Japan's 1962 garage certificate law requires proof of a parking space

In 1962, as car ownership began to grow quickly in postwar Japan, the government passed the law on securing vehicle storage space, known as the garage certificate (shako shomei) law. It required buyers to show they had a legal place to keep a car before the vehicle could be registered.

In practice, owners had to obtain a certificate from the local police confirming a parking space, either owned or rented, within a set distance of their home. At first the rule applied mainly in designated urban areas, where roads were narrow and congestion was already a concern. Rural areas and some small vehicles were treated more leniently.

The law was later tightened, and long-term parking on public roads was prohibited, with penalties for offenders. Together, these rules shifted the cost and responsibility of storing a car from the public street to the owner. Many analysts see this as the foundation of Japan's low level of street parking, and of the small paid lots that fill Tokyo's backstreets, which lets residential roads stay clear.