A motor vehicle (excluding light motor vehicles, special small motor vehicles and two-wheeled small-sized motor vehicles; the same applies hereinafter in this Chapter, except in Articles 29 through 32) must not be put to operation unless it has been registered in the motor vehicle registration file.

①The acquisition or loss of ownership of a registered motor vehicle may not be asserted against a third party unless it has been registered.

②The provisions of the preceding paragraph do not apply to the large special motor vehicles prescribed in the proviso to Article 2 of the Automobile Mortgage Act (Act No. 187 of 1951).

①The registration of a motor vehicle in the motor vehicle registration file is to be carried out by means of an electronic data processing system, as provided by Cabinet Order.

②The motor vehicle registration file and the electronic data processing system referred to in the preceding paragraph are managed by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

①In the case where the owner of a motor vehicle that has not been registered intends to have it registered (hereinafter referred to as "new registration"), the owner must submit to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism a written application stating the following matters, accompanied, in the categories specified by Order of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, by the certificate of transfer prescribed in Article 33, a document certifying the fact of importation, or any other document sufficient to certify ownership of the motor vehicle, and must also present the motor vehicle:

②The Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism may require a person who files the application under the preceding paragraph to submit, in addition to what is prescribed in that paragraph, a certificate concerning the stamping of the chassis number or motor model and any other necessary documents.

③In the case where an application is filed under paragraph (1), for a motor vehicle listed in each of the following items, submission of the document specified in that item may be substituted for presenting the motor vehicle:

④In the case where the matters prescribed in the provisions listed in each of the following items have been provided, under the provisions listed in that item, to a person registered by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism under Articles 96-2 through 96-4 (hereinafter referred to as a "registered information processing body"), a person who files the application under paragraph (1) may, as provided by Order of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, substitute for the submission of the document listed in that item a statement to that effect in the written application under that paragraph:

⑤Where it is stated in the written application under paragraph (1) that the matters prescribed in the provisions listed in the items of the preceding paragraph have been provided to a registered information processing body pursuant to that paragraph, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is to inquire of the registered information processing body about the necessary matters, as provided by Order of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

⑥The application under paragraph (1) must be filed at the same time as an application for a new inspection or an application for issuance under Article 71, paragraph (4).

Upon receiving the written application under the preceding Article, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism must carry out new registration, except in the case where any of the following items applies:

New registration is carried out by registering in the motor vehicle registration file the matters set out in Article 7, paragraph (1), items (i) through (v) and the date of the new registration, and by determining a motor vehicle registration number in accordance with the standards specified by Order of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and registering it in the motor vehicle registration file.

Upon carrying out new registration, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism must notify the applicant of the registered particulars, as provided by Order of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

①Upon being notified of the motor vehicle registration number under the preceding Article, the owner of a motor vehicle must receive from the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism or a motor vehicle registration number plate issuing agent under Article 25 a motor vehicle registration number plate bearing that number, attach it to the motor vehicle as provided by Order of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and then have a seal affixed by the Minister (in the case of a remote island specified by Cabinet Order, the Minister or the head of a municipality specified by Cabinet Order; the same applies hereinafter in this Article (excluding paragraph (2), item (iii) and paragraph (3))) or by a person entrusted under Article 28-3, paragraph (1) (hereinafter referred to in this Article as a "seal affixing agent").

②The provisions of the preceding paragraph apply mutatis mutandis to the following cases. In this case, the removal of the motor vehicle registration number plate or seal that becomes necessary is to be carried out by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism or a seal affixing agent:

③The Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is to approve the replacement of the motor vehicle registration number plate for a motor vehicle where the owner of the motor vehicle has applied for it.

④Where the seal attached to the motor vehicle registration number plate for a motor vehicle has been lost or damaged (excluding where it was removed for an unavoidable reason specified by Order of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism as referred to in the proviso to the following paragraph), the owner of the motor vehicle must have a seal affixed by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism or a seal affixing agent.

⑤No person may remove a seal affixed by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism or a seal affixing agent, or a motor vehicle registration number plate to which a seal has been affixed by either of them; provided, however, that this does not apply where there is a particular need for maintenance or where it falls under any other unavoidable reason specified by Order of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

⑥In the case referred to in the proviso to the preceding paragraph, when the owner of the motor vehicle ceases to fall under the unavoidable reason specified by Order of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism as referred to in the proviso to that paragraph, the owner must, where only the seal was removed, have a seal affixed by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism or a seal affixing agent, and where the motor vehicle registration number plate to which the seal had been affixed was removed, attach that plate to the motor vehicle as provided by Order of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and then have a seal affixed by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism or a seal affixing agent.

①Where there has been a change in the registered model, chassis number, motor model, name or address of the owner, or location of the base of operations, the owner of a motor vehicle must, within 15 days from the date of the cause, file an application for registration of change with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; provided, however, that this does not apply where an application for transfer registration under the following Article or for permanent cancellation of registration under Article 15 is to be filed.

②Where, by reason of the cause for which an application under the preceding paragraph is to be filed, an application for record of change of the motor vehicle inspection certificate under Article 67, paragraph (1) is also to be filed, those applications must be filed at the same time.

③With respect to registration of change under paragraph (1) that relates to a change of chassis number or motor model, the provisions of Article 8 (limited to the parts pertaining to items (iii) and (iv)) apply mutatis mutandis, and with respect to registration of change that relates to any other change, the provisions of that Article (limited to the part pertaining to item (iv)) apply mutatis mutandis.

④The provisions of Article 10 apply mutatis mutandis where registration of change has been carried out.

①Where there has been a change of owner of a motor vehicle that has received new registration (hereinafter referred to as a "registered motor vehicle"), the new owner must, within 15 days from the date of the cause, file an application for transfer registration with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

②Upon receiving the application under the preceding paragraph, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism must carry out transfer registration, except in the case where Article 8, item (i) or (iv) applies or where the motor vehicle inspection certificate for the motor vehicle is not valid.

③The provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to the application under paragraph (1).

④The provisions of Article 10 apply mutatis mutandis where transfer registration has been carried out.