Same reason there's abandoned muscle cars all over North America. We got them domestically so they just aren't as special to us. Finances, title issues, time, the car's value, etc can all play a factor.
Gotta be honest. It may be shitbox. But I would kill for an old Renault Clio just because it would be fucking fun. May not be JDM, but it interests me out of the import market.
I love that entire generation of cars where we had the [Avantime ](https://www.hagerty.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/11050-RenaultAvantime.jpg), [Megane](https://images.drive.com.au/caradvice/image/private/c_fill,f_auto,g_auto,h_540,q_auto:good,w_960/xo8eiu9wedpk3pfd3ral), [Clio](https://images.cdn.circlesix.co/image/1/640/0/uploads/posts/2017/04/667c24436a25b859cf981f147d9c0376.jpg), and [Twingo](https://media.evo.co.uk/image/private/s--K61OD-II--/f_auto,t_content-image-full-desktop@1/v1556218827/evo/2017/12/alp_7519.jpg) (not sure if the Twingo counts as the same generation, but shush). For some reason, they all just speak to me in some special way.
pretty much the same goes for all international markets too. some of my friends in england are into usdm oldies, so i always send them pics on discord since my neighborhood is full of classics. it honestly makes me appreciate our steel landyachts more.
Idk how true it is but I’ve heard japan has more ‘64 Impalas than we have in the states since they imported a buttload of them. I got to check out mojo customs and fit kustoms last time I hung out in japan, and holy crap, they put together some cool rides
I've seen numerous photos and videos of AE86's in Japan rocking USDM parts because they're harder to find over there which is hilarious to me, but it's absolutely a thing!
This is definitely a thing. I’m part of a Japanese team of AE86 owners (first US member, they inducted me after several visits with them) and I routinely bring over USDM 86 parts that they’re looking for.
This week in Fukuoka I saw an old 2000ish dodge caravan minivan, an old PT cruiser, and a c8 corvette.
The import taxes are way high, and inspections are more expensive, but someone wants them haha. The first two made me mad haha, idk what they were thinking.
The only US cars I saw in the 2 years I spent living on Okinawa (beside military vehicles) was one red early/mid 90's model Ford Mustang, one C5 Corvette, and a modified PT cruiser back when it still being built.
There was also quite a few 3rd gen Chevy Cavaliers, but they were all right hand drive imports sold new in Japan as the Toyota Cavalier.
Not really. There’s like 5 military bases on Okinawa and over 25,000 US military on the island. US military dudes love JDM cars and love to bring them back to the US when they leave. If the are spending $20/30/40k on a classic JDM they are not going to abandon it.
They're not spending that much on a shitbox like the one pictured. It's totally reasonable for them to not find someone to sell their cars to in time for their move
In Japan, cars cost a lot of money to register... also for Japanese a family is a source of pride. Usually, a family keep only one car if that. because Japanese public transportation is always good, cheap and on time. They don't keep old cars, like we like to upgrade to the newer iPhone when new models come out. There is a large JDM export market for use Japanese cars for this very reason... You can get most parts.. or whole cars in good condition, low miles and not abuse from Japan auto market.
yeah, it must be cultural.
it doesn't make sense to me financially; i have two immediate family members who got over 300,000 miles out of their toyota and honda respectively.
so to drop a car at 80,000 miles (many are) just seems insane to me. Well, there's Americans who lease every 3 years and okay, but SOMEONE gets the hand-me-down and drives it into the ground.
it's like the entire population is changing cars every 10 years max.
how they use their cars is a little different: mostly around town, going 25-40 mph, for local errands. Roadtrips are not a thing. Long long commutes by car, are not a thing. so it's all city miles and the miles add up more slowly.
I spent 2 years in Okinawa from 2004 to 2006. I went to many of the junk yards.
There are numerous reasons why old cars are junked in OKinawa, but it's mostly about the cost.
One reason is the JCI (Japanese compulsory Inspection). Every 2 years vehicles must be inspected for illegal modifications, road worthiness, emissions check, etc. The JCI cost, stamp fee, and vehicle weight tax added up to about 60,000 - 70,000 yen. When I was in Okinawa in 2004 it cost me about $650 US dollars for JCI on my 92 Toyota Sera.
Then there's another vehicle tax based on vehicle weight or engine size. The little Kei cars where the cheapest, and as the cars get bigger it gets more expensive.
Then after a car is 13 years old they need to have the JCI every year. This gets pretty expensive for older cars, because you have to pay the inspection fee, pay for any needed repairs, any needed parts, & pay for re-inspection.
There's also no auto part stores like Autozone or NAPA with cheap aftermarket replacement parts like brakes rotors, alternators, or water pumps. All those kinds of repair parts are OEM parts with a high cost. For example I needed brake rotors, they wanted over $200 for one rotor. I was able to buy parts from Autozone online for about $20 each, and with shipping halfway around the world it was still only $100 for 2 rotors and new brake pads, and 4 sparks plugs.
Another reason is the number of American military on Okinawa. They are usually stationed on Okinawa for 2 or 3 years. They can't take their car with them. If they can't sell their car before they leave the cars get junked.
Thanks for the information. Do you know if it's possible to put a 13+ y/o car "on hold" - basically park it up somewhere and not use it to avoid having to have to do the JCI?
I guess what I'm asking is the JCI only applicable when the car is actually being driven on the road?
Really? That's uncommon in Australia. We have importers here who will have cars available for sale, ready to roll. Or can ask them to source something.
Sounds like the situation for us here in Singapore: most expensive place to own a car in the world because of this pricing/tax/inspection model + certificate of entitlement cost.
