Tokyo, Jan 6 (IANS) English road signs are set to debut this year in Japan to make navigation easier for foreigners.

The National Police Agency said some of the new signs introduced from July 2017 will be written in both Japanese and English, public broadcaster NHK reported.

The stop sign will bear the word "STOP" and the slow-down sign will come with the word "SLOW".

The number of accidents involving foreign drivers with international licenses has risen in recent years.

Last year, the agency found that about 20 per cent of the foreign drivers it surveyed did not recognise the Japanese stop sign and nearly 30 per cent could not understand the slow-down sign.

There are 1.7 million stop signs and 1,000 slow-down signs across the country.

According to the agency, the move is also part of the preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.