Swimming Upstream: Step 1 - Japanese Emissions and Noise Testing

Thomas Kreutzer
by Thomas Kreutzer
The Town & Country is back at home and, frankly — no pun intended — I’m exhausted.As I had been warned, the necessary tests required an overnight stay for the van at the research facility and the two trips there and back sapped a lot of my energy. I was at the mercy of my iPhone’s navigation app — UConnect’s navigation, of course, doesn’t work in Japan — that led pell-mell all over the damn countryside without any real idea of where I was at any given moment. To make matters worse, when I wasn’t behind the wheel, there was an equally confusing three-hour train ride to deal with.Once upon a time, I might have considered this a grand adventure. Right now, I’m just tired and in need of a beer.To those of you following along at home, the process has taken just a few minutes of your time and a minimum of mental energy over the past couple of days. For me, however, it was the culmination of almost three weeks of preparation. The photo below is a graphic example of what I have been through. Take a moment to gaze in wonder.
To be sure, that is a lot of paperwork, but — because I know some of you can read Japanese — I must say that not everything shown is directly related to the emission and noise testing the vehicle has just completed. Still, every slip shown was required, in some way or another, to get it to this point in the process.Among the forms is a customs import certificate (stamped and approved), the paperwork issued by the city hall in order to obtain the temporary plates (which have a validity of just five days and so must be constantly renewed in person), two separate application forms for the emissions and noise testing (only one of which required extensive research), the slip from the local scrap metal yard where I took the van to be weighed, and 352,000 yen (~$2,900 USD) — most of which got handed over at the testing facility.Not shown are all the insurance forms I had to fill out, but insurance is a hassle everywhere so that’s no surprise to anyone.A week prior to the appointment, I faxed all the pertinent documentation to a laboratory ran by the Japanese Automobile Technology Association (JATA) and, a few days later, received a call from their agent.The good news is that the call went well and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that JATA was quite helpful. The agent spent about 30 minutes with me explaining the process, talking about various issues and assuring me that any information I had left blank on the applications could be completed by the technicians after I arrived.The call helped to ease my nerves and I felt quite confident as I made the two and a half hour drive to the facility. I arrived a little before my appointment and had a pleasant conversation with the agent before I turned over my keys to the technicians. Then, to my surprise, instead of being dismissed or shuffled off to a waiting room while the testing took place, I was led to the testing bay where I was given a folding chair and allowed to watch the entire process. All told, it took about an hour and a half.First, the van was put on a lift and its exhaust was inspected to insure that it had not been tampered with. Then it was moved to another bay where it was chained down and put on rollers. After making some plumbing and wiring connections and positioning a powerful fan in front of the vehicle, the technicians started the engine and put the van through its paces.
It was interesting to watch at first but the wait soon became dull. The technicians ran the car and then stopped for a while. Then they ran it again at a different speed and so on and so on until it became so monotonous that I could no longer feign any interest at all.After about an hour, I spoke with the agent and asked to leave but he told me that JATA required the owners to stay for the first day of testing because some cars fail and there is no point in holding them over for the second day. If that was the case, I would be given my keys and told to drive it home. The good news is that the Town & Country passed its first day’s test, with the technician telling me that most late model American and European cars pass without much trouble. When they were finally done for the day, the technicians secured the van in a locked storage bay and I went home by train.The next morning I arrived after an almost three-hour train ride at about 11:00 a.m. Fortunately, JATA’s technicians did the second round of tests, measuring cold-start emissions, prior to my arrival, and all I needed to do was collect the paperwork. After getting my certificate of approval and admiring a brand new Euro-Spec Porsche in the lot (I was asked not to publish any photos of it lest the extremely rich and powerful owner become annoyed), I was then sent across town to the parking lot of a shuttered amusement park for the noise test.
To my eyes, the scene I found upon my arrival looked more like Doc Brown’s experiment from “Back to the Future” than a modern day noise test, but the technicians at work soon convinced me that they were serious researchers in their own right.After affixing several sensors to the vehicle, one of the techs jumped into the driver’s seat and took a few hot laps around the parking lot. ‘Round and ’round he went, driving it harder than I usually do and jumping on the accelerator every time he ran past a series of measuring devices they had set up. After 15 minutes of this, they returned my van, gave me a thumbs up and told me that my official approval would arrive by special courier sometime tomorrow.So, that’s it in a nutshell. The Town & Country passed and, once I get my noise test results, I can take it up to the licensing bureau in Yokohama to submit my next round of papers for review prior to mailing off thousands more hard-earned dollars to an agency that covers the cost of car recycling. Once they send me a receipt, then I can go back up to Yokohama and actually bolt on the plates. Then there is a safety inspection, but not the full Shaken, and a few other gates I have to pass through before I am officially legal. I’ll cover these and whatever else pops up in subsequent articles as the process continues.All totaled, this week’s testing cost me a whopping 328,320 yen, or just over $2,700 USD. Add in $35 for tolls, $22 for round trip train tickets, $6 for a taxi and $6 for temporary plates and you can see that the adventure of the past two days has cost a considerable sum. Of course, I had been warned prior to sending the van that these costs would be incurred and, although I came prepared to pay it, the truth is that prior to actually going through the process, I was a little bitter about it.Like a lot of Americans, I thought the inspection process was a boondoggle and was intended to keep foreign cars out. My experience, however, has changed my opinion.Although the experience was expensive, I received excellent, personal service from everyone involved and was surprised to find that entire teams of professionals spent hours working on my case. In addition to the agent who assisted me over the phone and who walked me through the process at the testing center, there were at least four technicians on each of the two teams that tested my vehicle. Add to that the cost of the facility and the testing equipment and I can understand why it costs so much. That, in turn, makes me feel like I received some value for my money and perhaps it wasn’t really a boondoggle after all.Having completed the process, I can say that the rumors definitely overstated the difficulties I faced Although there probably are companies that would take my money to complete the registration process on my behalf, this first step wasn’t so difficult that I couldn’t figure it out myself.So, does this sort of testing actively work to keep foreign cars out of Japan? I would say, based on my experience, probably not. There are plenty of foreign cars on the streets here — they must have come from somewhere. All totaled, the testing only added about 10 percent to the purchase price of the Town & Ccountry when it was new. That’s a modest premium, I think. It wouldn’t deter anyone serious about importing a car from actually doing so. Hopefully, as far as my own case is concerned, this proves to be a sound investment over the long term.
Thomas M. Kreutzer currently lives in Kanagawa, Japan with his wife and three children. He has spent most of his adult life overseas with more than nine years in Japan, two years in Jamaica and almost five years as a U.S. Merchant Mariner serving primarily in the Pacific. Although originally from Snohomish, WA, he has also lived in several places around the United States including Buffalo, NY and Leavenworth, KS. A long time auto and motorcycle enthusiast, Kreutzer has pursued his hobbies whenever possible. He also enjoys writing and public speaking where, according to his wife, his favorite subject is himself.
Thomas Kreutzer
Thomas Kreutzer