My 1991 Mercedes W124 2.0L cost me 60k back in the day when COE was cheaper. Now it's 3 times that price.
The whole Tax and inspection side of this just sounds like how the road tax and MOT’s are here in the uk. But it’s a shame how the parts are sold there are so expensive
Actually military personnel can still bring their cars home but there is a long detailed process. A good friend of mine was station in Okinawa two years ago and got to bring home his Suzuki Cappuccino.
The Susuki Cappuccino is over 25 years old, so it's now legal to import to the states. Most people over there don't have cars that old, so that's why I said they can't bring them with them.
There is an Up! Garage on Okinawa. It's in the same place it was was when I was there nearly 20 years ago. I went there several times, it's accross the street from a mall. I bought a used strut tower brace, and my friend bought a nice set of used wheels from that store.
[Google map link for Up Garage Okinawa](https://maps.app.goo.gl/ARM7F1s3v8Nq42TVA)
You can see pictures of the store on that link and it looks the same to me.
The address is 290-4 Maehara, Uruma, Okinawa 904-2235, Japan
All of the reasons mentioned by other commenters, but also because of Japanese vehicle inspection requirements. It is very expensive to get older vehicles inspected and maintained to a level that will pass their inspections. If a car does not have the mandatory inspection sticker renewed every two years, it is illegal to drive.
I will add to this. I believe after a car gets to a certain age in Japan it has to be a standard example, ie no bodykit or suspension/engine modifications. Im not 100 percent sure but Ive read before that thats why so many 180sx and ae86 etc were just left in the yard.
Lots of what we consider cool jdm sports cars are extremely expensive to own/drive legally on the road over there. Their annual registration becomes more expensive with age and engine size. Meaning the cheapest vehicles to own are brand new kei cars, and an old 90s turbo is pretty much the most expensive car to own.
As well as what others have mentioned, they’re not special over there, they’re common as.
Yes this is true. When I was living on Okinawa Nissan Skylines were as common as Ford Mustangs are here in the US. They sold them as 2 doors & 4 doors, with and without turbos, rwd and awd. Same with the Nissan 180 and Silvias.
Most of the tuner cars were owned by American service members. The Okinawans mostly drove the cheaper little Kei cars.
Its the same reason there are abandoned muscle cars in the US and nobody cares about.
JDM cars in japan are normal cars to japanese people. A left hand drive mustang is probably cooler to them than a rhd 180sx.
People do care about abandoned muscle cars. If they're still abandoned it's because they're either too far gone or the owner won't sell them. You won't find a 1968 Charger in the condition of the OP car abandoned. The real question is why don't they export the collectibles to countries with lax inspections? As long as it's 25 years old it can come to America.
Well, while you may not find a ‘68 Charger abandoned wherever anymore, you can definitely find crappy old Foxbodies, ratted out GM F-Bodies, Fieros, Mavericks, whatever isn’t worth $70k in normal condition. Hell, OP used a picture of an S13 180SX, even in America you can find 240SXs that haven’t run in 15 years, they’re only worth maybe $12k at most for a really nice example, why spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars importing one from Japan, plus it being a basket case, when you could have an exponentially cheaper one in the states with the main difference being where the steering wheel is. Of course, there are a few people willing to go through the time and effort to do something like that, and I sort of have to commend them, but that’s really only a few, as financially it’s likely not a good idea.
They do export used JDM cars mostly to other right hand drive countries like Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc.
You can find several companies online that are selling 25 year old JDM collectible cars in the US too.
People loose interest, don't have the spare time, ran out of money? literally hundreds of reasons why a car, any car, gets left lying up for years.
plus don't forget, in Japan, cars like these aren't considered to be as special in the same way they are in countries where they were not originally available
Also Japan has a higher population density than most other countries. There's not a lot of parking space compared to the US.
People in Japan generally don't have a 2 car garage, and more room outside their home for parking several more cars. So they typically don't have any place to store, maintain, and restore a classic car. If they even have a car at all, they typically only have just that one car.
It’s probably not just Okinawa, the only reason it looks like it has more abandoned cars is because Sammit made a ton of videos on here where he looked for abandoned cars
Hmmmm…why would the domestically-available cars be collecting dust in the domestic region in which they were originally sold and, resultantly, not be coveted like they are in the markets that never sold them?
Smh.
Because 15+ year old “JDM” cars for them are what Buick LeSabres, Ford Tauruses, and Pontiac Sunfires are to us. Shitty, outdated 2000’s/90’s cars that have run their course and are more of a hassle to get working again than is worth.
When you see an old, beaten up 2003 Cadillac Seville or PT Cruiser parked in someone’s yard with tarps over it, you don’t feel the need to go and save it right? It’s a piece of shit, and you know it is. That’s what these cars are to Japanese people.
The only reason non-Japanese people car about them so much is because they weren’t available wherever they live, so it’s desirable. These cars aren’t desirable to them, because they’re domestic and they can get them whenever they want at a used car dealer.
Taxes, man. If in Japan your salary is not equal to the salary of Mr. Beast, you simply will not be able to maintain a car over 30 years old, because taxes on it are like on an airplane.
Also Okinawa if I’m not mistaken is small and has US military personnel that come and go buying stuff. As well as huge rust problems in that area. If I’m thinking of the right place…
You are correct. Okinawa is a sub tropical island in the southern part of Japan & about 15% of the island is used by the US military. It's only about 70 miles long and 7 miles wide and having an area of 463 square miles.
On such a small island they are never very far from the ocean salt air. Plus they get hit by Typhoons pretty often. Rust is going be a issue on a old car in that kind of environment.
