How to Get A Drivers License in Japan
Japan is well known for their efficient and affordable public transportation but if you want to explore off the beaten path, you’ll need a car or motorcycle. There are two common ways people obtain a drivers license in Japan. First, you can attend a drivers school but it’s pretty expensive – about $3,000. Or if you have an existing license from an approved country, you can convert it to a Japanese one. Conversion is cheaper but it has it’s own set of challenges. In this article, I’ll detail my experience of converting my United States drivers license in Japan. Buckle in, it’s a long ride.
1. Collect all your documents
You will need several documents in order to convert your drivers license in Japan. These documents will vary depending on where your license is from but in my case, these are the documents I needed.
- Existing, non-expired drivers license (bring your old licenses too if you have any)
- A translation of the drivers license to Japanese (this can be done online with JAF here.)
- A jyuminhyo (you can print one at your local ward office or at a conbini)
- Your residence card (zairyu card)
- Passport (bring your old passports too if you have any)
- A photo taken within the last 6 months
- Documents to prove you lived in the issuing country for at least 3 months after your license was issued
- A complete driving history record
2. Schedule an appointment or show up early
Some prefectures require you set an appointment ahead of time and others allow you to show up and wait in line. You’ll likely need to schedule an appointment over the phone so you’ll need to be able to speak Japanese or have someone help you. Also there are usually set days and times they accept appointment reservations. It’s not unusual to not be able to make an appointment by phone because there are so many people calling at the same time so I decided to show up early.
If you decide to show up and wait in line, then you will need to get to the drivers license center very early because they only accept 5-10 people per day. I showed up at 6am and there were 8 people already in line ahead of me. Keep in mind they don’t open until 9am. The people before me said they have been waiting since 8pm the previous day. My recommendation is to show up as early as possible. In my case, I took the first train in the morning and got lucky.
3. Document check and review
At 9:30am, I was next in line and I handed over all my documents. They asked me to explain what each document was and confirm the corresponding dates. This took 20 minutes or so and then I was asked to step aside and wait.
At 11:00am, I was called back up to the counter because they had a question regarding my middle name. You see – my middle name is on all of my government documents but I don’t use it in day to day life. So when they saw my documents with my first and last name, they wanted to confirm it was actually me. Thankfully, my college transcripts had my middle name so they accepted it and moved on.
Middle names aren’t common in Japan so if you have one, be prepared with a document that includes your first, middle, and last names.
4. Fill out paperwork and interview
At 12:30am, it was time to fill out a questionnaire detailing my driving experience and history. The form included questions like when did I get my first ever drivers license, how many hours did I practice theory and practical, how exactly did I practice, did I go to driving school, who taught me how to drive, what was the testing process like to get a drivers license, and how many drivers licenses have I had in total?
There doesn’t seem to be any right or wrong answers to these questions so just answer them honestly. You cannot use your phone during this time so before hand, I recommend checking your driving history records to confirm your past.
After filling out the paperwork, they will ask you each question one by one for more information. Again, I don’t think there are any right or wrong answers so just be honest. The interview lasted about 30 minutes.
If you are converting a car and a motorcycle license, you will need to fill out two forms and be interviewed twice.
5. Document Review Results
It’s about 3pm and my name is once again called. This time they tell me that they need more information before making a decision. They had some questions regarding my answers to the interview. In my case, I moved out of state and I have a motorcycle endorsement. They wanted me to provide documentation confirming that I didn’t need to take a test to get a new license when I moved out of state, that I didn’t need to take a road test when getting a motorcycle license – the only skills test was on a closed course, and that my license is valid for 8 years. They said screenshots will suffice so it will be easy to satisfy them but I still needed to come back another day. Luckily, my documents were approved so no problem there.
6. Round Two
This time around was a lot easier. I didn’t have to show up super early and wait in a long line. Instead I showed up at 12:30pm and walked right up to the counter and handled them my documents. They looked at them briefly and accepted them without question.
The next step was getting my eyes checked. It was pretty simple. You look into a device and tell the employee which direction the opening of C is. Then you see blue or red and say which color it is.
After the eye exam, I took a 10 question written test. The questions were true or false and I had 10 minutes to finish. The questions are fairly common sense and you don’t need to have specific knowledge about Japanese driving laws or signs. You need to get at least 7 out of 10 questions correct to pass.
After successfully passing the written test, I paid about 5000 yen and scheduled my practical tests. It’s about 6 weeks from now so I’ll update this post when I finish.
I found this article that goes over the entire process in detail here: http://www.supermelf.com/japan/ajetdrivingbook/DrivinginJapanandPassingtheDriversTest.pdf