If you are using an International Driving Permit (IDP) here in Japan, it is time to start thinking about converting it to a Japanese License. As a resident of Japan you can only drive in Japan using an IDP for one year after your arrival, regardless of when your IDP actually expires, or however many new IDPs you get or renew or whatever (unless you leave Japan for a full 3 months). So, for most of you this means that after the last week of this coming March (for April arrivals) or July (for August arrivals), you will be driving illegally unless you get a Japanese Drivers License.
Now we have all heard stories of foreigners going for months on expired IDPs without getting caught. There are also stories of foreigners getting a parking ticket, their expired IDP discovered, and escaping with a ¥20,000 fine. That is true. However, before you decide to blow off getting the Japanese License, let me give you this kind warning:
A Kind Warning: If you get into an accident, you are totally screwed. You will have a damaged car and possible injury, the other person will have a damaged car and possible injury, and you will be held personally liable for repairing damage and paying for medical expenses because your insurance will not cover these damages (because you were not driving legally). On top of all that, you are certainly NOT going to get off with a mere ¥20,000 fine. You will be required to pay massive fines. Depending on the severity of injuries, you may also spend time in jail, which automatically gets you fired from your job. You are screwed. Got it? And remember, as careful a driver as you may be, people can still run into you, even when you are stopped...
Use of an IDP is a common courtesy that most countries extend to temporary foreign visitors, allowing them to drive relatively hassle-free during their short visits. However, most countries naturally want long-term foreign residents to enter their own national licensing systems after some time. That grace period varies widely from as little as 10 days (California) to as long as 1 year (Japan). Now, it would be quite unfair to make already-licensed drivers go through the entire initial training and testing process again, just to join a new national licensing system, especially in a foreign language. And the Japanese government is sensitive to that sense of fairness. On the other hand, a government can't just hand over official license documents through vending machines... so, there is a streamlined process for "converting" your home country Drivers License to an official Japanese Drivers License. Keep in mind that though this process is often referred to as a "conversion" or "transfer," your home country license is a separate legal entity that is not actually affected by it in any way.
The whole idea of the thing is based on the fact that you already have a license and driving experience in your home country, and therefore should be an easy write-in candidate for a Japanese license. So this is basically an objective way to check your existing documents for validity, your amount of driving experience for a minimum length of time, and your driving habits for a standardized level of safety. First you must show documented proof that you had a valid license for at least 3 months while present in the issuing country (implying that you had the opportunity to gain at least 3 months of legal driving experience). This is done simply by cross-checking the dates on your license and passport. Second, you must demonstrate that your original drivers training and subsequent driving habits meet the basic standards for safety. This is done by asking a few simple questions about what was required of you to receive your original license, an eye test, a 10-question written test, and a short driving test on an enclosed course. After satisfying these requirements, paying a small processing fee, and taking a photo, you will receive your Japanese Drivers License.
Stated this way it sounds quite simple, and as you navigate the details it will help your sanity to remember that it is in fact comparatively simple. And for some people it truly will be a simple, painless process. But our individual lives are sometimes complicated to varying degrees, often leaving paper trails and experiential histories of various degrees of complexity. The first complication will involve the nationality of your existing license. Japan has negotiated various bi-lateral treaties with various countries to further simplify the process, meaning that some of you were born as blessed lambs not needing to take the written or driving tests. But for those goats among you and those lambs who have fallen into paperwork complexities, like an Old Testament prophet I have penned the following overwhelmingly comprehensive document to guide you down the straight and narrow to the Promised Land. If you can find the patience to devote yourself to a careful reading, you are likely to join me in the growing ranks of first-time-passers. And if you can't, I feel compelled to warn you that the road to Hell is wide and paved with those who don't read instructions....
The first order of business is to get your paperwork together. There is a complete list of the required paperwork in the official directions below (print both versions and run through them carefully with your supervisor), but let me here point out the one potential headache to make sure you have it covered. Basically, the Japanese government wants to see that you got your original license in your home country and were present in your home country for at least 3 contiguous months sometime after getting that license. And, you have to prove it to them with your paperwork. For most of you this won't be a problem; the dates on your license and the entry/exit stamps in your passport will leave the necessary paper trail.