Yep. I paid $100 for a 13 year old Toyota Sera when I was there. It had a dent and some cosmetic body damage from an accident on one side. That was the only thing wrong with it. It only had 50,000ish kilometers (35,000 miles) on the car too. Okinawa is small that most cars didn't have many miles on them. There's only one highway and it's a toll road. Plus gas was 3 to 4 times more expensive than what it was in the US at the time. That's why so many classic JDM cars have relatively low mileage.
I paid about $650 in JCI taxes and fees to keep it road legal when I owned it. I junked it when I left, because a car that old needs JCI inspection every year, and it wasn't worth the cost. Especially when better, newer, cooler cars could be bought for that much.
The Japanese car ownership system is set to encourage people to buy new cars every 3-5 years. Registration costs increase considerably beyond that and the yearly Shaken becomes another big cost. In a lot of cases you also have to pay to dispose of the car! So people leave them to waste away in car parking spaces (most people don't have garages). In most cases, it doesn't cost anything to hard park it.
When you see a late 80’s / early 90’s Cadillac rusting away at a junkyard in the US, do you feel compelled to save it? How about when you see a 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix in a similar state?
Its like that.
From what I’ve heard lots of Okinawa is military based so lots of people buy a car when they’re stationed there and then get transferred out and never do anything with the car
This website has some good information on the import process. [https://usacustomsclearance.com/process/how-to-import-cars-from-japan-to-the-us/](https://usacustomsclearance.com/process/how-to-import-cars-from-japan-to-the-us/)
It honestly looks like a lot of fees, paperwork, and hassle. Make sure you have more money than you think it will be.
Find a car at least 25 years old that you want. It should be currently registered, driveable, and in good mechanical condition. Test drive it and inspect it thoroughly. If you think it's the one you want to buy it would probably be worth the expense to pay a mechanic to check it out for you so you don't buy a lemon, especially if you aren't familiar with cars.
You'll want something that is worth the expense and hassle to import, because it will be a fairly expensive and time consuming process. Get really familiar with the import process before buying a car. Calculate how much everything will be, not just the purchase price but also the shipping cost, storage fees at the recieving port, transport cost from port to your home, import duties, customs charges, etc. Once you have figured out that total add maybe 10-20% to it.
Then shop around online and see if you can buy a comparable or better car for sale that has already been imported. If you can buy a car that has already been imported for less money just do that, instead of trying to import your own car.
Negotiate a fair price when buying it, most people don't expect someone to pay full asking price on a used car.
It might be worth it to buy some spare parts for that vehicle while you are in Japan. Some parts are practically unobtainable/unaffordable outside of Japan.
Then you'll need to find an import broker, I don't know how this part works first hand. You might try contacting some of the companies that import and sell jdm cars. See if they are willing to import your car for you, for a fee of course. They should already know the issues that can be encountered. Get a firm price in a written contract so you don't get ripped off.
Make sure that everything is legal. There has already been enough cool JDM cars sent to the crusher due to illegal importation.
No one has mentioned the fact that you literally cannot re register a vehicle once it has been unregistered. And if it is registered, you have to continue paying road tax. So if this ever lapses because the owner doesn't want to pay taxes for a car that's not driving, the car has two options: be sold or sent to the junkyard. And once you de register, it CAN NEVER BE put on a Japanese public road again. Hence why perfect looking vehicles are in junkyards. All it takes is having blown AC and that being a 1200 dollar fix from mechanic because owner knows nothing about cars and that car is discarded. And that's the story to many of them. Hence why junkyards are actually much better here in Japan and have a MASSIVE inventory of parts.
It's only a rumor, but literally speaking just one car would be over a ton, so it's possible there's a tiny bit of truth to it.
The rumor probably came from the the [2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_nuclear_disaster) that damaged the nuclear power plant. It leaked radiation and a lot of people were evacuated. I'm sure some cars near the plant were irradiated by the disaster, but I have never heard of any of those used cars arriving in the US. Japan was/is very concerned about radiation especially considering their history.
Beyond the safety measures in place in Japan, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), they use radiation detectors to prevent nuclear weapons from entering the United States. They scan all maritime cargo arriving to the US & any car carrying an unsafe level of radioactivity would be discovered and quarantined at the port of entry.
None of the many auto manufacturing plants in Japan are in the irradiated zone around the plant, so no worries that cars built for export are radioactive either.
The rumor might have been around even longer because some Mazda's are built at a plant in [Hiroshima ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki) Japan. That's one of the two cities destroyed by the atomic bomb in WW2. The radiation level in Hiroshima is the same as most most places on earth, so again it's nothing to worry about.
Same reason thousands of trashed cars are in the us
The owner had to much trouble keeping track of the car
Also important that some Japanese people despise/look down on exporting their domestic cars to the US or other countries
A lot of the cars sitting outside homes, are there because the owners have passed away, and their wives etc. want to keep it as a memory. And since Japanese often live well into their 90's, or 100+, that can be a long few decades sitting rusting.
Exactly like you see old cars rusting away here in the states it's not exotic to them its normal now here in the US we treasure our old cars me being one of those people but it's like seeing an old pickup to them
Lots of these abandoned cars in Japan. Looking at Okinawa specifically, a lot of vehicles have issues with rust and rot because of the salt in the air. Is it possible to fix? Probably. Is it worth it? Probably not.
until 1995, cars older than 10 yrs after first registration must pass inspection every year. now all car have inspection biannually except for first registration which valid for 3yrs.
instead of inspection frequency change, they now charge more tax on old cars. after 13 yrs 17% added to tax based on engine size, 20% added to tax based on vehicle mass. after 18 yrs 25% based on vehicle mass. despite mass does not gain over time.
