Road signs in Japan

In Japan, road signs (道路標識, dōro-hyōshiki) are standardized by the "Order on Road Sign, Road Line, and Road Surface Marking (道路標識、区画線及び道路標示に関する命令)" established in 1968 with origins from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's "Order on Standardization of Road Sign" of 1934 and the Home Ministry of Japan's "Order on Road Signs" of 1942.[1] The previous designs have been used since 1986 after several amendments of order.[2]

Signs on Aichi prefectural road No.439 in Toyooka, Shinshiro, Aichi; road narrows, slow down (former design), no trucks and speed limit 30 km/h

A stop sign (former design) with a pedestrian crossing sign

A no crossing sign

They are divided into "Principal Sign" (本標識, hon-hyōshiki) and "Supplemental Sign" (補助標識, hojo-hyōshiki).

Principal signs

Principal Signs (本標識, hon-hyōshiki) are categorized into 4 types; guide, warning, regulatory and instruction signs.

Guide signs

Guide signs (案内標識, an'nai-hyōshiki) indicates directions or distances of the road. Guide 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. Since 2014 Vialog is used as the typeface for English words and Place name Transcriptions.

[3]

• 
  Expressway ramp ahead
• 
  Expressway exit ahead
• 
  Exits and distance (expressway)
• 
  Junction (expressway)
• 
  Expressway number (E1; Tomei)
• 
  Expressway shield (E4; Tōhoku)
• 
  Urban Expressway shield (Shuto C1)
• 
  Intersection
• 
  Intersection
• 
  Distance of cities and areas
• 
  National highway shield (Route 20)
• 
  National highway shield
• 
  National highway shield
• 
  Prefectural highway shield (Fukuoka Route 758)
• 
  Prefectural highway shield
• 
  Prefectural highway shield (inter-city route)
• 
  Prefectural highway shield
• 
  Prefectural highway shield (inter-city route)
• 
  Street name
• 
  Detour
• 
  Detour
• 
  Mitigated limitation of height (expressway)
• 
  Mitigated limitation of weight

Warning signs

Warning signs (警戒標識, keikai-hyōshiki) warn drivers of dangers or situations that they must pay attention to. Their design, black pattern and border on yellow diamond (usually with 45 cm per a side), is based on the U.S. MUTCD.[4]

• 
  Crossroads
• 
  Traffic Circle
• 
  Succession of more than two curves to the right
• 
  Railroad crossing ahead (old)
• 
  Railroad crossing ahead
• 
  School area
• 
  Traffic lights ahead
• 
  Slippery surface
• 
  Falling rocks
• 
  Bumpy road
• 
  Traffic merges from the left
• 
  Left lane ends
• 
  Road narrows on both sides
• 
  Two-way traffic ahead
• 
  Steep descent (10%)
• 
  Steep ascent (10%)
• 
  Roadworks
• 
  Dangerous wind gusts
• 
  Wild animals crossing (deer)
• 
  Other dangers

Regulatory signs

Regulatory signs (規制標識, kisei-hyōshiki) show the regulations of each roads in order to keep road condition and prevent dangers of traffic.

The stop sign is a red, downward-pointing triangle, with the text 止まれ (tomare) & "stop" (in English, for the pre-1963 and current designs only) 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.

• Stop and slow down
• 
  Slow down (In Japanese and English, current design from 2017)
• 
  Slow down (In Japanese Only, phased out in 2017)
• 
  Yield (abolished in 2017)
• 
  Stop (In Japanese and English, current design from 2017)
• 
  Stop (In Japanese Only, used from 1963 to 2017)
• 
  Stop sign, used from 1950 to 1960
• 
  Stop sign, used from 1960 to 1963

• Exclusions
• 
  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 nonmotorized vehicle
• 
  No bicycles
• 
  No motor vehicles
• 
  No two-person motorcycles
• 
  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
• 
  Motor vehicles only
• 
  Bicycles only
• 
  Pedestrians only
• 
  Road closed to pedestrians

• Turns
• 
  Straight ahead or left turn permitted
• 
  Straight ahead or right turn permitted
• 
  Turn left
• 
  Turn right
• 
  No turns
• 
  Turn left or right
• 
  Directions permitted
• 
  Roundabout
• 
  Keep left
• 
  Keep right
• 
  No right turn crossing ahead
• 
  No U-turn
• 
  Two-stage right turn for mopeds
• 
  No two-stage right turn for mopeds

• Restrictions
• 
  No crossing centre line when overtaking
• 
  Speed limit (90 km/h)
• 
  End of speed restriction limit
• 
  End of speed restriction limit[5]
• 
  Minimum speed limit (50 km/h)
• 
  One-way street to the left
• 
  One way street to the right
• 
  One-way street ahead
• 
  One way (bicycle)
• 
  Trucks use left lane[6]
• 
  Buses-only lane
• 
  Bicycle lane
• 
  Buses-priority lane
• 
  Lane usage
• 
  Lane usage
• 
  Lane usage
• 
  Lane usage
• 
  Use car horns
• 
  No pedestrian crossing

• Parking and Stopping
• 
  No stopping
• 
  No parking
• 
  Restricted parking
• 
  Parallel parking
• 
  Right-angle parking
• 
  Slanting parking

Instruction Signs

Instruction signs (指示標識, shiji-hyōshiki) show points and devices on the road that drivers should pay attention.

