Japan halves speed limit to 30km/h on all narrow city streets

Re:Japan halves speed limit to 30km/h on all narrow city str... by skhr0680 on Thursday September 03, 2026 @08:54AM (#49549341)

> Source: I’m working for a rental car company in Japan

Then you should know the posted speed limit is low for enforcement reasons. And yes, the Japanese government and society decided to have a fake speed limit and a real speed limit, rather than change the threshold at which speeding is a prosecutable crime.

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Re:Japan halves speed limit to 30km/h on all narrow city str... by left-struck on Friday September 04, 2026 @04:38AM (#49562087)

I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.

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Re:Japan halves speed limit to 30km/h on all narrow city str... by skhr0680 on Saturday September 05, 2026 @01:11AM (#49573257)

The enforcement threshold is much lower in other countries, but the posted speed limit is more reasonable and matches a safe speed for driving.

The Japanese law doesn't allow criminal enforcement until 30km/h over the posted speed limit, so the posted speed limit is very slow but enforcement for 10km over is non-existent and limited for 20km over (you'll only get a ticket if you are unlucky).

There are many reasons for the gap between the posted limit and enforcement threshold in Japan, but the TL;DR is that the real-world speed that everyone drives at is generally 20km over the posted limit.

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