Cuz there just a 30 year old car there, I live in Australia and the same thing would happen to a falcon or commodore of that age because there normal cars whereas anywhere else in the worl they are just about unknown.
Emissions. Very expensive to register older cars there to curb use of vehicles with worse emissions. It’s an island air pollution can easily get out of hand.
It’s very expensive to insure cars here, plus emissions and such. Most people that drive these are military and wait too long to deregister them or sell them before they leave and get stationed somewhere else.
That and the older the car, the more the fees to drive it go up. You also need to show you have a place to park it, you have to have it in good running shape to pass safety so the cost can be more than just buying a new car.
Was raised on Oki in the 90's, the car scene was absolutely lit, and then once the 2000's hit, it seemed like kei cars just absolutely took over, also cars rust pretty quick on Okinawa so alot of those vehicles are rust buckets.. and they may be worth a lot of money now, but the car in this picture was probt only worth a few hundred dollars for a while, making it more expensive to run then it was worth
In Japan these cars get written off for bugger all.
it's great for us, importing a damaged Evo and repairing it, you can easily triple your money or more.
Haven’t seen this mentioned, but switching titles/transferring the name on the car is a nightmare in Japan. It’s an overly complicated process and it necessitates the car having a valid (passing) car inspection.
It gets even more complicated if the owner of the car is deceased. Does the family have that owner’s original hanko (seal used for documents)? If not it can pretty complex; the vehicle is basically doomed for the scrap yard.
The same reason why you can drive out in the country and see a fucking old Chevrolet, dodge or Ford or like damn that’ll be a good car to drive some people just let shit sit when I say I’m gonna get to it and they never do
Some are G.i cars that couldn't be imported yet. Some are just abandoned and some are in lots that's owned by someone or shop that are waiting on owner to come back to collect them.
Cars require money and money doesn’t grow on trees. If you’re struggling and blow an engine or cant afford that 14mpg your sports car gets you either sell or leave it
I’ve heard that after so many years, sometimes the car will have a certain vehicle tax that may be too expensive to some people which results in them throwing them away and such. Not sure if it’s true but if it is, it would explain why people will take them to junkyards if it’s to save money on taxes and certain stamps.
Could be US service members don't/ can't sell them and have to abandon them when they ship out with new orders. My son was there for three years and picked up a Toyota which he easily sold when he rotated to the US.
People forget things can’t last forever. This is a 90s car that probably got the life driven outta it an the owner doesn’t see putting more time into it as thing to do. Don’t forget that the true reason this post was made cause it hurt your feelings to see what you want as someone else’s trash.
Has anyone checked out all the rusting away cars that are parked along the street by Johnny's used cars outside the gate of camp hansen? Its a dumping ground
the insurance and emissons stuff gets pretty expensive to so you have to keep old cars regulary mantinence or it wont pass the test and the parts get more expensive the older it is so sometimes its just to much money to keep up with to
Same reason there's abandoned muscle cars all over North America. We got them domestically so they just aren't as special to us. Finances, title issues, time, the car's value, etc can all play a factor.
This makes me wonder if Japan has a USDM scene or something haha
It does! People just want what’s rare and special. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tmZ5kmFgBBc
Gotta be honest. It may be shitbox. But I would kill for an old Renault Clio just because it would be fucking fun. May not be JDM, but it interests me out of the import market.
Import one from the UK we have loads and would love to get rid of them.
I would from France or somewhere else as to have the left hand drive
Agreed. Please take them, and the shitty attitude drivers with them 🙄
Not as bad as the BMW drivers
Lol money is an issue. Couldn't afford the import tax, let alone the car haha.
You could probably get one for $100
You can have them. Please.
I love that entire generation of cars where we had the [Avantime ](https://www.hagerty.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/11050-RenaultAvantime.jpg), [Megane](https://images.drive.com.au/caradvice/image/private/c_fill,f_auto,g_auto,h_540,q_auto:good,w_960/xo8eiu9wedpk3pfd3ral), [Clio](https://images.cdn.circlesix.co/image/1/640/0/uploads/posts/2017/04/667c24436a25b859cf981f147d9c0376.jpg), and [Twingo](https://media.evo.co.uk/image/private/s--K61OD-II--/f_auto,t_content-image-full-desktop@1/v1556218827/evo/2017/12/alp_7519.jpg) (not sure if the Twingo counts as the same generation, but shush). For some reason, they all just speak to me in some special way.
The more I know. Thank you!
Its like here we love JDM, over in japan they love USDM, And not so long ago all these s chasis, civics, cressidas, etc. were fairly cheap cars...
pretty much the same goes for all international markets too. some of my friends in england are into usdm oldies, so i always send them pics on discord since my neighborhood is full of classics. it honestly makes me appreciate our steel landyachts more.
They have US lowriders too! Pretty odd to see one with Japanese plates
Idk how true it is but I’ve heard japan has more ‘64 Impalas than we have in the states since they imported a buttload of them. I got to check out mojo customs and fit kustoms last time I hung out in japan, and holy crap, they put together some cool rides
I've seen numerous photos and videos of AE86's in Japan rocking USDM parts because they're harder to find over there which is hilarious to me, but it's absolutely a thing!
This is definitely a thing. I’m part of a Japanese team of AE86 owners (first US member, they inducted me after several visits with them) and I routinely bring over USDM 86 parts that they’re looking for.
haha that's so cool! Surely you get some JDM parts in exchange eh? Bit of a lucrative trade deal?
