How To Obtain A Japanese Driver's License in 125 Easy Steps
Driving in Japan……the first year was easy. Except for being from a country that drives on the opposite side of the road, and thus having to really concentrate for the first 2 weeks of driving in Japan to make sure I stayed on the left side of the street, I didn’t have to do anything special to be able to drive my first year, except hit up a AAA office in the States prior to departure to procure an International Driving Permit. For this all I had to do was hand over $10 and one of those beloved passport-sized photos, then show up in Japan, get my hands on a car and, well, other drivers beware!
The rumor is that up until a few years ago, the Japanese Government was cool with us foreigners driving around at will for multiple years on the International Driving Permit, which makes sense honestly. After one year, you would hope most people would have gotten the hang of driving in Japan and be a lot better at it than they were the first day they got in the car. So why not let them keep on keeping on?! Well, all that was relatively recently changed. So now, after one year, the International Driving Permit is no longer valid, and foreigners have to obtain a Japanese Driver’s License (referred to as “JDL” from here on out) if they want to continue driving legally. The process one must undertake to obtain the JDL is different depending on the country you are from.
If you are from the UK or Australia, for example, the process is incredibly easy. Show up at your regional driving center (which is probably the biggest pain as you can’t just rock up a local licensing center in your own town…..cuz it doesn’t exist; there are 1-2 centers per region/prefecture), pay your money, hand in your application, take a 10-question written test, and as long as you muddle through that without too many mistakes, your Japanese Driver’s License is in the bag.
If you’re from another country, for example, the U.S., you have to do all of the above PLUS take a driving course driving test! I’m sure it helps that countries like the UK, Australia and New Zealand all drive on the left-side of the road also, but I’ve read that the reason for the difference is based on a form each country can fill out and submit to the Japanese government for approval to have their citizens exempt from taking the practical driving test. Unfortunately for the U.S., each state tends to have at least a few of its own unique driving-related rules. Hence, a single form can’t be completed on behalf of the entire country. All 50 states have to complete the form and be individually approved by the Japanese government. It’s very funny in a fruitless hopefulness sort of way.
Before I get to the practical driving test, let’s go over paperwork. Along with the license application, foreigners have to prove that they lived in the country from which they obtained their original drivers license for at least 3 consecutive months prior to arriving in Japan. Normally this can be done relatively easily by bringing your passport along which is hopefully at least 3 months old without any stamps that contradict your declaration of 3+ months of residence.
Naturally, I had to renew my passport right before I came to Japan so my passport was only about 1-month old when I left the States. And, of course, in my pre-departure preparation, making sure I was completely prepared for the Japanese Driver’s Test requirements were not at the top of my list of things to worry about, so I conveniently left my old passport in some random box in my brother’s basement.
Okay,……so now what? I have to prove 3-months of residency in a country I had lived in almost my entire life, and I couldn’t do it very easily. Funny, ay?! After multiple calls to the regional Driver’s License Center by the staff from my supervising office (the Town Hall Department of Education), the solutions were: provide a letter from my most recent employer…..which actually doesn’t really prove anything at all, so I was also told to submit old credit card statements with my address on them. In the States I would have said no way (being all paranoid and stuff about anything related to sharing credit card information). But, it’s Japan (not as scary with personal information issues), and it was the easiest thing to get my hands on in lieu of the inconveniently buried old passport. Thank goodness for online-based documents!
After much trouble for my town’s Department of Education staff and the teachers at the Junior High School I was at that particular term (especially the new, 2-term only, recently-graduated, hence 1st-time-teaching English teacher, who had the unfortunate task of translating the Department of Education’s messages about what seemed like impossible drivers license document requirements based on their phone conversations with the licensing center staff), and bothering the Business Manager at my old office in Arizona, I finally had what I hoped would suffice as proof of residency. I admittedly started the process a bit late, because none of us were familiar enough with the process to realize what was involved (the only foreign teacher to ever stay in Tokigawa-Town for more than 1 year had been from Wales, hence was one of the “easy” cases). My legal driving privileges were set to expire at the end of July of 2007. I was hoping to have everything squared away before then, but especially before the new foreign teacher was due to arrive the second week in August so I could be a good mentor and take him shopping for needed supplies, and let him get familiar with the driving routes to the towns that actually had decent stores at a comfortable pace. Not in the cards. In the end, he had to learn through trial by fire.
Why? Because I failed my practical driving test the first time. And you have to wait at least a couple of weeks before you can try again. Bugger. Double-bugger.
Considering I’d been driving for 16 years by this particular point in time, I figured I’d be able to take a decent stab at the driving test. You can even get a map of the driving course beforehand so you know what you’re up against. I was nervous about the fact that the driving instructor would be giving me instructions in Japanese and I wouldn’t really understand them, but then again, they have foreigners taking the driving test all the time, so they must have figured something out by now as to how to deal with us non-Japanese speakers. I was also nervous about the fact that I had read and heard from other foreigners that basically 9 out of 10 foreigners fail the driving test the first time around. Later I heard it’s really hard for Japanese people to pass the test too.