However, if you recently renewed your home license or passport, this could be a real problem (it was for me). And if you got your first home license less than three months before coming to Japan, you may be out of luck entirely (having to get your license the same long, costly way as Japanese Nationals). Anyway, there are two ways to deal with these issues. I had renewed my California license while here in Japan (through the mail), and I had renewed my passport just before coming here. So, I had my parents mail me my old, expired passport. When I took my documents to the Licensing Center, I included the copies of my expired passport and expired license with the new ones, and the dates from all of those documents showed the proper proof. So, you may have to dig up old documents. If you can't, you will need to bother your home country DMV and have them send you some sort of notice or record on official letterhead stating that you had been driving with a valid home license for at least 3 months. You will also have to do this if the date of ISSUE is not printed on your license (please check that right now: this is shockingly common with Australia and some US states). Please keep in mind that throughout this document, when I say "home country license" I am referring to the most common case in which someone has a license issued from their home country. If your license was issued from a country that is not actually your home country, then your situation is just slightly more complex: you need to have been driving in the ISSUING country for 3 months, not your home country.
Regarding passports: please note that in the list of required paperwork and documents below, it says that if you have had your passport renewed or reissued, you will also need to include your old passports. Sometimes the center officials do not ask (lucky), but if they do inquire about the possibility of you having any previous passports, and you acknowledge their existence, then you had better have them with you (plus photocopies), or else the entire process will abruptly come to an immediate halt until you are able to produce them.
One further note, if it turns out that your proof only confirms that you have had your license for less than one year, you will be issued those green-leaf magnets to put on your car designating you as a beginner driver, and your license can be suspended or revoked at half the usual number of violation points. So if you have had your license for more than one year, it might behoove you to try and make sure your documents back that up (even though it is not an absolute requirement).
Next step is to get an official translation of your home license (and expired license if necessary). The only ones acceptable are those done by the Japanese Automobile Federation (JAF), your embassy or consulate, or the Department of Motor Vehicles that issued your original license. JAF is by far the easiest. You can visit their office in Nagoya, Gifu, Tajimi, or Toyama, as I did, or you can do it through the mail. It is pretty quick by mail actually. And while you are at it, I highly recommend splurging ¥1000 to buy their translated "Rules of the Road." It can be very helpful (and entertaining at times) if you drive a lot. Download the JAF instructions and application from here:
Now, make an appointment for the test. Fortunately for me, in the good old days this was simply a matter of calling the center and scheduling an appointment. Unfortunately for you, the process was changed in 2007 to include an extra trip out to the Mitabora Licensing Center for a preliminary document check. The links above contain the official instructions, a list of required documents and how to prepare them, hours, and contact information. Note that your application and testing must be done in the prefecture in which you reside as shown on your alien registration card.
Simply put, before you can schedule a test date, you have to have to go to the center in person so they can confirm that you have all the proper documents in proper order. It is not necessary to make an appointment for the preliminary document check, and if everything checks out, they will then make the appointment for your actual test date. Their hours are extremely strict: 3:00-4:00pm, Monday-Friday (except holidays). If you show up even 5 minutes late, they will not look at your paperwork, they will not give you an appointment for the test, and you will have to come back for the preliminary document check again. Also be aware that there will be no English speaker available to help you. If your document situation is pretty straightforward, this may not be a big problem. But if your situation is complicated by license or passport renewals, this could get difficult, so it is recommended that you bring someone who can help you.
Well then, take a close look at those instructions and make sure you have all your paperwork together, then drive, train, or bus yourself out to the center between the hours of exactly 3:00pm and 4:00pm. If you show up to your appointment with incorrect or insufficient documentation, they are going to check it up to the first point they find you lacking, tell you that you are lacking that one thing, and then send your ass home to get it before coming back in for another try. They most likely will NOT look at your other documents after they find you lacking in one area. Be sure to prepare photocopies of everything as required in the instructions. They most likely will not be willing to make copies for you! And as a warning to vain people like myself, the passport photo they require you to include is only for their records, and will not be the one on your license. Keep in mind that February/March and June/July are going to fill up very quickly with all the foreigners scrambling before their IDPs expire. Please don't wait until the last minute on this one. If you are required to take the dreaded behind-the-wheel test, you are likely to fail at least once, and possibly up to 4 times! You can only take the test once a month. So, if you take and fail the test in March or July.... You can see where that's headed....
Advisory: If your birthday is coming up, take care in the timing of your test date. You see, your new license will expire on your 3rd future birthday, NOT the 3rd anniversary of the date of issue. So, if your birthday is March 16th, don't make an appointment for March 15th. You will have a nasty surprise when they hand you a 3-year license that expires in 2 years and a day. Unfortunately, if your birthday is AFTER March or July, you are just going to have to eat that first year, unless you are willing to wait WITHOUT DRIVING between your IDP expiry date (same date as your contract start date) and your birthday. When weighing that decision, keep in mind that, annoying as this is, it will really only have a practical effect on your life if you end up staying in Japan more than 3 years total. Regardless, you should still do your document check ASAP, just be sure to schedule your test date carefully with your birthday in mind. And don't count on them to remind you; they won't.
