Bicycle Insurance: The Mandatory Coverage

Bicycle insurance is mandatory across most of Japan's major prefectures, and every person who rides a bicycle inside one of them needs qualifying liability cover.¹² A single crash can produce damages near 100 million JPY, so the mandate exists to protect victims and keep at-fault riders solvent.³⁴

Confirm current details with official sources

Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police bicycle insurance page and your prefecture's ordinance page. This article is general information, not legal, tax, or immigration advice; for your specific case, consult a licensed insurance agent.

Overview

Japan has no single national bicycle-insurance law. Each prefecture (and some designated cities) decides by ordinance whether riders must carry bicycle liability cover, so the duty turns on where you ride, not where you live.⁵¹

The mandated minimum is cover for another person's life or bodily injury caused by your bicycle use.³⁶ This cover is called 自転車損害賠償保険等 (jitensha songai baishō hoken-tō, "bicycle liability insurance etc.").⁶⁷

The duty binds adult riders directly, parents for minor children, businesses for work-use riding, and rental operators for loaned bicycles.³⁶⁸ Retailers, schools, and employers of bike commuters confirm joining and provide information but do not join on the rider's behalf.⁶⁸⁵

Why the mandate exists

Courts handed down bicycle-crash awards on a scale most households cannot absorb, and prefectures answered with compulsory-cover ordinances aimed at victim relief and at-fault financial protection.⁷⁸⁹

The 2008 Kobe case and the 95-million-yen judgment

In September 2008 in Kita Ward, Kobe, an 11-year-old boy rode downhill at 20 to 30 km/h and struck a 67-year-old woman pedestrian.⁴ She suffered a skull fracture and never regained consciousness.⁴

In July 2013 the Kobe District Court ordered the boy's mother to pay about 95 million JPY in total: about 35 million JPY to the victim's side and about 60 million JPY to the insurer that had paid the victim.⁴ The court found the boy's forward inattention caused the crash and the mother's supervision insufficient.⁴

The Metropolitan Police records the award as 95.21 million JPY and pairs it with a 92.66 million JPY Tokyo District Court precedent from 2008, showing the Kobe case was not a one-off.³ Nara Prefecture cites the same two precedents as its reason for compulsion.⁹

What the judgment changed

Before the ordinances, almost everyone agreed cover was sensible and few carried it. A January 2015 Osaka prefecture survey found 95 percent of residents saw the need but only 40 percent were insured.¹⁰

Prefectures therefore moved the duty from encouragement to obligation, keeping the twin aims of victim relief and protecting at-fault riders from ruin.⁷⁸⁹ Kanagawa's ordinance Q&A describes compulsory liability cover as one of the ordinance's two pillars alongside safe-and-proper use.¹¹

Where insurance is mandatory

The mandate map keeps expanding, so treat any list as a snapshot and confirm your prefecture's current ordinance page before acting. Insurer-compiled lists describe the broad shape (as of 2026-01; confirm current status with your prefecture's ordinance page), but only each prefecture's page is authoritative for that prefecture.¹

Mandate status by major prefecture

Tokyo mandates joining from 2020-04-01 under its amended bicycle ordinance.³⁶ Saitama mandates joining from 2018-04-01 under its 2017 amendment.¹² Nagano mandates joining from 2019-10-01.⁸ Nara mandates joining from 2020-04-01.⁹

Kyoto and Osaka mandate joining under their ordinances now in force.⁷¹³ Kanagawa and Hyogo mandate joining under their safe-and-proper-use ordinances.¹¹ Aichi and Fukuoka appear as obligation areas on insurer-compiled lists (as of 2026-01); confirm each at its prefecture page.¹

Prefecture	Status	Since	Penalty stated	As of
Tokyo	Obligation	2020-04-0136	None stated	2026-04-033
Kanagawa	Obligation	2019-04 (insurer and Q&A rendering; confirm at prefecture page)11	None (per Q&A rendering)	2026-09-0811
Saitama	Obligation	2018-04-0112	Not stated on fetched pages	2026-09-0812
Aichi	Obligation (insurer list; confirm at prefecture page)1	Confirm at prefecture page	Confirm at prefecture page	2026-011
Kyoto	Obligation7	In force	None	2025-08-077
Osaka	Obligation13	In force	None	2025-01-3013
Hyogo	Obligation (leaflet rendering; confirm at prefecture page)11	Confirm at prefecture page	Confirm at prefecture page	2026-09-0811
Fukuoka	Obligation (insurer list; confirm at prefecture page)1	Confirm at prefecture page	Confirm at prefecture page	2026-011
Nara	Obligation9	2020-04-01	None	2026-08-179
Nagano	Obligation8	2019-10-01	None	2026-05-198