The driving test is VERY strict. When they say turn on your turn signal 30 meters before a turning, they mean 30 meters (like I know any distances in meters in anyway…everyone tried to translate 30-meters for me by saying it was the same length as a telephone pole…because it’s natural to know how long a telephone pole is when it’s laid down on the ground…hmmm). Of course you have to move properly into turning lanes, signal and maneuver appropriately around road hazards, and my favorite that I never had to do in the States was drive through “S” and “Z” curves (because Japanese roads tend to be very tight and very windy). However, the killer for me was the combination of checking over your shoulders and million times before, at 30 meters, in the right sequence, signaling and moving in the appropriate distance to the curb or the center lane before turning as to not allow bicycles, mopeds or motorcycles room to sneak up on you before you turn. I honestly can’t remember, but I think you’re supposed to move closer to the curb or center line, then signal, then turn. Or signal first that you’re moving in towards the curb or center line (but not yet turning), then move in, then signal again for the turn…….obviously whatever the sequence was it’s never made sense to me. And I’m sure you’re all following along without an iota of difficulty. Also after your turn, you have to make sure you are the appropriate distance from the curb. I failed my driving test the first time because I was too far away from the curb during and after my turn……eh?!?! Color me surprised.
So anyway, all the stuff I just told you about why the Japanese practical driving test is so difficult…of course I didn’t know any of that when I got into the instructional car the first time. And being a bit blown away from failing a driving test not because I ran over a curb but because I was too far away from it, made me realize that my odds of passing the second time were most likely quite slim without knowing the idiosyncrasies of the Japanese practical driving test. And faced with having to burden a member of the Department of Education to accompany me to the driving center multiple times if I kept failing, I (begrudgingly) decided to fork over the $300 it costs to take two x 2-hour driving classes at the driving school in a neighboring city.
Of course, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, someone from ‘my’ Department of Education (DOE) had to accompany me to the driving practices, sit in the backseat of the practice car to help translate what the instructor was saying while I tooled around the driving course. For some reason the guy who was 3rd in command in the DOE drew the short straw. Lucky him.
I’m sure the practice at the driving school helped somewhat when I took a 2nd stab at the practical driving test. However, I’m thoroughly convinced that what actually enabled me to get a “pass” from the test instructor the second time around was the mere fact that I went to the driving school, and that the test instructor had 2nd and 3rd opinions from the driving school instructors as to my ‘true’ driving abilities.
So yes, I did pass my JDL test on the second go. The collective sigh of relief from the DOE staff provided the town with a lovely cool breeze that day.
The rumor is that up until a few years ago, the Japanese Government was cool with us foreigners driving around at will for multiple years on the International Driving Permit, which makes sense honestly. After one year, you would hope most people would have gotten the hang of driving in Japan and be a lot better at it than they were the first day they got in the car. So why not let them keep on keeping on?! Well, all that was relatively recently changed. So now, after one year, the International Driving Permit is no longer valid, and foreigners have to obtain a Japanese Driver’s License (referred to as “JDL” from here on out) if they want to continue driving legally. The process one must undertake to obtain the JDL is different depending on the country you are from.
If you are from the UK or Australia, for example, the process is incredibly easy. Show up at your regional driving center (which is probably the biggest pain as you can’t just rock up a local licensing center in your own town…..cuz it doesn’t exist; there are 1-2 centers per region/prefecture), pay your money, hand in your application, take a 10-question written test, and as long as you muddle through that without too many mistakes, your Japanese Driver’s License is in the bag.
If you’re from another country, for example, the U.S., you have to do all of the above PLUS take a driving course driving test! I’m sure it helps that countries like the UK, Australia and New Zealand all drive on the left-side of the road also, but I’ve read that the reason for the difference is based on a form each country can fill out and submit to the Japanese government for approval to have their citizens exempt from taking the practical driving test. Unfortunately for the U.S., each state tends to have at least a few of its own unique driving-related rules. Hence, a single form can’t be completed on behalf of the entire country. All 50 states have to complete the form and be individually approved by the Japanese government. It’s very funny in a fruitless hopefulness sort of way.
Before I get to the practical driving test, let’s go over paperwork. Along with the license application, foreigners have to prove that they lived in the country from which they obtained their original drivers license for at least 3 consecutive months prior to arriving in Japan. Normally this can be done relatively easily by bringing your passport along which is hopefully at least 3 months old without any stamps that contradict your declaration of 3+ months of residence.
Naturally, I had to renew my passport right before I came to Japan so my passport was only about 1-month old when I left the States. And, of course, in my pre-departure preparation, making sure I was completely prepared for the Japanese Driver’s Test requirements were not at the top of my list of things to worry about, so I conveniently left my old passport in some random box in my brother’s basement.
