Relocating
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POVs in Japan
Whether you purchase a Japanese-specification vehicle and drive it for the duration of your tour or buy an American-specification vehicle and have it shipped back, owning a car while stationed in Japan will cost you.
For starters, due to the strict and costly environmental/emission control standards imposed by the government of Japan, service members cannot ship a Privately Owned Vehicle (POV) manufactured after March 31, 1976 unless they obtain a special waiver from the Commander U.S. Forces Japan or component commanders (embargo doesn't apply to motorcycles).
And since
permission isn't granted to the majority of service members PCSing to
Japan, service members often purchase a car once they arrive in the country.
However, the option of buying a vehicle can get complicated because specifying
a car to meet either Japanese or American environmental/emission control
standards will be very costly, if not in fact cost prohibitive.
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