The table reflects each source's own dating (as of 2026-09-08; confirm current status with your prefecture's ordinance page).¹ Older snapshots such as the 2023-04 insurer map are superseded for any prefecture with a newer ordinance-page date (as of 2023-04).²

Who the duty binds

The adult rider joins directly, unless someone else already covers the same use.⁶⁵ A parent or guardian joins for a minor child, because a minor generally cannot contract alone.³⁶⁷

A business operator joins business-use cover for employees riding in work duties.³⁸⁵ An employee's personal policy may not pay for a work-duty crash, so the business needs its own terms.³⁷

A rental operator joins cover for loaned bicycles, whether the loan is paid or free, including hotel service bikes, and must explain the cover to borrowers.³⁷⁹ Retailers confirm a buyer's joining at sale, while schools and employers confirm students and bike commuters; each provides information where joining is unconfirmed.⁶⁸¹²⁹

Visitors are bound too. Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka apply the duty to anyone riding inside the prefecture, including out-of-prefecture commuters, shoppers, tourists, and rental users.⁷¹³⁹

What a compliant policy covers

A compliant policy pays damages for another person's death or bodily injury caused by your bicycle use.³⁶ Own injury, your own bicycle, and property damage sit outside the compulsory scope in the ordinances fetched, though many products bundle them anyway.⁷⁹

Minimum cover the ordinance requires

Kyoto states explicitly that another person's property damage is not part of the mandate.⁷ Tokyo frames the core Article 27 duty as life-or-body cover, with property cover as an effort duty.⁶

Nara advises own-injury cover as a personal choice outside the ordinance.⁹ So a policy qualifies even if it carries no own-injury schedule, as long as its liability limb pays others' bodily injury.³⁹

Typical cover and premium bands

Stand-alone bicycle policies commonly pair personal liability of 100 million JPY to unlimited domestic cover with scheduled own-injury benefits and a settlement negotiation service (as of 2026-09-08; confirm current figures with individual insurers).¹⁴¹² The 示談代行サービス (jidan daikō sābisu, "settlement negotiation service") means the insurer negotiates with the victim on your behalf.¹⁴¹

Entry individual tiers near 3,000 to 4,000 JPY per year and family tiers near 7,000 to 8,000 JPY per year match the oldest content-plan reference bands (as of 2026-09-08).¹⁴¹

Product	Annual amount	Liability band	As of	Notes
au Bycle Bronze, individual	3,810 JPY lump sum (340 JPY/mo)14	200M JPY	2026-09-0814	Road service included
au Bycle Bronze, family	7,080 JPY lump sum (650 JPY/mo)14	200M JPY	2026-09-0814	Covers household per member scope
au Bycle Silver, individual	6,180 JPY lump sum (560 JPY/mo)14	300M JPY	2026-09-0814	Adds outpatient and lump-sum admission cover
au Bycle Silver, family	12,740 JPY lump sum (1,150 JPY/mo)14	300M JPY	2026-09-0814	Household scope
au Bycle Gold, individual	12,240 JPY lump sum (1,130 JPY/mo)14	300M JPY plus legal-fee cover	2026-09-0814	Legal consultation 50K, counsel fees 3M JPY
au Bycle Gold, family	20,580 JPY lump sum (1,890 JPY/mo)14	300M JPY plus legal-fee cover	2026-09-0814	Household scope
Rakuten cycle, entry tier	3,290 JPY/yr, about 274 JPY/mo equivalent1	100M JPY	2026-09-081	Annual-pay only
Rakuten cycle, top tier	16,380 JPY/yr1	100M JPY with higher own-injury schedule	2026-09-081	Annual-pay only
Sompo UGOKU, family	980 JPY/mo2	Unlimited domestic, 100M overseas	2026-09-082	Monthly-join online cover

The bands above are advertised entry points for late-2026 shopping (as of 2026-09-08).¹⁴ Liability of at least 100 million JPY is the sensible floor given the precedents, and unlimited domestic tiers cost little more.³⁹²

Where to buy

Start from policies you already hold, because a rider you already pay for often satisfies the mandate with no new purchase. The flow below shows the order that avoids duplicate buying.³⁷

Stand-alone online policies

au Sonpo Bycle sells direct online in individual, family, and spouse-excluded types across Bronze, Silver, and Gold courses, with 1-year and 2-year terms.¹⁴ Its liability bands run 200 million JPY on Bronze and 300 million JPY on Silver and Gold, with no deductible and road service on every course (as of 2026-09-08; confirm current figures with au Sonpo).¹⁴

