese import mileage checks.

So if a listing says the shaken runs until a certain month, the card itself won't confirm it. Ask the seller for a photo of the record sheet, or a screenshot from the app, showing the expiry date, with the names and addresses covered.

What a valid shaken doesn't tell you

MLIT is plain about this. The shaken checks that a car meets the safety and environmental standards at the time it's tested. In MLIT's words, it doesn't guarantee the car's safety for the period the certificate is valid. Owners have to keep up their own daily and periodic checks.

So "shaken until 2027" tells you the car passed a minimum check on one day. It doesn't tell you what the underside, the strut tops or the engine are like now. That's what what dealer photos miss is about.

What this page can't tell you

• Whether a particular certificate is genuine. We read what's printed. We don't verify documents with the authorities.
• What every remark means on every car. We translate what's written. Some remarks are technical codes we don't interpret.
• Whether the car can be registered in your country. That's for your government. Our country pages list the official sources.
• The car's condition. No certificate shows that.

Got a photo of a shaken certificate and want it read? Send it to us with the listing. On a viewing, we also photograph the chassis number and the model code plate on the car, so you can match them to the papers.

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What to ask the seller

1. A photo of the shaken certificate, with the registration number and the user's name covered if they prefer
2. The inspection record sheet, or a screenshot from the reader app, showing when the shaken runs out and the odometer readings
3. Whether the remarks show a date of manufacture. MLIT lists one as an item printed "where applicable". It isn't on our own car's card. More on Japanese car build dates
4. Photos of the chassis number stamping and the model plate on the car, to match against the card

Dealer outside the Tokai region (Aichi, Gifu and Mie)? With a Remote Check, we phone the dealer in Japanese, ask for the certificate and the record sheet, and translate what they send.

Written by Yoshiaki Sagara, a paintless dent repair and detailing technician in Japan. He looks at cars for overseas buyers through Ninja Desk Japan. About us

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