The Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE) is a test that was originally developed in English to assess American students' understanding of Newton's laws of motion. The present study evaluates the Japanese translation of the FMCE (abbreviated as "FMCEJ") using data consisting of the pretest results of 1095 Japanese students, most of whom were first-year students at a mid-level engineering school between 2003 and 2012 in Japan. The classical test theory indices of the FMCEJ indicate that its reliability and discrimination are adequate in assessing Japanese students' views about force and motion. A comparison of these students' understanding of the concepts of motion and force, as assessed with the FMCEJ, and that of American students, as assessed with the FMCE, indicates the validity of the FMCEJ.