Rakuten cycle sells annual-pay online tiers for individuals, couples, and families with point accrual and use (as of 2026-09-08).¹ Sompo UGOKU sells monthly-join online family cover with unlimited domestic liability (as of 2026-09-08).²

Nagano's provider list also names ZuttoRide small-amount-and-short-term insurance among personal-use sellers, including no-age-limit mini and standard plans.⁸ Check age caps before choosing, because commercial bicycle plans commonly cap the named insured at 69 or 74 while some sellers offer senior or no-limit plans.⁸¹⁴

Shop-bundled and TS mark cover

The TSマーク (TS māku, "TS mark") is an inspection-and-maintenance seal attached at a registered shop, and its attached cover runs one year from the inspection base date.³⁹ Conditions are limited and colour-dependent, so read the attached terms rather than assuming full cover.³

Because TS cover attaches to the bicycle body, anyone riding that marked bicycle inside its validity period is covered.⁷⁹ A bike ridden past expiry without another qualifying policy is uninsured even though the sticker is still on the frame.³⁹

Check your fire or auto policy rider first

A 個人賠償責任保険 (kojin baishō sekinin hoken, "personal liability insurance") rider on cover you already hold usually satisfies the mandate for the whole household.³⁷ Confirm the rider and its amount on your policy papers before paying for a second contract.¹³⁹

Riders on homeowner, auto, and group cover

Existing auto, fire, or injury policies can satisfy the mandate through a personal-liability rider.³⁷¹³ PTA and school-window group policies, employer group policies, traffic-safety-association member cover, credit-card attached cover, and mutual-aid riders can also qualify where they carry the right liability limb.³⁸¹³⁹

One personal-liability contract generally covers the household, including cohabiting relatives plus non-married children living apart, with no per-bicycle pricing.⁷¹⁴¹ Multiple bicycles therefore need no multiple contracts.⁷¹

Overlapping liability covers still pay a given accident from only one contract in effect.¹ Compare amounts and terms before deciding whether a new contract adds anything, and take shortlisted options to a licensed insurance agent.¹

Enforcement and what non-compliance risks

No fetched ordinance page describes roadside or traffic-stop insurance checks, and Nara states expressly that riders need not carry proof or display anything while riding.⁹ Compliance is instead confirmed at sale, at school or the workplace, and after a crash.⁶⁸¹²⁵

How compliance is actually checked

Retailers confirm a buyer's joining at sale and provide information where joining is unconfirmed.⁶⁸¹² Schools confirm students who commute by bicycle, and employers confirm bike commuters, with information duties where cover is missing.⁶⁷⁸⁵

After a crash, liability and cover are verified through the parties' insurers.³⁴ This post-accident verification is the check that actually bites, because an uninsured rider faces the victim's claim alone.³⁹

Fines and liability exposure

Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nagano, Nara, and (per its Q&A rendering) Kanagawa attach no penalty to non-joining.^7810911 Osaka and Kanagawa explain that each rider's mixed portfolio of riders, group policies, and family cover makes a fine unverifiable in practice.¹⁰¹¹

An uninsured crash can cost more than decades of premiums

Court precedents near 95 million JPY show the civil exposure that follows an uninsured ride, with no cap comparable to an insurance limit.³⁹⁴ Joining is cheap against that scale; riding bare is the expensive choice.¹⁴²

This guide describes products only. Which limits, own-injury schedule, deductible, and riders fit your household depends on your riders, bicycles, and mileage, so take shortlisted quotes to a licensed insurance agent before binding cover.¹

Good to know

Check existing cover before buying anything new

Many riders already qualify through an auto, fire, or injury policy rider, a PTA group policy, or card-attached cover.³⁷¹³ Buying a duplicative stand-alone policy wastes the premium while adding no new liability limit, so audit first and buy only the gap.⁹¹

A TS mark is inspection-linked cover with a one-year clock, not permanent insurance

TS attached cover lapses one year after the inspection date.³⁹ Diary the expiry and either re-inspect or hold another qualifying policy, because a bike ridden past expiry is uninsured even with the sticker still on the frame.³⁹

One family policy can cover the household, but the member scope needs checking

Personal-liability riders commonly cover cohabiting relatives plus non-married children living apart.⁷¹⁴¹ Age caps and couple-versus-family plan boundaries still vary by product, so confirm the member scope on your own contract rather than assuming every relative is inside.⁸¹⁴

