Car/Vehicle Shipping Cost from Montreal to Tokyo

Japan's "3-year car rule" refers to the mandatory, costly vehicle inspection called Shaken, where new cars get a 3-year certificate, then renew every 2 years, making older cars expensive to keep, leading many owners to trade in for new ones, boosting sales and the used car export market for well-maintained vehicles. This encourages frequent upgrades, but proper maintenance can extend a car's life significantly.

Can I Bring My Car From the States? Shipping your vehicle to Japan can be very costly and large American cars will not navigate well on Japanese roads due to narrow roads and parking spaces. That being said, you can ship your vehicle to Japan but your vehicle will have to meet strict Japanese emission standards etc.

The cheapest international car shipping method is usually Roll-on/Roll-off (RORO), where vehicles are driven onto specialized ships, costing around $900-$2500+ but leaving cars exposed; for better protection, consolidated container shipping (sharing a container) is more affordable than dedicated containers, while air freight is the fastest but most expensive, best for luxury or rare vehicles, so compare RORO vs. shared containers for budget, destination, and vehicle value to find your cheapest option.