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gfell · Tue 12-Sep-06, 08:08 AM

Driving legally in Japan

Japanese law mandates that:

anyone staying in Japan for more than 12 months, who wants to drive legally, must obtain a Japanese Driver's License.

Which means that those of you renewing your international drivers license after more than a year in Japan are breaking the law.

And teachers who simply choose to whistle pass the police station whilst behind the wheel, hoping to play the "Gosh I didn't know!" gaijin, may be in for a shock if they are caught. Think ￥300,000 in fines and possible (though unlikely) time in jail!

Who Is Affected

In total, citizens of 22 countries are exempt from taking the practical test. They must, however, spend a joyous day at their local license processing facility completing the necessary paperwork and take the eye sight test and writtten test.

The Aussies of the world get off relatively easy.

Ditto the Kiwis, the Brits, the Swiss, the Germans and the beer swilling hockey players of The Great White North. These lucky souls need only to get their current license translated.

No surprisingly, the Great Satan has yet to have the safety records for all 50 states examined, and perhaps not so coincidentally, they don't exempt Japanese from taking a driving test. So, the lucky citizens of the US of A get the whole bells-and-whistles "smell the glove" treatment while bureaucracies collide.

Gerry Bennet
(English Teacher - Tokyo, Japan)

Tue 12-Sep-06, 08:08 AM	#1 (permalink)
gfell Administrator Join Date: May 2005 Nationality: American Occupation: Teacher Location: Posts: 654	International Drivers License for Japan Driving legally in Japan Japanese law mandates that: anyone staying in Japan for more than 12 months, who wants to drive legally, must obtain a Japanese Driver's License. Which means that those of you renewing your international drivers license after more than a year in Japan are breaking the law. And teachers who simply choose to whistle pass the police station whilst behind the wheel, hoping to play the "Gosh I didn't know!" gaijin, may be in for a shock if they are caught. Think ￥300,000 in fines and possible (though unlikely) time in jail! Who Is Affected In total, citizens of 22 countries are exempt from taking the practical test. They must, however, spend a joyous day at their local license processing facility completing the necessary paperwork and take the eye sight test and writtten test. The Aussies of the world get off relatively easy. Ditto the Kiwis, the Brits, the Swiss, the Germans and the beer swilling hockey players of The Great White North. These lucky souls need only to get their current license translated. No surprisingly, the Great Satan has yet to have the safety records for all 50 states examined, and perhaps not so coincidentally, they don't exempt Japanese from taking a driving test. So, the lucky citizens of the US of A get the whole bells-and-whistles "smell the glove" treatment while bureaucracies collide. Gerry Bennet (English Teacher - Tokyo, Japan) Attached Images To view attachments in this forum your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. __________________ English Teacher and Student Site Teach English and Study Abroad! Teaching Community at Teacher Forums ESL Teacher and Student Directory!