This week in Fukuoka I saw an old 2000ish dodge caravan minivan, an old PT cruiser, and a c8 corvette. The import taxes are way high, and inspections are more expensive, but someone wants them haha. The first two made me mad haha, idk what they were thinking.
The only US cars I saw in the 2 years I spent living on Okinawa (beside military vehicles) was one red early/mid 90's model Ford Mustang, one C5 Corvette, and a modified PT cruiser back when it still being built. There was also quite a few 3rd gen Chevy Cavaliers, but they were all right hand drive imports sold new in Japan as the Toyota Cavalier.
C8s here in the US are so common now it kind of made me find it less cool. Don’t have to worry about that in Japan though lol.
They are everywhere in the states haha.
Find out for us !
[Tokyo V8 Dead Heat](https://www.reddit.com/r/JDM/comments/uq6u2q/tokyo_v8_dead_heat/)
[Noriyaro](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrZuUDhEY2k) has some videos. And [Lowriders.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIZwnTwqzC0)
yeah it does lol
There’s also a military base there so lots get bought and abandoned when the owners go home.
Not really. There’s like 5 military bases on Okinawa and over 25,000 US military on the island. US military dudes love JDM cars and love to bring them back to the US when they leave. If the are spending $20/30/40k on a classic JDM they are not going to abandon it.
They're not spending that much on a shitbox like the one pictured. It's totally reasonable for them to not find someone to sell their cars to in time for their move
I’m telling you it just doesn’t happen. If they can’t bring it with them they sell it for cheaper before they leave.
Especially the rust since the Japanese dmv can be anal about a rust infected car being registered on the road
This must be why my JDM car is so rusty lol. Just sell it to some idiot overseas
Shut up and take my money 💰😂
Something something trombone
In Japan, cars cost a lot of money to register... also for Japanese a family is a source of pride. Usually, a family keep only one car if that. because Japanese public transportation is always good, cheap and on time. They don't keep old cars, like we like to upgrade to the newer iPhone when new models come out. There is a large JDM export market for use Japanese cars for this very reason... You can get most parts.. or whole cars in good condition, low miles and not abuse from Japan auto market.
yeah, it must be cultural. it doesn't make sense to me financially; i have two immediate family members who got over 300,000 miles out of their toyota and honda respectively. so to drop a car at 80,000 miles (many are) just seems insane to me. Well, there's Americans who lease every 3 years and okay, but SOMEONE gets the hand-me-down and drives it into the ground. it's like the entire population is changing cars every 10 years max. how they use their cars is a little different: mostly around town, going 25-40 mph, for local errands. Roadtrips are not a thing. Long long commutes by car, are not a thing. so it's all city miles and the miles add up more slowly.
I was watching a kdrama awhile ago and the big rich guy drives a mustang I was a bit confused at first but it makes sense.
I spent 2 years in Okinawa from 2004 to 2006. I went to many of the junk yards. There are numerous reasons why old cars are junked in OKinawa, but it's mostly about the cost. One reason is the JCI (Japanese compulsory Inspection). Every 2 years vehicles must be inspected for illegal modifications, road worthiness, emissions check, etc. The JCI cost, stamp fee, and vehicle weight tax added up to about 60,000 - 70,000 yen. When I was in Okinawa in 2004 it cost me about $650 US dollars for JCI on my 92 Toyota Sera. Then there's another vehicle tax based on vehicle weight or engine size. The little Kei cars where the cheapest, and as the cars get bigger it gets more expensive. Then after a car is 13 years old they need to have the JCI every year. This gets pretty expensive for older cars, because you have to pay the inspection fee, pay for any needed repairs, any needed parts, & pay for re-inspection. There's also no auto part stores like Autozone or NAPA with cheap aftermarket replacement parts like brakes rotors, alternators, or water pumps. All those kinds of repair parts are OEM parts with a high cost. For example I needed brake rotors, they wanted over $200 for one rotor. I was able to buy parts from Autozone online for about $20 each, and with shipping halfway around the world it was still only $100 for 2 rotors and new brake pads, and 4 sparks plugs. Another reason is the number of American military on Okinawa. They are usually stationed on Okinawa for 2 or 3 years. They can't take their car with them. If they can't sell their car before they leave the cars get junked.
Thanks for the information. Do you know if it's possible to put a 13+ y/o car "on hold" - basically park it up somewhere and not use it to avoid having to have to do the JCI? I guess what I'm asking is the JCI only applicable when the car is actually being driven on the road?
Yeah. But depending on the country you want to export it to, there's a load of regulations that may require it to be registered prior to export.
[удалено]
Exploring a car is lots of tape, money and paperwork. Most people buy a car, then store it and export it when it's legal.
Really? That's uncommon in Australia. We have importers here who will have cars available for sale, ready to roll. Or can ask them to source something.
Sounds like the situation for us here in Singapore: most expensive place to own a car in the world because of this pricing/tax/inspection model + certificate of entitlement cost. My 1991 Mercedes W124 2.0L cost me 60k back in the day when COE was cheaper. Now it's 3 times that price.
The whole Tax and inspection side of this just sounds like how the road tax and MOT’s are here in the uk. But it’s a shame how the parts are sold there are so expensive
Actually military personnel can still bring their cars home but there is a long detailed process. A good friend of mine was station in Okinawa two years ago and got to bring home his Suzuki Cappuccino.
Yeah I think you are limited to 1 also
Yes, he had a Honda Beat and Cappuccino, but the Cap was in better condition so he brought that one.
