Sticker discrimination

Remember when you first started driving and you got your drivers permit and the card told you that you had certain restrictions to driving like no more than 2 people in the car, no driving after 9pm etc...But also remember how you broke those rules all the time. Those rules were meant to be broken. There was totally no way to enforce them because there was no way to know if you were under a permit or a regular license unless you were pulled over.
In Japan they have a small step up from that. Here they have stickers, or these metal car decor that identify just what kind of driver you are. Though I have no idea just what those restrictions are. For me, I see it as a way to identify those that can easily be hassled on the road. Oh don't pretend you don't know what I am talking about. Everyone says that they want to fool around with those driving the drivers ed car. It is also a way to identify those you most likely want to pass on the road.
There are two kinds of stickers, both can easily be bought and/or replaced at the local dollar store.
One sticker is that of a yellow and teal colored arrow which is to signify the driver is a new one and is under a 6 month permit. This one is commonly called wakaba maaku. Which pretty much means young driver (though a bit more eloquent than that). I think it is interesting in Japan they like to use nice, nature sounding names for lots of things, like special education classes to make them sound more pleasant and interesting or perhaps as a way to hedge calling them exactly what they are and sound kind of cute about it. I suppose that is really the same thing. It is kind of like when trying to talk about a fat person and calling them big boned or saying there is just more to love. Yeah like that.
The other sticker is a yellow and orange tear drop that is to signify that someone is elderly, over 75. Seeing as the common man certainly does not retire around 60, the senior citizens age is a nice decade and a half higher. Recently though, there has been a lot of fuss over that sticker. You see the name of the sticker was called momiji maaku, referring to the fall color of leaves. Even the color is a tribute to those spectacular Japanese maple leaves. But you know what fall leaves do? They fall. That is right those very leaves are pretty much in their end stage and the elderly think that that factor and perhaps the the tear drop shape is a little bit grim. Seeing as they certainly do not want a constant reminder of just how close they are to their next lives, they would rather have a happier looking decal. So in place of the tear drop, earlier this year they began issuing a four-leaf clover pattern of greens, orange and yellow. Four leaf clovers and luck and happiness right? Problem solved.