Japan’s Ministry of Land Transport and Infrastructure has announced plans to introduce illustrated car license plates, and is currently in the process of recruiting local authorities throughout Japan to take part in the scheme. The Ministry will review designs for visibility with plans for issue in October of next year. License plates illustrating the regions have been available for motorbikes under 125cc up until now, but this is the first time that they have been proposed for cars.
A sample licence plate design for Maebashi City in Gunma
There are 116 areas, either over a wide area by the prefecture or in areas of high population by the local municipality, where license plates must be named in line with national registration rules, and local authorities are now able to make applications for regional designs. The illustrated license plates are hoped to promote local areas as a ‘moving advertisement’ with around 50 local authorities considering the move and with some already seeking public submissions of designs.
The new background design for the plates will be available in both colour and black and white versions, and be several thousand yen more expensive than the plain plates. To receive a plate with a colour background, drivers are required to donate at least 1,000 yen toward traffic improvements or tourism promotion in the region. Municipalities that wish to introduce the special plates must submit the exact amount of the donation required for the colour plates and the design to the ministry for approval.
If background designs are submitted in time and are for one of the 116 region names designated by the ministry for the regional number plates, drivers can begin trading in their old plates for ones with the new backgrounds around October 2018. If they are for a region that is newly designated in this round of applications, then the plates are set to be available in 2020.
Japan is not the only place where illustrated license plates are used, US license plates are often thought of as collectables and sought after by collectors of Americana, being traded on eBay and antiques markets.
In fact, even in the UK such a scheme has also been proposed for Sheffield by a national motor leasing company’s plans for an iconic South Yorkshire license plate.
To showcase what makes the country great, the company created new number plate designs showcasing local features. Choosing between defining foods, influential pop culture figures, stunning historical buildings and alluring tourist attractions, the company asked locals to identify the most iconic features of the 20 largest counties across England including South Yorkshire.
The new number plate has been designed for South Yorkshire with the most voted for quintessential feature, as well as the county flag colours and a famous local saying, all being beautifully illustrated on to a one of a kind license plate. The top five greatest things in South Yorkshire include: Yorkshire pudding (35%) Henderson’s Relish (16%) Yorkshire Wildlife Park (16%) the white rose (9%) and The Full Monty (7%).
(Picture courtesy of Maebashi City Hall)