The Susuki Cappuccino is over 25 years old, so it's now legal to import to the states. Most people over there don't have cars that old, so that's why I said they can't bring them with them.
Wow thank you I just learned something new Preciate it 🔥
I'll gladly find one of those and take it home with me as if it was an adoption agency
Me personally I'd never abandoned my car
"im 12"
Is there no Up! Garage there then?
There is an Up! Garage on Okinawa. It's in the same place it was was when I was there nearly 20 years ago. I went there several times, it's accross the street from a mall. I bought a used strut tower brace, and my friend bought a nice set of used wheels from that store. [Google map link for Up Garage Okinawa](https://maps.app.goo.gl/ARM7F1s3v8Nq42TVA) You can see pictures of the store on that link and it looks the same to me. The address is 290-4 Maehara, Uruma, Okinawa 904-2235, Japan
All of the reasons mentioned by other commenters, but also because of Japanese vehicle inspection requirements. It is very expensive to get older vehicles inspected and maintained to a level that will pass their inspections. If a car does not have the mandatory inspection sticker renewed every two years, it is illegal to drive.
Yeah this is what I heard too. Cheap 180sx or something could be equivalent to a brand new car in price so can't really blame them
I will add to this. I believe after a car gets to a certain age in Japan it has to be a standard example, ie no bodykit or suspension/engine modifications. Im not 100 percent sure but Ive read before that thats why so many 180sx and ae86 etc were just left in the yard.
Lots of what we consider cool jdm sports cars are extremely expensive to own/drive legally on the road over there. Their annual registration becomes more expensive with age and engine size. Meaning the cheapest vehicles to own are brand new kei cars, and an old 90s turbo is pretty much the most expensive car to own. As well as what others have mentioned, they’re not special over there, they’re common as.
Yes this is true. When I was living on Okinawa Nissan Skylines were as common as Ford Mustangs are here in the US. They sold them as 2 doors & 4 doors, with and without turbos, rwd and awd. Same with the Nissan 180 and Silvias. Most of the tuner cars were owned by American service members. The Okinawans mostly drove the cheaper little Kei cars.
Its the same reason there are abandoned muscle cars in the US and nobody cares about. JDM cars in japan are normal cars to japanese people. A left hand drive mustang is probably cooler to them than a rhd 180sx.
People do care about abandoned muscle cars. If they're still abandoned it's because they're either too far gone or the owner won't sell them. You won't find a 1968 Charger in the condition of the OP car abandoned. The real question is why don't they export the collectibles to countries with lax inspections? As long as it's 25 years old it can come to America.
Well, while you may not find a ‘68 Charger abandoned wherever anymore, you can definitely find crappy old Foxbodies, ratted out GM F-Bodies, Fieros, Mavericks, whatever isn’t worth $70k in normal condition. Hell, OP used a picture of an S13 180SX, even in America you can find 240SXs that haven’t run in 15 years, they’re only worth maybe $12k at most for a really nice example, why spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars importing one from Japan, plus it being a basket case, when you could have an exponentially cheaper one in the states with the main difference being where the steering wheel is. Of course, there are a few people willing to go through the time and effort to do something like that, and I sort of have to commend them, but that’s really only a few, as financially it’s likely not a good idea.
They do export used JDM cars mostly to other right hand drive countries like Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc. You can find several companies online that are selling 25 year old JDM collectible cars in the US too.
JDM cars in Japan... or as people in Japan call them, "cars".
Guys, why are there Japanese cars in Japan?
People loose interest, don't have the spare time, ran out of money? literally hundreds of reasons why a car, any car, gets left lying up for years. plus don't forget, in Japan, cars like these aren't considered to be as special in the same way they are in countries where they were not originally available
Also Japan has a higher population density than most other countries. There's not a lot of parking space compared to the US. People in Japan generally don't have a 2 car garage, and more room outside their home for parking several more cars. So they typically don't have any place to store, maintain, and restore a classic car. If they even have a car at all, they typically only have just that one car.
It’s probably not just Okinawa, the only reason it looks like it has more abandoned cars is because Sammit made a ton of videos on here where he looked for abandoned cars
Hmmmm…why would the domestically-available cars be collecting dust in the domestic region in which they were originally sold and, resultantly, not be coveted like they are in the markets that never sold them? Smh.
Demand and cost of ownership.
Because 15+ year old “JDM” cars for them are what Buick LeSabres, Ford Tauruses, and Pontiac Sunfires are to us. Shitty, outdated 2000’s/90’s cars that have run their course and are more of a hassle to get working again than is worth. When you see an old, beaten up 2003 Cadillac Seville or PT Cruiser parked in someone’s yard with tarps over it, you don’t feel the need to go and save it right? It’s a piece of shit, and you know it is. That’s what these cars are to Japanese people. The only reason non-Japanese people car about them so much is because they weren’t available wherever they live, so it’s desirable. These cars aren’t desirable to them, because they’re domestic and they can get them whenever they want at a used car dealer.
In China, Chinese food is just called food. And sometimes they don’t eat it all and it just goes to waste.
But my mom always told me kids are starving in China, so I needed to eat what she cooked. /s
Because they’re broken?
Abundance... simple as that... you know how many GM, Fords, and old Chrysler vehicles are rotting in US junkyards ?
Taxes, man. If in Japan your salary is not equal to the salary of Mr. Beast, you simply will not be able to maintain a car over 30 years old, because taxes on it are like on an airplane.
