From 21.5.2025 to 13.6.2025 I’ll be visiting Japan and staying in Kanazawa (in a AirBnB) in the Ishikawa province on the island of Honshu.
It will be my first visit to Japan, but luckily my partner, who will be staying there for a few months, lived in Japan for a few years and speaks some Japanese, so I won’t be completely lost .
As an enthusiastic SOTA activator, I’d like to activate some summits while I’m in Japan.
I checked the JARL application procedure and asked another Swiss SOTA activator who has already activated in Japan, and he told me that in reality it can take up to a year to get the necessary licence. That would be a pity!
I also checked the reflector, but the latest Japan Licensing entries seem to be a bit outdated.
As I don’t want to lose precious time, does anyone know of a quick way to get the reciprocal licence by the time I arrive (108 days to go)?
As TRX I could bring my Yaesu FT-5DE and my Yaesu FT-818 (both European versions). If this is a problem, would it be possible to rent a QRP HF rig in Akihabara?
It doesn’t take close to a year, it generally takes two to three weeks. Follow up with Ken at intl@jarl.org and he’s quite quick to push it.
You need to provide the TSCN for your radios, which should be on a sticker on the radio, or else available online, and pay the spectrum fee before the licence can be issued. All done by PayPal on the JARL website.
Make sure you have a copy of a license with HAREC/TR61-02 mentioned on it when you send the paperwork. I sent in my application 2 months ago, and am still waiting. The JARL website says it can take up to 60-days so I guess it should be processed any day now.
Unfortunately, my Yaesu TRXs only have a CE sticker, not one that contains the ‘Technical Standard Certification Number’. I searched the web but could only find the European ‘Declaration of Conformity’ from Yaesu. Do you know a link to these TSCNs?
Thanks Paul, I did.
After reading some related documents, HB9 is part of HAREC (T/R 61-02), but on my licence only T/R 61-01 is mentioned. I probably need to contact the Swiss authorities.
Hi Stephan,
I think Martin mixed up his references. TR61/01 is the agreement related to the licensing of visitors staying less than 3 months - where you receive permission to operate and append the correct country code either before or after your home call sign (depending upon the reciprocal agreement wording). TR61/02 is related to whether you intend to live in the other country permanently or semi-permanently and then you will be issued a local licence and call sign.
In your case, TR61/01 being stated on your Swiss licence is what the Japenese authorities will be looking for.
That does not matter. Tell them it’s a Yaesu with type/version and serial number. That’s enough.
Non JA brands are more challenging as the full documentation will be requested.
I found the CE for the 817nd on the Wimo Website. But not sure for other deviced. I think again not a problem for Yaesu or Icom radios.
Harec T/R 61-02 is harmonizing the licence exam. Would be strange if HB9 would not have signed that agreement. This is required for a guest licence. Otherwise you would need a Japanese Licence Exam. Do think this is an option.
Thanks for your feedback! While searching for previous Japanese experiences, I found some of your posts. That was the time when I started with SOTA.
OK, I can try. Did it work for you?
Yes, the CE certifications are easy to find online. But I was looking for the Japanese Technical Standard Certification Number (TSCN), as described in the JARL application procedures in points 9 and 10.
Yes, Switzerland has signed that agreement. But as Ed mentioned above, it’s the T/R 61-01 that should be referenced on my licence, which is.
Yes, was no problem with the support from Ken from the JARL.
That was the reason why I started with a 817nd as this was easy to bring to JA in 2017 when I started.
As far as I understand the T/R 61-01 is the basis for the “CEPT” agreement allowing 3 month of guest operation. JA has not signed this one so it is not relevant for the guest operation at all.
It is important that your document that states that you did the licence exam (in Austria that is not the same as the licence) is mentioning the T/R 61-02
And it took about 2 month until I had the licence in hands (send back to OE by post)
Reading the start of TR61/01 it refers to the licence exam requirements that are defined in TR 61/02 -
“classes of national amateur licences fulfil the requirements detailed in Annex 6 of CEPT Recommendation T/R 61-02 (HAREC).”
Through this statement, in TR61/01, should a licence contain a statement that it is conformant with TR61/01 it MUST be conformant with the licence exam syllabus conditions in TR 61/02.
However getting Japanese (or any) civil servants to understand this point, may be an uphill task!
Does your Swiss licence reference HAREC - as that is the actual definition of the exam, rather than TR 61/01 or /02.
Good to know! I have heard and read about Ken several times, he seems very helpful!
Yes, that’s why I’ll bring the FT-818 instead of the Lab599 TX500.
Correct.
CEPT Recommendation T/R 61-02 governs the mutual recognition of amateur radio examinations. Both Japan and Switzerland have signed it.
Ed @DD5LP made a valid point that T/R 61-02 applies to operators who intend to live permanently or semi-permanently in a country that has signed this regulation, i.e. to obtain a local licence. But I’m not a lawyer…
If you look at JARL Annex 1, Switzerland is missing. But if you scroll down to the end you’ll see the following:
So the point of @PE1EEC and @OE5JFE seems correct to me and I’ll contact our officials and ask for help in this matter, even Switzerland is listed in T/R 61-02.
As soon as it’s all sorted out, I’ll update my findings here in the hope that it might help someone else in a similar situation.
No. I applied for a guest-license via Application Procedure for Foreign Amateur. I sent a copy of my license but got an email from Ken that it only stated TR61-01, but that it needed to state TR61-02 (aka HAREC) as well. So I had to request a copy of a HAREC certificate at our authorities (RDI, at €90,-) and that was good to apply for the guest-license.
There was an article in HBRadio recently about the experiences of a Swiss Amateur getting the necessary permits and having his rig vetted.
Do you have the article?
73 de Martin / HB9GVW
PS: A small update about your experiences in getting authorization and your SOTA experiences would be very much appreciated. Japan is on my list …
I will update here or create a new thread to help others with similar challenges . Let’s see how all works out…
Good job. I will share my findings as well with you. Might help in the greater picture. Pity the HBRadio article isn’t freely accessible. Not going to join a third national club for that, hi.
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