Please note that there is a distinction here between a license valid for Manual or Automatic Transmissions. I am not exactly sure how that works (especially for those of you not required to take the driving test). If this distinction will affect you, I recommend that you inquire about it while making your appointment.
All first-time appointments are early: get there at 8:30am. The Mitabora Licensing Center is located in Northern Gifu-shi, quite a ways from the station. It is best if you can drive there, but if your license has already expired, there are several busses you can take there from the JR or Meitetsu stations. I recommend that you take a snack or bento because you might be there until mid-afternoon. Be fully prepared to do the day's entire process in a Non-English environment, because there is almost no English spoken here at all.
First thing they will do is collect your paperwork for processing. They stop collecting paperwork promptly at 9am, and there are no second chances for late-comers. If your paperwork is found to be lacking, they will give it back to you and you will have to make another appointment. So make sure to get it right the first time. While collecting your paperwork they will ask you a few questions (probably in English, but possibly not) about the process you went through to get your original home country license. If that happens to be long ago in the mists of your memory, try to answer as accurately as you can without sweating over the exact details too much. Keeping in mind that they are simply checking that your home country licensing process meets some minimal standards of comprehensiveness and rigorousness, just do your best to answer the "spirit of the question." Next, you will have to take a quick eye exam (bring your glasses or contacts if you use them normally). If your home license was issued in Europe, UK, Australia, New Zealand, or Canada, you are finished. Congratulations! (though you may still wait around awhile for the license to be processed and issued).
If you are from the US, South America, South Africa, Asia, etc., you will have to take a written test next. It is 10 questions with 7 correct answers required to pass. They will take everyone up to a room with desks, pencils, and little test booklets in your native language. The test is very easy, and anyone who has been driving previously in Japan should have no trouble with it. If you want to study, get the "Rules of the Road" from JAF. After the written test, you will have a break until about 1pm when you return for the Driving Test.
Now for the infamous and dreaded Driving Test! Before I tell you about it, let me share a piece of wisdom, especially aimed at my fellow Americans. The driving test is on a closed course reminiscent of a go-cart track at an amusement park. It doesn't really test your road-driving skills. It feels silly, and it is a big pain in the ass. And you are likely to fail at least once, and possibly up to 4 times because of silly little things that no one really cares about. And it was probably designed by a think-tank committee of sadistic, fascist, driving instructors... nevertheless, before you get your panties in a bunch over it, please let me remind you to check that bad attitude at the door. It would be terribly naive to think that instructors don't pick up on bad attitudes and that even the most objective people aren't subconsciously affected by another's bad attitude. So check out these two links to help you forget about how silly and stupid and unfair this test may be, so you can step into that car emanating Zen-like calm:
Here are the two main reasons US drivers have to take the driving test in Japan:
Anyway, I'm not trying to be as condescending as I may sound here, but seriously, you will do yourself a favor if you get past the bitching and moaning stage and reach a peaceful acceptance of the task ahead.
So, are you ready? Around 1pm you will walk over to the driving course with your whole group of test takers. The instructor will invite you 3 at a time into a car that should look familiar to you because its the same model as all the taxis in Japan. He will drive around the course once and point out some details as he goes around. He will speak only Japanese and will later give you his directions in only Japanese. When he stops, he will get into the passenger seat and invite one of you lucky contestants to take the driver's seat. Here is where the test begins. He is watching you just like your old Drivers Education Instructor from your high school days. So, give a look in front and back of your car for those small children or cats who might be lying around under there, and get in, careful to check that an oncoming car isn't going to take the door off. Adjust your seat, mirrors, check your instruments, and fasten your seatbelt. Then adjust your seatbelt. Make a show of this pre-flight checklist so he knows you got it. The hardest part is to pretend you are on real streets with real traffic, but you really need to get into that mindset so you can handle the car smoothly and appropriately. He will guide you around the course with Japanese directions. If you make any critical errors or hit a curb he will stop you and the test is immediately over. Otherwise, you will finish going around in circles and stopping at simulated lights, etc., and he will give you a quick lecture in Japanese before letting you out and swapping to the next driver. You get the lecture whether or not you passed, and you don't yet know if you passed (so continue to keep your attitude in check and at least pretend to listen intently).
My first and absolutely most helpful tip is that you go to the Fukutomy Driving School mentioned further below. In fact, it is pretty safe to say that you won't pass your first time without at least one lesson. That said, I can and will give you a good heads up of what is in store for you and a general idea of the head-space you need to be in to pass through this labyrinth unscathed.
