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Japanese can drive cars from age 18, though many don’t (many who even bother
to get their licenses are called “paper drivers” — meaning they can drive on
paper but don’t make use of them and don’t have behind-the-wheel experience);
they can drive motorcycles from age 16.

Is there an exception for Formula One prodigies, allowing Haruka (Sailor
Uranus) to legally drive both on racecourses and on regular roads?

Taiki Kou (Sailor Star Maker) is seen driving a car in episode 178. This is
illegal since he’s 16 years old, correct?

(Japanese legally become adults at age 20; this is when they can start to
vote, drink, and smoke. They have a seijinshiki [成人式, Coming-of-Age ceremony]
on Seijin no Hi [成人の日, or Coming-of-Age Day], a national January 2nd holiday
on which most individuals return to their hometowns. See episode 160 for more
information.)


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2014-08-26T04:35:31.490
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2014-08-27T06:34:08.320
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question
culture sailor-moon
Can Formula One prodigies like Haruka (Sailor Uranus) drive younger than Japan's legal driving age?


No, There are no legal way for a 16-year-old to drive on public roads.

As Memor-X pointed out
[Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailor_Uranus#Profile) has a sentence
about it.

> Haruka is a racecar driver, even though she is barely sixteen years old when
> she appears. However, the timing of her birthday to the Japanese school year
> means she is one grade ahead of the Sailor Soldiers.

And the Japanese version of
[Wikipedia](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A9%E7%8E%8B%E3%81%AF%E3%82%8B%E3%81%8B#cite_ref-4)
has a annotation.

> 高校一年なのだが、制服姿でスポーツカーを愛車として公道で走らせている[4]。
>
> She is first grade of high school, but she ride a sports car as beloved car.
>
> 4^ 国際運転免許証をもっていると考えれば合法であるが日本国内においては18歳までは公道では運転できない。北米版では留年しているという設定。
>
> Legally she can drive a car with an international driver's licence, but in
> Japan, she can't drive on a public road until the age of 18. In the North
> American version, she has a scene where it's stated that she repeated a
> grade of school.

There is the [Vienna Convention on Road
Traffic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_Convention_on_Road_Traffic).
Japan and US both signed this convention. For example, I can drive a car in US
with a Japanese driver's licence but without US driver's licence. But the
converse is little bit more difficult. In Japan, the registration is required
before driving a car. (The convention says that the government can't have a
test, but can have a registration.) And Japanese government can't accept
registration from people younger than 18 years old. Thus a 16-year-old girl
who has a US driver's licence can't drive a car in Japan.

Added: more research.

The author Naoko Takeuchi misunderstand the law; she thought a 16-year-old
international driver licence holder can drive on public roads in Japan, and
created the character and scene. But the law doesn't allow it. To fix the
problem, in the North American version, Uranus was stated to be 18 years old.

## For racer licence.

In Japanese law, there are no restrictions for driving inside private space.
For example, most Japanese get driver's licences in driving schools that have
large space with fake road. You can get training to drive inside the school
before getting your licence.

If the racing course allows it, children of any age can drive. But (according
to the
[Wikipedia](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%A2%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B9%E3%83%9D%E3%83%BC%E3%83%84%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%82%BB%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B9)
article) most racing courses require [racer
licence](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIA_Super_Licence). Racer licence is
certified by a company or agency (not the government). The requirement is
different between each company. From Wikipedia's example, JAF (Japanese
Automobile Federation) requires a normal driving licence to get a racer's
licence, but MFJ (Motorcycle Federation of Japan) doesn't require a normal
driving licence. And racing course will accept international racer licences.


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