Southwest Japan rotated clockwise during the late stage of the opening of the Japan Sea, although the exact timing of the rotation is controversial. A recent biostratigraphic study has revealed that the Miocene Oidawara Formation in eastern Southwest Japan was deposited just before 15 Ma; consequently, its paleomagnetic direction may help constrain the timing of rotation. For this purpose, we collected fine felsic tuffs and siltstones at 71 stratigraphic sites (horizons) in the Oidawara Formation. An analysis of alternating field and thermal demagnetization results yielded characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) directions for 177 samples. Approximately 80 % (142) of the samples exhibit reverse polarity ChRM directions that are thought to be paleofield directions of reverse polarity Chron C5Br. Normal polarity ChRM directions in 35 samples include primary paleofield records as well as records of secondary magnetization. The data suggest that a short normal polarity interval (microchron or cryptochron) at~15.8 Ma is present within the dominantly reverse polarity interval of Chron C5Br. Reliable site-mean directions for 19 sites yield a tilt-corrected formation-mean direction of D = 10.5°, I = 41.1°, α 95 = 7.0°, and k = 23.9, indicating virtually no rotation with respect to a reference paleomagnetic direction for the Asian continent. A rotation versus age plot for Southwest Japan indicates that the clockwise rotation started after 17.5 Ma and ceased largely before 15.8 Ma, yielding a rotation rate of~23°/Myr.