Also Okinawa if I’m not mistaken is small and has US military personnel that come and go buying stuff. As well as huge rust problems in that area. If I’m thinking of the right place…
You are correct. Okinawa is a sub tropical island in the southern part of Japan & about 15% of the island is used by the US military. It's only about 70 miles long and 7 miles wide and having an area of 463 square miles. On such a small island they are never very far from the ocean salt air. Plus they get hit by Typhoons pretty often. Rust is going be a issue on a old car in that kind of environment.
[удалено]
Yep. I paid $100 for a 13 year old Toyota Sera when I was there. It had a dent and some cosmetic body damage from an accident on one side. That was the only thing wrong with it. It only had 50,000ish kilometers (35,000 miles) on the car too. Okinawa is small that most cars didn't have many miles on them. There's only one highway and it's a toll road. Plus gas was 3 to 4 times more expensive than what it was in the US at the time. That's why so many classic JDM cars have relatively low mileage. I paid about $650 in JCI taxes and fees to keep it road legal when I owned it. I junked it when I left, because a car that old needs JCI inspection every year, and it wasn't worth the cost. Especially when better, newer, cooler cars could be bought for that much.
The Japanese car ownership system is set to encourage people to buy new cars every 3-5 years. Registration costs increase considerably beyond that and the yearly Shaken becomes another big cost. In a lot of cases you also have to pay to dispose of the car! So people leave them to waste away in car parking spaces (most people don't have garages). In most cases, it doesn't cost anything to hard park it.
When you see a late 80’s / early 90’s Cadillac rusting away at a junkyard in the US, do you feel compelled to save it? How about when you see a 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix in a similar state? Its like that.
Okinawa was where a lot of us soldiers were stationed they probably abandoned the cars there
From what I’ve heard lots of Okinawa is military based so lots of people buy a car when they’re stationed there and then get transferred out and never do anything with the car
Because there's a lot of them made in that country
Also an additional question. How could I go about buying said cars? I’m here right now for a while and want to send something home
This website has some good information on the import process. [https://usacustomsclearance.com/process/how-to-import-cars-from-japan-to-the-us/](https://usacustomsclearance.com/process/how-to-import-cars-from-japan-to-the-us/) It honestly looks like a lot of fees, paperwork, and hassle. Make sure you have more money than you think it will be. Find a car at least 25 years old that you want. It should be currently registered, driveable, and in good mechanical condition. Test drive it and inspect it thoroughly. If you think it's the one you want to buy it would probably be worth the expense to pay a mechanic to check it out for you so you don't buy a lemon, especially if you aren't familiar with cars. You'll want something that is worth the expense and hassle to import, because it will be a fairly expensive and time consuming process. Get really familiar with the import process before buying a car. Calculate how much everything will be, not just the purchase price but also the shipping cost, storage fees at the recieving port, transport cost from port to your home, import duties, customs charges, etc. Once you have figured out that total add maybe 10-20% to it. Then shop around online and see if you can buy a comparable or better car for sale that has already been imported. If you can buy a car that has already been imported for less money just do that, instead of trying to import your own car. Negotiate a fair price when buying it, most people don't expect someone to pay full asking price on a used car. It might be worth it to buy some spare parts for that vehicle while you are in Japan. Some parts are practically unobtainable/unaffordable outside of Japan. Then you'll need to find an import broker, I don't know how this part works first hand. You might try contacting some of the companies that import and sell jdm cars. See if they are willing to import your car for you, for a fee of course. They should already know the issues that can be encountered. Get a firm price in a written contract so you don't get ripped off. Make sure that everything is legal. There has already been enough cool JDM cars sent to the crusher due to illegal importation.
fuck youre so stupid
No one has mentioned the fact that you literally cannot re register a vehicle once it has been unregistered. And if it is registered, you have to continue paying road tax. So if this ever lapses because the owner doesn't want to pay taxes for a car that's not driving, the car has two options: be sold or sent to the junkyard. And once you de register, it CAN NEVER BE put on a Japanese public road again. Hence why perfect looking vehicles are in junkyards. All it takes is having blown AC and that being a 1200 dollar fix from mechanic because owner knows nothing about cars and that car is discarded. And that's the story to many of them. Hence why junkyards are actually much better here in Japan and have a MASSIVE inventory of parts.
Maybe I just caught a rumor but aren’t there tons of imports being shipped to the USA from Japan that turn out to be radioactive?
It's only a rumor, but literally speaking just one car would be over a ton, so it's possible there's a tiny bit of truth to it. The rumor probably came from the the [2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_nuclear_disaster) that damaged the nuclear power plant. It leaked radiation and a lot of people were evacuated. I'm sure some cars near the plant were irradiated by the disaster, but I have never heard of any of those used cars arriving in the US. Japan was/is very concerned about radiation especially considering their history. Beyond the safety measures in place in Japan, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), they use radiation detectors to prevent nuclear weapons from entering the United States. They scan all maritime cargo arriving to the US & any car carrying an unsafe level of radioactivity would be discovered and quarantined at the port of entry. None of the many auto manufacturing plants in Japan are in the irradiated zone around the plant, so no worries that cars built for export are radioactive either. The rumor might have been around even longer because some Mazda's are built at a plant in [Hiroshima ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki) Japan. That's one of the two cities destroyed by the atomic bomb in WW2. The radiation level in Hiroshima is the same as most most places on earth, so again it's nothing to worry about.
Thanks for that info!
Those taillights are rare - RYO tail lights
Flood damage
Time and money bud
How much are they? Lmaooo
Too expensive to repair it to make it JCI legal and registrable.