• 
  Stop line
• 
  Centre line
• 
  Driving on tram rail permitted
• 
  Tram stop
• 
  Parking permissive
• 
  Stopping permissive
• 
  Pedestrian crossing
• 
  School crossing
• 
  Bicycle crossing
• 
  Bicycle and pedestrian crossing
• 
  Controls ahead

Supplemental signs

Supplemental signs (補助標識, hojo-hyōshiki) are usually put just below the principal signs, and shows their valid range like time, day and category of vehicle.[7] They are equivalent to the "plaque" of the American MUTCD. The width of the plates is usually 60 cm, and the sentences should be less than 7 characters per a line or 3 lines.[8] When the sentences can not be shortened less than the limitation, they should apply changeable signs.[8]

• 
  100 meters ahead
• 
  Next 50 meters
• 
  Except Sundays and Holidays
• 
  8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• 
  Except mopeds
• 
  Bicycles (symbol)
• 
  Large vehicles carrying over 3 tonnes (symbol)
• 
  Restriction begins
• 
  Restriction begins (symbol)
• 
  Restricted zone
• 
  Restricted zone (symbol)
• 
  End of restriction
• 
  End of restriction (symbol)
• 
  End of restriction

Other signs

• 
  Expressway name (Tomei)
• 
  Asian Highway route shield (AH1)
• 
  Ferry (pictogram established in Japanese Industrial Standards)

"Stop" sign changes

The octagonal "stop" sign design recommended by the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals

In 2016, it was announced that the Japanese National Police Agency was considering changing the design of the "Stop" sign used on Japanese roads since 1963 from the inverted red triangle sign to an octagonal design more closely conforming to the recommendations of the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.[9] The inverted red triangle sign was introduced in 1963 ahead of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, and replaced the earlier red octagonal sign used from 1960, which in turn had replaced the yellow octagonal sign used from 1950.[9] It was later decided to make the stop sign bilingual in both Japanese and English, but to maintain the inverted triangular shape.[10]

Photographs

• 
  Street name and highway shields (Chiba Prefecture)
• 
  Expressway ramp ahead (with expressway number)
• 
  Intersection
• 
  Mitigated limitations of weight and height
• 
  Lane usage
• 
  Lane usage (changeable)
• 
  Directions permitted
• 
  Tram stop
• 
  Crossing prohibition (7-9 a.m.) ends
• 
  Taxis without passenger can not enter at 9 p.m.-2 a.m.
• 
  Restrictions 200 m ahead
• 
  Asian highway sign and symbol of Nihonbashi (Shuto Expressway)

References

1. 時崎賢二 1990, p. 22.
2. dark-RX 2008, p. 105.
3. "Fuenfwerken-Schrift in Japan | Fuenfwerken". www.fuenfwerken.com (in German). Retrieved 2018-03-23.
4. 時崎賢二 1979, p. 24.
5. A left arrow or ここまで in the supplemental sign (plaque) means "END". A right arrow or ここから in the plaque means "BEGIN".
6. The symbol can be changed to other vehicles.
7. 全標協 2013, p. 3（設置）
8. 警察庁 2017, p. 32.
9. "Design of Japanese stop signs might change ahead of Olympic tourism surge". The Japan Times. Japan: The Japan Times Ltd. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
10. "英語併記の新標識お目見え　一時停止に「ＳＴＯＰ」". 日本経済新聞 電子版 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2018-01-24.

Bibliography

• 時崎賢二 (1979). "道路標識等の基礎知識". 月刊交通. 東京法令出版. 10 (5): 18–29.
• 時崎賢二 (1990). "道路標識の国際化". 月刊交通. 東京法令出版. 21 (4): 19–39.
• dark-RX (2008-03-20). "見つけよう! 旧標識". 酷道をゆく. イカロス出版: 104–107. ISBN 978-4-86320-025-8.
• 全国道路標識標示業協会（編） (2013). 道路標識ハンドブック (2012年度版 ed.). 全国道路標識・標示業協会.
• 警察庁交通局 (2017-04-24). "交通規制基準" (PDF). 警察庁. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
• "道路標識、区画線及び道路標示に関する命令　別表第２". www.mlit.go.jp. Retrieved 2018-01-24.
• "17062814_ichiran（止まれ、徐行正式版追加）" (PDF). www.mlit.go.jp (PDF). 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2018-01-25.