The trailer for Return My License!? starts out looking like a sequel to Abunai Deka, the 80s cop show starring Hiroshi Tachi. It even features a gold-on-silver F31 Nissan Leopard undercover police car that starred in that show. However, this upcoming movie is a parody of Japan’s popular action series, and instead is a sequel to the 1994 comedy “No License!?”
Back in 1994 Hiroshi Tachi, who starred in two of Japan’s most popular cop shows, Seibu Keisatsu and Abunai Deka, played the lead in No License!? He played a parody of himself, an action star named Hiroshi Nanjo, with an embarrassing secret. Despite on-screen appearances in fancy cars like a classic T-Bird, he didn’t actually have a driver’s license.
The movie then follows his comedic journey in passing his driver’s test (a much stricter affair than in the US) and obtaining his license. Nanjo encounters ruthless driving instructors and being a fish out of water as a 40-something student in a driving class.
『免許がない！』（1994年・日本）
険悪な雰囲気で続く暴田との教習。（教習車はX80型マークⅡセダン）
バック走行でコースを一周してみろと言われ、南条は荒々しくバック走行を始める。（他の教習車と接触したのは撮影のミス？） pic.twitter.com/2PqX9pORCb— カーアクションはいいぞ協会/柴舘 (@car_association) March 5, 2026
Notably, it had a scene in which some stunts were filmed with SX80Y Toyota Mark II driving school cars. It shares the same body as an X80 Cressida, but rather than a 3.0-liter 7M-GE straight-six, the engine is a 1.8-liter 4S-Fi inline-four.
Now, some 32 years later, Tachi is back with the movie’s sequel. Return My License!? He reprises his self-satirizing role of Nanjo, now the same aged movie star who refuses to give up his license. In Japan, once drivers reach 75 years of age they’re required to take cognitive and driving skills tests every three years. They’re also encouraged to display an elderly driver mark on their cars. Many choose to surrender their licenses rather than go through the hassle.
In the years since getting his license, Nanjo has really taken to driving and car ownership. However, he’s now in his 70s and is encouraged to give up his license and his having a hard time with it. He refuses to display the elderly driver mark on his vintage Ferrari 308 and struggles with having to give up his license before landing his dream part. All the while, it’s a rare turn to see Tachi poke fun at his own suave image.
He parodies his own roles as the Nissan Leopard-driving Detective Taka in Abunai Deka, and the Harley-riding, shotgun-wielding Sotaro Tatsu in Seibu Keisatsu. In real life, Tachi is a car and motorcycle enthusiast in real life, and was known for performing his own motorcycle stunts in his shows. Hopefully he won’t have to surrender his real license any time soon. Return My License!? opens June 19 in Japan.