I'm not going to tell you every twist and turn, but here are the subtler things that the instructor will be looking for and that will cumulatively pass or fail you. The important thing to keep in mind is that you are on display here. The instructor cannot divine your driving ability through telepathy, or phrenology, or some arcane magical art, and he's only got about 5 minutes with you. Because he can't use a Vulcan Mind Meld to survey your past driving history (lucky for you actually), he will have to settle for checking you against a prescribed pattern of small behaviors that safe drivers are trained to follow. Your job is to SHOW him that you follow those patterns. Basically, you are an actor and this is your stage, and even though you need to act as naturally, smoothly, and confidently as possible, a little overacting (and even some verbal asides) is also called for here. So, start getting into the act by:
Looking around the car a lot! Your neck should be a little sore afterwards from bobbing around looking at all that imaginary traffic, high school students on bikes, children, pets, and obaasans! Check your central mirror, then side mirror, then turn your head to look before making any turns (in that order). Watch those hands! Keep both hands on the wheel at all times, positioned between 9-10 o'clock and 3-2 o'clock. Unless you are turning right, stay unusually close to the left curb. Stop with your bumper before the line at any stop, but if you accidentally stop way too early, don't panic, make sure to stop fully again just behind the line before you go on. Keep your driving, stopping, and turning smooth, and go slow. It will feel strange to go so slow, but its ok, just try to chill out, and do it smoothly.
There will be one spot where he wants you to accelerate up to 40km and then slow down by pumping your brake hard exactly 3 times. That's probably the oddest part. There are other sections where you pretend to go around a parked vehicle, or where you stop at the curb on a hillside and have to take off from the stop. Be sure to use your turn signals appropriately. There is the infamous CRANK where you have to make a super tight left then right turn. It's not as bad as it's made out to be, just practice on some of those little, walled residential streets and you will be fine. Just remember my pointers above, and remember that the test isn't over until you are parked and out of the car. So take care when exiting the course!
After everyone has taken the driving test, they will announce the winners. This is likely to be less than 10% of the total contestants. If you are among the lucky winners you will be taken out to have your picture taken for the license and pay for your stamps, etc. Your license and paperwork will be issued shortly thereafter. Otherwise, you will get to make an appointment for your next try.
For all your efforts, and processing fees totaling about ¥5000, you will receive official permission to drive in Japan in the form of a handy, credit card-sized, plastic Japanese Drivers License with your picture on it (unfortunately taken AFTER a stressful day of dealing with bureaucracy in the summer heat). It will have a green stripe on it, and is valid for your next 3 birthdays. Renewal will involve a return trip for some safety lecturing, survival of which will earn you a new license with a blue stripe good for 3 more years. However, if you can manage to go for a full license period without racking up any violation points, you will be richly rewarded with a gold-striped license valid for 5 years. Sadly, you can't wait around for my personal experience with this one because, to my great surprise, parking violations come with 2 points against your license in addition to the ¥1,5000 fines. Not wearing a seat belt and using a mobile phone at the wheel also join the usual speeding violations in scoring various amounts of points against your license. Your license can be temporarily suspended at 6 points and revoked at 15 points (halve these numbers if you are required to use those green-leaf beginner stickers on your car), so be careful. If you move while in Japan, please remember to register your change of address with the nearest Police Station so they can update your license card. You are officially registered to drive in Japan with a license that is now a separate entity from your home country license, with separate lives and validities and maintenance procedures. Congratulations!
If you end up staying in Japan longer than 3 or 4 years (depending on your birthday), you will need to renew your Japanese Drivers' License. It takes a little time and money, but happily the overall process is much more relaxed and friendly than the initial licensing was. Around a month before the birthday on which your license expires, you will receive a renewal notice in the mail. On the front it will have a date that they have "reserved" for you. This is really just their recommended date in the hope to help spread out the renewal crowd, and if you cannot make it, there is no action required on your part. Inside is your renewal timeframe (from 1 month before to 1 month after your birthday); place and weekdays/times available for renewal processing (most likely the Mitabora Licensing Center where you first got your license Monday--Friday 9:30am or M/W/F 1pm); the stripe color and period of validity your new license will have (Blue 3-year or Gold 5-year); and any traffic violations that may be keeping you from upgrading to that precious Gold Stripe. Please be sure to check the front page carefully, as you may have the option to call some specified local police station for a Sunday appointment.
