Japan's Car Stickers
Beginner Drivers
For one year after you get your driver's license in Japan, you have to put the green and yellow "beginner" sticker on the front and back of your car. It lets other drivers on the road that they should maybe give you a little more room and patience than your ordinary driver. The official name of this sticker in Japanese is shoshinuntenshahyoushiki 初心運転者標識しょしんうんてんしゃひょうしき, but you might know it as the wakabamaaku 若葉わかばマーク, or the "green leaf mark."
What's really interesting about the wakaba mark is how far it's spread. Even though it was created for new drivers, people from virtually every walk of life have embraced the symbol. Car enthusiasts from around the world slap the wakaba mark on their cars, even if they're not even remotely beginners. Games will use the symbol to indicate the "easy" or "beginner" difficulties. I've seen pictures of wakaba stickers slapped onto computer cases. There's a wakaba emoji. One of my close friends still keeps his beginner sticker on his car for fun. c:
Elderly
At the beginning and end of people's driving careers, they tend to not drive as well. In the beginning, it's because of inexperience; towards the end, it's because judgement and reaction time aren't what they used to be. The way that the Japanese tackle the issue of elderly drivers is, you guessed it, with another sticker. It's called the koureiuntenshahyoushiki 高齢運転者標識こうれいうんてんしゃひょうしき, or the "koreisha mark" ("koreisha" meaning "elderly") for short.
Drivers aged 70 and older have to display the koreisha sticker on their car. It can let other drivers on the road know to have a little more patience with a driver with this particular sticker on their car. Plus, you get other perks like reserved parking spaces.
Koreisha means "elderly," however, they changed the design and color. So you still might see the old version still around.
Handicapped
Unlike the US, Japan has doesn't always use the International Symbol of Access, the universally recognizable symbol of a person in a wheelchair on a blue background. Instead, Japan also uses a weird, four-leaf clover umbrella symbol called the shintaishougaishahyoushiki 身体障害者標識しんたいしょうがいしゃひょうしき. It's supposed to be encompass more disabilities than the obvious physical disabilities represented by the International Symbol of Access.
Hearing Impaired People
Aside from the general handicapped sticker, Japan also has one just for hearing-impaired people. The symbol (called choukakushougaishahyoushiki 聴覚障害者標識ちょうかくしょうがいしゃひょうしき in Japanese) is yellow and green, and supposed to represent two ears arranged as a butterfly.
For one year after you get your driver's license in Japan, you have to put the green and yellow "beginner" sticker on the front and back of your car. It lets other drivers on the road that they should maybe give you a little more room and patience than your ordinary driver. The official name of this sticker in Japanese is shoshinuntenshahyoushiki 初心運転者標識しょしんうんてんしゃひょうしき, but you might know it as the wakabamaaku 若葉わかばマーク, or the "green leaf mark."
At the beginning and end of people's driving careers, they tend to not drive as well. In the beginning, it's because of inexperience; towards the end, it's because judgement and reaction time aren't what they used to be. The way that the Japanese tackle the issue of elderly drivers is, you guessed it, with another sticker. It's called the koureiuntenshahyoushiki 高齢運転者標識こうれいうんてんしゃひょうしき, or the "koreisha mark" ("koreisha" meaning "elderly") for short.
Unlike the US, Japan has doesn't always use the International Symbol of Access, the universally recognizable symbol of a person in a wheelchair on a blue background. Instead, Japan also uses a weird, four-leaf clover umbrella symbol called the shintaishougaishahyoushiki 身体障害者標識しんたいしょうがいしゃひょうしき. It's supposed to be encompass more disabilities than the obvious physical disabilities represented by the International Symbol of Access.
Aside from the general handicapped sticker, Japan also has one just for hearing-impaired people. The symbol (called choukakushougaishahyoushiki 聴覚障害者標識ちょうかくしょうがいしゃひょうしき in Japanese) is yellow and green, and supposed to represent two ears arranged as a butterfly.
26-30, M