Okay,……so now what? I have to prove 3-months of residency in a country I had lived in almost my entire life, and I couldn’t do it very easily. Funny, ay?! After multiple calls to the regional Driver’s License Center by the staff from my supervising office (the Town Hall Department of Education), the solutions were: provide a letter from my most recent employer…..which actually doesn’t really prove anything at all, so I was also told to submit old credit card statements with my address on them. In the States I would have said no way (being all paranoid and stuff about anything related to sharing credit card information). But, it’s Japan (not as scary with personal information issues), and it was the easiest thing to get my hands on in lieu of the inconveniently buried old passport. Thank goodness for online-based documents!
After much trouble for my town’s Department of Education staff and the teachers at the Junior High School I was at that particular term (especially the new, 2-term only, recently-graduated, hence 1st-time-teaching English teacher, who had the unfortunate task of translating the Department of Education’s messages about what seemed like impossible drivers license document requirements based on their phone conversations with the licensing center staff), and bothering the Business Manager at my old office in Arizona, I finally had what I hoped would suffice as proof of residency. I admittedly started the process a bit late, because none of us were familiar enough with the process to realize what was involved (the only foreign teacher to ever stay in Tokigawa-Town for more than 1 year had been from Wales, hence was one of the “easy” cases). My legal driving privileges were set to expire at the end of July of 2007. I was hoping to have everything squared away before then, but especially before the new foreign teacher was due to arrive the second week in August so I could be a good mentor and take him shopping for needed supplies, and let him get familiar with the driving routes to the towns that actually had decent stores at a comfortable pace. Not in the cards. In the end, he had to learn through trial by fire.
Why? Because I failed my practical driving test the first time. And you have to wait at least a couple of weeks before you can try again. Bugger. Double-bugger.
Considering I’d been driving for 16 years by this particular point in time, I figured I’d be able to take a decent stab at the driving test. You can even get a map of the driving course beforehand so you know what you’re up against. I was nervous about the fact that the driving instructor would be giving me instructions in Japanese and I wouldn’t really understand them, but then again, they have foreigners taking the driving test all the time, so they must have figured something out by now as to how to deal with us non-Japanese speakers. I was also nervous about the fact that I had read and heard from other foreigners that basically 9 out of 10 foreigners fail the driving test the first time around. Later I heard it’s really hard for Japanese people to pass the test too.
The driving test is VERY strict. When they say turn on your turn signal 30 meters before a turning, they mean 30 meters (like I know any distances in meters in anyway…everyone tried to translate 30-meters for me by saying it was the same length as a telephone pole…because it’s natural to know how long a telephone pole is when it’s laid down on the ground…hmmm). Of course you have to move properly into turning lanes, signal and maneuver appropriately around road hazards, and my favorite that I never had to do in the States was drive through “S” and “Z” curves (because Japanese roads tend to be very tight and very windy). However, the killer for me was the combination of checking over your shoulders and million times before, at 30 meters, in the right sequence, signaling and moving in the appropriate distance to the curb or the center lane before turning as to not allow bicycles, mopeds or motorcycles room to sneak up on you before you turn. I honestly can’t remember, but I think you’re supposed to move closer to the curb or center line, then signal, then turn. Or signal first that you’re moving in towards the curb or center line (but not yet turning), then move in, then signal again for the turn…….obviously whatever the sequence was it’s never made sense to me. And I’m sure you’re all following along without an iota of difficulty. Also after your turn, you have to make sure you are the appropriate distance from the curb. I failed my driving test the first time because I was too far away from the curb during and after my turn……eh?!?! Color me surprised.
So anyway, all the stuff I just told you about why the Japanese practical driving test is so difficult…of course I didn’t know any of that when I got into the instructional car the first time. And being a bit blown away from failing a driving test not because I ran over a curb but because I was too far away from it, made me realize that my odds of passing the second time were most likely quite slim without knowing the idiosyncrasies of the Japanese practical driving test. And faced with having to burden a member of the Department of Education to accompany me to the driving center multiple times if I kept failing, I (begrudgingly) decided to fork over the $300 it costs to take two x 2-hour driving classes at the driving school in a neighboring city.
Of course, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, someone from ‘my’ Department of Education (DOE) had to accompany me to the driving practices, sit in the backseat of the practice car to help translate what the instructor was saying while I tooled around the driving course. For some reason the guy who was 3rd in command in the DOE drew the short straw. Lucky him.
I’m sure the practice at the driving school helped somewhat when I took a 2nd stab at the practical driving test. However, I’m thoroughly convinced that what actually enabled me to get a “pass” from the test instructor the second time around was the mere fact that I went to the driving school, and that the test instructor had 2nd and 3rd opinions from the driving school instructors as to my ‘true’ driving abilities.
So yes, I did pass my JDL test on the second go. The collective sigh of relief from the DOE staff provided the town with a lovely cool breeze that day.
posted by Mandy | 10:56 AM
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