When a motor vehicle (excluding a special small motor vehicle) is in a condition of not conforming to the safety standards and the cause is found to be attributable to modification of the motor vehicle or a part thereof, installation or removal of equipment, or any other act similar thereto, the Director of a District Transport Bureau may order the user of that motor vehicle to carry out the maintenance necessary to make it conform to the safety standards. In this case, the Director of a District Transport Bureau may give the user of that motor vehicle instructions necessary for safety, or for pollution prevention and other conservation of the environment, such as restrictions on the method of use or route of that motor vehicle, concerning its operation until it comes to conform to the safety standards.
When the Director of a District Transport Bureau has ordered maintenance pursuant to the preceding paragraph, the Director must affix a maintenance order mark, as prescribed by Order of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, at a conspicuous place on the front of that motor vehicle.
No person may damage or soil the maintenance order mark affixed pursuant to the preceding paragraph, nor remove it until after the order under paragraph (1) has been revoked pursuant to paragraph (5).
The user of a motor vehicle that has received an order under paragraph (1) must, within 15 days from the date on which the user received that order, present to the Director of a District Transport Bureau the motor vehicle on which the maintenance necessary to make it conform to the safety standards has been carried out, and the motor vehicle inspection certificate relating to that motor vehicle.
When the motor vehicle relating to the presentation referred to in the preceding paragraph has come to conform to the safety standards, the Director of a District Transport Bureau must immediately revoke the order under paragraph (1).
The Director of a District Transport Bureau may, by specifying a period of not more than six months, suspend the use of a motor vehicle when its user fails to comply with an order or instruction under paragraph (1) or violates paragraph (3) or paragraph (4).
If the motor vehicle subject to the disposition under the preceding paragraph has not come to conform to the safety standards by the day on which the period of suspension of use of the motor vehicle under that paragraph expires, its user must not use it for operation even after the expiry of that period, until it comes to conform to the safety standards.