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  • Detroit-Iron Detroit-Iron on Oct 09, 2015

    I am late to the party so I hope Tom or one of the editors sees this. Are there diesel Volkswagons in Japan? If there are, did their expensive and exhaustive testing regimen not catch them cheating?

    • See 1 previous
    • Thomas Kreutzer Thomas Kreutzer on Oct 11, 2015

      No, VW does not sell and diesels in Japan and so far as I know hasn't for at least a decade, possibly longer. I think it was back in the '90s or possibly the early 2000s that some of the major cities, Tokyo and Osaka among them, banned the sales of any new non-commercial diesels because of problems with the particulates. I might be wrong but other than a few larger passenger vans and trucks, diesels really aren't common in the passenger market here any more.

  • Samjaza78 Samjaza78 on Oct 11, 2015

    Did they do a tailpipe or an OBD output test? Planning to transfer up there and I am also overly fond of the car. Do you mind fielding my questions on the process?

    • Thomas Kreutzer Thomas Kreutzer on Oct 12, 2015

      So far as I know it was all through the tailpipe. I didn't get around to the other side where they were working. There were also wires that they connected to something under the hood. That's about all I can tell you, really.

  • Wolfwagen I have worked as a manager in both union and non-union locations. The best union employees were the ones who were indifferent to the union or told them to get bent. The worst ones were the ones who would run to the union for every little thing, even when it was their own actions that caused the problem or because they could not understand their own contract
  • Harry HOW i RECOVER MY LOST OR STOLEN FUNDS:You should gather and document all relevant details about the theft, such as transaction IDs, wallet addresses, and any communication with the scammer if any, and then proceed to message SYLVESTER. G. BRYANT to get back your lost/ stolen funds by sharing the evidence you've compiled. he was the only one who was able to recover my funds I was so surprised he got back my money worth $52k but glory be to God and all thanks to him.. here is his contact below: Instagram: Yt7crackerszEmail: Yt7crackersz@ gmail,com
  • Daniel J I had read an article several years ago that one of the issues that workers were complaining about with this plant is that 1/3 of the workforce were temporary workers. They didn't have the same benefits as the other 2/3 of the employees. Will this improve this situation or make it worse? Do temporary workers get a vote?I honestly don't care as long as it is not a requirement to work at the plant.
  • Kosmo Tragic. Where in the name of all that is holy did anybody get the idea that self-driving cars were a good idea? I get the desire for lane-keeping, and use it myself, occasionally, but I don't even like to look across the car at my passenger while driving, let along relinquish complete control.
  • Bof65705611 There’s one of these around the corner from me. It still runs…driven daily, in fact. That fact always surprises me.
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