Business-use riding may need business-use terms, not a personal policy

An employee's personal liability policy may not pay for a crash during work duties.³⁷ Businesses need business-use terms such as facility liability cover, and rental operators need loan-use terms covering borrower fault, including free hotel loan bikes.⁷⁸⁹

Riding uninsured in a mandate prefecture leaves civil exposure even where no officer stops you

No fetched mandate prefecture describes roadside enforcement.³⁷⁹ The duty still binds visiting and rental riders while inside the prefecture, and post-crash liability follows the court precedents, so the absence of checks is not the absence of risk.⁷⁹⁴

See also

• Bicycle Registration (Bohan Toroku)
• Rules of the Road for Bicyclists
• Parking and the Impound-and-Fine Mechanic
• Electric-Assist Bicycles and Cargo Bikes
• The Bicycle-vs-Public-Transit Decision
• Compulsory and Voluntary Auto Insurance

References

Footnotes

1. 楽天損害保険株式会社 via 楽天インシュアランスプランニング. 楽天サイクル保険 (annual 3,290-16,380 JPY tiers, liability 100M JPY, obligation-area list as of 2026-01). https://www.rakuten-insurance.co.jp/bicycle/cycleassist/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴

2. 損害保険ジャパン株式会社 (Sompo Japan). UGOKU 自転車保険 page (obligation vs effort-obligation area map as of 2023-04, family monthly 980 JPY, unlimited domestic liability). https://www.sompo-japan.co.jp/kinsurance/automobile/bicycle/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

3. 警視庁 (Metropolitan Police Department). 自転車事故に備える保険等の加入義務. Updated 2026-04-03. https://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/kotsu/jikoboshi/bicycle/menu/bicycle_insurance.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹

4. 日本経済新聞 (Nikkei, via Kyodo). 親に9500万円賠償命令 小5自転車が女性はねる. Published 2013-07-05. https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASDG05015_V00C13A7CC0000/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

5. 国土交通省 (MLIT). 自転車損害賠償責任保険等への加入促進に関する標準条例 (model ordinance: duty scope, retailer and school confirmation duties). https://www.mlit.go.jp/road/bicycleuse/promotion/pdf/ordinance.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

6. Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs. Tokyo Metropolitan Government Ordinance on Safer and More Proper Use of Bicycles (English translation, Chapter 6 Articles 27-28). Effective 2020-04-01. https://www.sangyo-rodo.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/documents/d/sangyo-rodo/Tokyo-Metropolitan-Government-Ordinance-on-Safer-and-More-Proper-Use-of-Bicycles-pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴

7. 京都府 (Kyoto Prefecture). 自転車を利用される方は、自転車事故に備えた保険に加入しましょう. Updated 2025-08-07. https://www.pref.kyoto.jp/kotsuanzen/20170707.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶

8. 長野県 (Nagano Prefecture). 自転車損害賠償保険等の加入義務化について. Updated 2026-05-19. https://www.pref.nagano.lg.jp/kurashi-shohi/anzen/201903hokenkanyu.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸

9. 奈良県 (Nara Prefecture). 奈良県自転車条例が公布されました (duty from 2020-04-01, no penalty, TS mark detail, precedent figures). Updated 2026-08-17. https://www.pref.nara.lg.jp/n038/53824.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸

10. 大阪府 (Osaka Prefecture). 大阪府自転車条例 page (ordinance rationale, no-penalty explanation, survey figures). https://www.pref.osaka.lg.jp/o130080/dorokankyo/osakajitensha/index.html ↩ ↩² ↩³

11. 神奈川県 (Kanagawa Prefecture). Ordinance English leaflet and Q&A (Bicycle Liability for Damage Insurance Is Obligatory; Q&A on scope and no-penalty rationale). https://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/documents/46139/english.pdf and https://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/documents/46139/qa_1.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

12. 埼玉県 (Saitama Prefecture). 埼玉県自転車の安全な利用の促進に関する条例の一部を改正する条例 (amendment adding insurance duty, effective 2018-04-01). https://www.pref.saitama.lg.jp/kenpou/bn/H29_10/1017_t2944/item/7283/t2944_20171017i7283.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

13. 大阪府 (Osaka Prefecture). 自転車保険の加入義務化. Updated 2025-01-30. https://www.pref.osaka.lg.jp/o130080/dorokankyo/osakajitensha/jitensya-hoken.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

14. au損害保険株式会社 (au Sonpo). 自転車向け保険 Bycle official page (premium tables, liability 200-300M JPY, family scope, Kobe case reference). https://www.au-sonpo.co.jp/pc/bycle/?CAMP_CD=K17B000001 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³