Vehicle inspection period in Japan is prolonged this year, because of COVID

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) announced on February 28 that it will extend the expiration date of vehicle inspections as part of measures to end the epidemic of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) infection early.

This applies to all vehicles whose inspection period is from February 28 to March 31, 2020, to be extended to April 30. In other words, whether the expiration date is February 28 or March 31, the continuous inspection will be available until April 30.

The reason for the increase is that many vehicles have their vehicle inspections expire at the end of the fiscal year in March, and many applicants are concentrated at counters such as transportation branch offices. Under such circumstances, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport decided to apply the provisions of Article 61bis of the Road Transport Vehicle Act, stating that the risk of transmission would increase. Users should understand the purpose of the extension, and be careful not to be careless about the extension and forget the continuous inspection, or concentrate again at the end of April.