Young adults in Japan grappling with car costs

When I first moved to Japan we lived in Tokyo, and while we were there we didn’t own a car for the first year. It didn’t make much sense, because the cost of upkeep was probably outweighed by how often we’d use a vehicle. We were also close to a station, so public transport was really a way of life. Now in Niigata we operate as a one-car family, which has challenges (I feel like in my home country most people are two-car families), but it’s mainly expense considerations that have us only using one vehicle.

This seems to be the case for a lot of young adults here, according to a recent survey by Tortoise Co., Ltd., a Kanagawa-based car dealership. Their results revealed that nearly 70% of Japanese men and women in their 20s who don’t own a car believe they could only afford maintenance costs under ¥30,000 per month (around USD 190).

Conducted online in April 2025 with 331 respondents, the survey found that just over 30% of 20-somethings currently own a vehicle. Of those who don’t, only about 22% actually want to, and that was primarily due to the high upfront costs. Initial purchase costs, insurance, or routine upkeep mean that the financial burden is a recurring concern, particularly for younger people with modest or variable incomes.

Over 60% of respondents said their total car budget (if they were to buy) would range between ¥500,000 and ¥1.5 million. Meanwhile, among those who already own a vehicle, more than half reported spending less than ¥30,000 a month on maintenance.