Appointments for the renewal process are not necessary (unless you have the option and take advantage of a Sunday appointment at a police station in your area), so just show up at the Mitabora Licensing Center before the assigned time with your expiring Japanese License, Alien Registration Card, Passport, and ¥5000. The staff will guide you through the process, and though you can't expect help in English, if you make even minimal attempts at Japanese, you will find them much more accommodating than they were the first time you saw them 3 years ago. There are two stages to the process, the paperwork stage and the educational stage, and which one you do first depends on timing and crowd flow, so just go where the staff direct you. Along with their directions, they will hand you plastic number tokens of various colors that correspond to your place in the crowd at each stage, so look and listen for your numbers to show up as your personal beacons in the fog.
In the educational stage you will be directed to sit in a room with all the other renewal applicants to watch a PowerPoint presentation on the present state of traffic safety as compared to last year, updates to traffic law over the past several years, and information pertaining to your new license. You will then watch a video documenting horrific traffic accidents in several distinct categories and issuing warnings and advice on how not to be featured in next year's video. The educational stage takes 1 or 2 hours for which you are compensated with copies of the "Rules of the Road" in Japanese and your own language.
In the paperwork stage you will show them your documentation and they will direct you to various windows at which you pay, sign forms, have your picture taken again, have your old license attacked and invalidated by a hole-punch, and finally receive your lovely new license. That's about it, and my only advice is to relax and enjoy the relative ease of the renewal process. Ah, and look DOWN when they are shooting your photo (at the level of the photographer's knees) so you don't end up looking like some spaced-out cult member for the next few years....
Here is my best tip. Don't plan on passing the driving test without making at least 2 visits to the Driving School. Driving in circles on the little, closed course feels so strange, that your first time around is terribly disorienting. Furthermore, there are some particular little things you must do on the course that you will not know about unless you take the practice course first. Don't even begin to think that my otherwise excellent guide above is sufficient to see you through. Luckily, just through the tunnel a few hundred meters beyond the test center is Fukutomy Driving School. You can drive there, or they have a free bus that runs from the JR and Meitetsu stations until 6pm. They are closed on Saturday, but open Sunday through Friday. It costs about ¥4000 to go around the track 2 times with an instructor who will constantly yell at you in Japanese to stay close to the curb and to slow down, and this and that. It's great fun: worth the money even if it were simply an amusement park. Except for the addition of some massive potholes, the Fukutomy track is exactly the same as the testing center, and for ¥100 they will provide you with a map marked with arrows so you can study the course later. I recommend that you go once on a weekend and totally trip out on the experience. Then, if you can, try to go one more time just before your test day, so you can really focus on the finer points of the course.
Advisory: Some ALTs in outlying areas sign up for driving lessons with a local company. That's cool, and convenient, and it certainly won't hurt. But because those companies don't have access to the actual Foreigner Licensing track, they may only be of minimal help in your goal of passing the test on the first try.
I haven't had any personal experience in Japan with this, but if you are interested in what motorcycle and scooter options are available to you, please browse the following very comprehensive website.
It is my understanding that small motorcycles and scooters (MAX 50cc) may be operated with a normal Japanese car license, but are NOT permitted with the normal home country license / IDP combo. So, simply converting your home country license to a Japanese license should cover that. If you don't already have a drivers license, there is a written test to receive a Japanese scooter-only license. I believe it is available in Japanese at various local licensing centers, and in English at the main Mitabora Licensing Center. If you do have a home country license but think trying for the scooter-only license sounds easier than the full conversion process... possibly, but first read this amusing account of an American who ultimately found more success taking the full conversion (with its associated driving test) than the written scooter test (citing the much larger number of questions and poor translations as primary reasons). Certainly, full conversion makes more sense for those of you who are not required to take the driving test. Anyway, keep in mind that these small bikes are not allowed on expressways, must ride on the shoulder, and must make a 2-stage right turn at certain intersections.
As for larger bikes, it is my understanding that if your home country license has a documented motorcycle endorsement, combined with a correctly stamped IDP, it should cover you for your first year in Japan, and your converted Japanese license will also be valid for motorcycles up to 400cc. If you don't already have a documented motorcycle endorsement on your home license, then you will have to go through the usual long and costly route that Japanese nationals normally go through. Something to consider when purchasing a larger bike is the fact that shaken inspections are not required on bikes under 250cc.
Again, I do not have personal experience with this, so please confirm the details with this excellent FAQ:
There are actually a lot of resources on the web taken from personal experiences in driving tests from various prefectures. They vary in the details, but are all helpful to get a general idea of what to expect. Just do a google-type search. Here are two great resources to start you off:
From one of the few American first-time-passers,
May the Force be with you.
Jeffrey Scott
Chuno RPA Emeritus