The New Zealand Goverment has opened up the possibility of importing otherwise non-compliable vehicles with the application for an exemption. This applies to cars older than 20years OR vehicles that meet certain criteria. To gain an exemption it is necessary to actually buy the car in Japan and import it into NZ before you can apply.

All the fine details are here: http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/factsheets/44b/special-interest-vehicles.html

In a nutshell:
You must be a NZ citizen, have another everyday car, and you cannot sell a SIV car within 4 years, or use it for hire.

To have a vehicle identified as a special interest vehicle (SIV), NZTA must deem it to have historic value or it must meet THREE of the following four requirements:

1 >> The vehicle is identified as being a collector's item in one of the following magazines or their respective websites:

Australian classic car, Car and Driver (US), Automobile (US), Motor (Aus), Motor Trend (US), New Zealand autocar, New Zealand classic car, Road & Track (US), Top Gear (UK), Top gear NZ, Unique cars (Aus) or Wheels (Aus).
2 >> The vehicle's model has been (or was) manufactured in annual volumes of 20,000 units or less.
3 >> The vehicle is and was manufactured as a two-door coupe or a convertible.
4 >> The vehicle is and was manufactured as a high-performance vehicle.
At Carwebs we can help you find the car you are looking for and check to see if it is applicable for either of these exemptions. However we cannot gurantee wether your application will be sucesfull as only 200 applicants will be accepted every year. Your car must also be brought to NZ WoF standard.