Car insurance in Japan for foreigners: English support compared

The best car insurance in Japan for foreigners is one you can buy and claim on in a language you understand. Every car must carry compulsory insurance (自賠責保険, jibaiseki), and most drivers add voluntary insurance (任意保険, nin’i hoken) for what compulsory cover leaves out. As of October 2026, a first voluntary policy starts at grade 6 (S), and no insurer we checked publishes a rule for using a no-claims record from abroad. Chubb scores highest in our method (7.5 out of 10) because it sells in English.

What car insurance do you need in Japan?

There are two layers.

Compulsory insurance (自賠責). The law requires it for every car, motorbike and moped. You can’t pass the vehicle inspection (車検, shaken) without it, and it is usually arranged as part of the shaken. It pays only for injury or death of other people, per victim:

The premium is the same for everyone, set by vehicle type. Your nationality, age and record don’t change it. Driving without it can bring up to 1 year in prison or a fine up to ¥500,000, plus 6 license points, which means an immediate suspension. Not carrying the certificate alone can cost up to ¥300,000.

Voluntary insurance (任意保険). This covers what 自賠責 doesn’t: damage to other cars and property, injury claims above the compulsory limits, and, depending on the plan, your own car and injuries. MLIT, the transport ministry, recommends having both. If you have no 自賠責, voluntary insurance pays only the part above what 自賠責 would have paid, and you owe the rest yourself.

Can I use my no-claims bonus from abroad?

No insurer we checked says you can. Japanese voluntary insurance uses a non-fleet grade system (ノンフリート等級) from grade 1 to 20. Tokio Marine says a first policy starts at grade 6 (S). Each claim-free year moves you up one grade, and each accident drops you one or three.

Grade 6 is not a big discount. At Aioi Nissay Dowa, a first-time grade 6 (S) policy carries a 3% surcharge. A new policy can start at grade 7 (S), with a 38% discount at Aioi, only if set conditions are met, for example when you add a second car.

None of the insurers on this page publishes a rule for accepting a foreign insurer’s no-claims certificate, so plan on starting at grade 6 (S). If you have a certificate from abroad, you can still ask an insurer in writing, but no published rule says it will count.

Which car insurers in Japan help in English?

All four big insurers run a toll-free accident line with an interpreter, 24 hours a day. The automated menu is in Japanese, so save the number and the menu steps in your phone.

Mitsui Sumitomo and Aioi say they also use the interpreter when the other driver speaks a foreign language. We left out insurers that have no current official page on foreign-language support.

The gap is buying the policy. The English sites of Tokio Marine, Sompo Japan and Mitsui Sumitomo cover claims only: there are no English product pages or sign-up. Aioi provides its “Explanation of Important Matters” (重要事項のご説明) with English, Chinese and Portuguese translation, for policies starting from January 2017, and still listed it in January 2022. Chubb sells with English application forms and brochures through English-speaking agents. An Okinawa university’s guide for foreign staff notes that most lower-cost online insurers don’t offer English service.

How we scored them

We use the japanhow car insurance method: sign-up for foreign residents (30%), premium on a stated sample driver and car (25%), English support for accidents and claims (25%) and roadside assistance and accident response (20%). Scores are 0 to 10; n/a means no published evidence. Nobody pays for a rating. The full method is on our methodology page.

What the scores mean:

• Sign-up: 10 = you can read the terms and apply in English, with published rules for residence cards, foreign licenses and foreign no-claims records. 8 = English application forms and English-speaking sales staff, but no published rules. 5 = Japanese sign-up with an English translation of key contract documents. 3 = Japanese-only sign-up and documents.
• Premium: 10 = cheapest on the same sample driver and car. n/a for every insurer: none publishes a premium for a sample you can reproduce, and online quotes need your car’s details.
• English claims support: 10 = a published 24/7 line in English and at least 20 other languages, covering the whole claim from report to payment. 1 point off each for: fewer than 20 languages (English only counts as fewer); only the accident report stated, not the whole claim; a language list more than 5 years old; no published foreign-language claims number.
• Roadside and accident response: 10 = 24/7 roadside in your language with published details of what’s covered. 8 = a 24/7 foreign-language roadside line with its own number or a list of services. 7 = roadside ordered through the 24/7 interpreter claims line, no details. 6 = English roadside help stated, with no number or details.

With premium n/a, each insurer has evidence for 3 of 4 criteria (75%), so the overall is the weighted mean of those three.

• Chubb: English application forms, brochures and English-speaking agents; English claims and roadside staff with 24-hour English service, but English only and no claims number on the pages we read; no published details on roadside cover or foreign no-claims records.
• Aioi Nissay Dowa: key contract documents with an English translation; 17 languages for the whole claim, also when the other driver is foreign; roadside on the same line.
• Sompo Japan: the widest language list (23), including Urdu, Bengali and Sinhala, but its page describes reporting the accident, not the whole claim; a separate roadside line; Japanese-only sign-up.
• Mitsui Sumitomo: interpreter until the claim is paid, 17 languages, a roadside line with listed services that may depend on your policy; Japanese-only sign-up.
• Tokio Marine & Nichido: 24/7 three-way interpreter line for accidents and car trouble, but it describes reporting only and its language list dates from 2018; Japanese-only sign-up.

Which car insurance is best for foreigners?

• Best if you want to sign up in English: Chubb. It’s sold through English-speaking agents with English forms. Ask the agent for a quote in writing.
• Best for claims in your home language: Sompo Japan or Aioi Nissay Dowa. Sompo covers 23 languages, including several South Asian ones. Aioi handles the whole claim in your language and gives you English contract explanations.
• If a dealer or agent offers a Japanese-only policy: check that the insurer has a foreign-language accident line before you sign, and save it in your phone.

Prices depend on your age, car, grade and coverage, so compare two or three quotes for the same coverage. An agent who sells several insurers can do this for you.

More guides

• Before insurance: buying a car in Japan as a foreigner
• Getting a Japanese license: converting a foreign driver’s license
• Driving on a foreign license first: international driving permits in Japan
• When you go home: leaving Japan checklist