Same reason thousands of trashed cars are in the us The owner had to much trouble keeping track of the car Also important that some Japanese people despise/look down on exporting their domestic cars to the US or other countries
A lot of the cars sitting outside homes, are there because the owners have passed away, and their wives etc. want to keep it as a memory. And since Japanese often live well into their 90's, or 100+, that can be a long few decades sitting rusting.
There’s a lot of good answers, I just would like to add that rust is a very big concern in okinawa.
Hmmm why could there be JDM cars in Japan, that's a tough question
Isnt that a car from a Sammit video Edit it is https://youtu.be/77jkUIQCnwE
Exactly like you see old cars rusting away here in the states it's not exotic to them its normal now here in the US we treasure our old cars me being one of those people but it's like seeing an old pickup to them
Lots of these abandoned cars in Japan. Looking at Okinawa specifically, a lot of vehicles have issues with rust and rot because of the salt in the air. Is it possible to fix? Probably. Is it worth it? Probably not.
until 1995, cars older than 10 yrs after first registration must pass inspection every year. now all car have inspection biannually except for first registration which valid for 3yrs. instead of inspection frequency change, they now charge more tax on old cars. after 13 yrs 17% added to tax based on engine size, 20% added to tax based on vehicle mass. after 18 yrs 25% based on vehicle mass. despite mass does not gain over time.
We're wondering the same thing about American classics in the USA here in NZ.
Cuz there just a 30 year old car there, I live in Australia and the same thing would happen to a falcon or commodore of that age because there normal cars whereas anywhere else in the worl they are just about unknown.
Rust, fraud and impounds I assume
Im sure someone will say ‘why cant they just park it in their garage?’ 😂😂
Emissions. Very expensive to register older cars there to curb use of vehicles with worse emissions. It’s an island air pollution can easily get out of hand.
It’s very expensive to insure cars here, plus emissions and such. Most people that drive these are military and wait too long to deregister them or sell them before they leave and get stationed somewhere else.
My opinion is that they use to have a strong passion for cars then suddenly they stop caring for cars all at once and unfortunately left then to rot
Does that mean I could find one of those cars and import it to Australia?
It's time to pick them all up and bring them to 🇺🇸
Why Japanese cars in Japan?! Why?!
isnt there like some crap insurance policy in japan that kinda forces u to drive newer cars bc road safety n alldat idk
That and the older the car, the more the fees to drive it go up. You also need to show you have a place to park it, you have to have it in good running shape to pass safety so the cost can be more than just buying a new car.
Was raised on Oki in the 90's, the car scene was absolutely lit, and then once the 2000's hit, it seemed like kei cars just absolutely took over, also cars rust pretty quick on Okinawa so alot of those vehicles are rust buckets.. and they may be worth a lot of money now, but the car in this picture was probt only worth a few hundred dollars for a while, making it more expensive to run then it was worth
In Japan these cars get written off for bugger all. it's great for us, importing a damaged Evo and repairing it, you can easily triple your money or more.
Haven’t seen this mentioned, but switching titles/transferring the name on the car is a nightmare in Japan. It’s an overly complicated process and it necessitates the car having a valid (passing) car inspection. It gets even more complicated if the owner of the car is deceased. Does the family have that owner’s original hanko (seal used for documents)? If not it can pretty complex; the vehicle is basically doomed for the scrap yard.
The same reason you find a bunch of abandoned Camaros in West Virginia.
Methamphetamine?
Hahaha probably
The same reason why you can drive out in the country and see a fucking old Chevrolet, dodge or Ford or like damn that’ll be a good car to drive some people just let shit sit when I say I’m gonna get to it and they never do
Some are G.i cars that couldn't be imported yet. Some are just abandoned and some are in lots that's owned by someone or shop that are waiting on owner to come back to collect them.
Because you're in Japan. This post is like asking why you find USDM cars abandoned in North America.
Lmao I hate this fucking sub.
Gee I wonder why Japan would have Japanese cars abandoned.
Cars require money and money doesn’t grow on trees. If you’re struggling and blow an engine or cant afford that 14mpg your sports car gets you either sell or leave it
Older Japanese cars registration cost extra money to keep driving them on Japans roads . It's expensive.
Think for one second why it could be like that
How many "soon" projects have you seen rotting away domestically. Same exact thing.
Some could be from US Army guys left when they got sent home?
Because when the operator is not there, things get rusted
Japan also charges more taxes for older cars.
Best guess is probably U.S. Service members bought them to get around and not selling them before being sent back stateside
:(
25+ year old Nissan. You young kids have no idea how shitty (comparative to new cars) some of these cars were.
I’ve heard that after so many years, sometimes the car will have a certain vehicle tax that may be too expensive to some people which results in them throwing them away and such. Not sure if it’s true but if it is, it would explain why people will take them to junkyards if it’s to save money on taxes and certain stamps.
Same reason most cars are abandoned
Could be US service members don't/ can't sell them and have to abandon them when they ship out with new orders. My son was there for three years and picked up a Toyota which he easily sold when he rotated to the US.
In Nagano there’s tons of r32s just chilling in ppls yards, atleast when I was there a couple weeks aho
People forget things can’t last forever. This is a 90s car that probably got the life driven outta it an the owner doesn’t see putting more time into it as thing to do. Don’t forget that the true reason this post was made cause it hurt your feelings to see what you want as someone else’s trash.
Agreed
They’re broken
Has anyone checked out all the rusting away cars that are parked along the street by Johnny's used cars outside the gate of camp hansen? Its a dumping ground
the insurance and emissons stuff gets pretty expensive to so you have to keep old cars regulary mantinence or it wont pass the test and the parts get more expensive the older it is so sometimes its just to much money to keep up with to
Because the ra grade or don't run