Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Japan is trying to clamp down on illegal parking by vehicles with diplomatic plates, but it’s having to take the soft route – in other words, asking nicely.

On Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry said it was working with the National Police Agency “to address the issue of illegal parking by diplomatic missions in Japan.”

The Ministry said it will let violators know when there has been a violation and “make claims for their payment of parking violation fines.”

It emphasized that it has been “continually requesting the Missions and their members to respect Japanese traffic laws and regulations including those related to payment of parking violation fines and has been expressing its concern to ambassadors and other senior diplomats of those missions that have a large number of illegal parking cases and unpaid violation fines.”

The diplomatic efforts appear to be paying off as the number of illegal parking cases by foreign missions has significantly decreased in the past three years.