Japan’s stricter driver’s license conversion rules are having a dramatic impact, with pass rates for foreign applicants dropping sharply and driving schools reporting a surge in enrollment from those seeking additional training.
Japan’s license conversion system, known as gaimen kirikae, allows holders of valid foreign licenses to obtain a Japanese license after passing knowledge and practical driving examinations. However, the system came under criticism last year after concerns that it had become too easy, with reports that some applicants could pass the written test without studying and that others had obtained licenses using hotel addresses despite not being registered residents in Japan.
In response, authorities substantially tightened the requirements. The written examination was expanded from 10 illustrated questions to 50 text-based questions, while the minimum passing score increased from 70% to 90%. The practical driving examination was also made more demanding, adding new evaluation items such as railroad crossings and hill starts while applying stricter scoring standards.
According to Japan’s National Police Agency, the changes have dramatically reduced pass rates. The written exam pass rate has fallen from 92.5% to 42.8%, while the practical driving test pass rate has dropped from 30.4% to just 13.1%.
The tougher standards come as the number of foreign license conversions has continued to grow. More than 75,000 people converted overseas licenses into Japanese licenses during 2024, representing roughly a 2.5-fold increase compared to a decade earlier.
Driving schools say they are already seeing the effects. Takamatsu Driving School in Kagawa Prefecture reported that the number of foreign students increased from around 80 to approximately 120 over the past fiscal year. To help applicants prepare, the school has introduced educational videos with English subtitles explaining Japanese traffic rules.
Japanese authorities say the stricter testing standards are intended to ensure that applicants have a sufficient understanding of the country’s traffic laws following several high-profile accidents involving foreign drivers who had obtained licenses through the conversion system.
I’m guessing part of the practical test is to drift on a downhill run, or is that only for mountainous regions of the country?
(USA) One of my former bosses lived in the mountains where snow and ice were common. Our workplace was at near-sea level. Barely any snow most years. She once told me how she was taking her driver’s test and the instructor got in, buckled up, looked at her dead serious: “Slip once, and you fail”. Not even allowing correcting a skid. Drive safe or not at all. So she proceeded to drive at or below 10 MPH and passed.
In my days, if you were taking driver’s ed, you REQUIRED a certain number of hours in adverse weather. If you didn’t record and notarize those hours, you couldn’t take your final tests.
Better not spill that water.
So many people around here don’t use turn signals in large parking lots. They don’t understand how 4-way stops work. They stop for school buses with yellow lights on when they could go around (here, you stop on RED bus lights or the paddle is out. Yellow is just caution and you can pass. In some states, yellow or red both mean STOP!). MANY don’t take free right turns on Red (there’s no signage to say no right on red) and wait for the light to turn green to turn… the very direction they are turning is a crosswalk with a now active signal. U-turns in intersections. U-turns with no U-turn signage. People who can’t read maps for crap even if it’s a medical emergency. But it’s not just cars, most bicyclists are garbage for etiquette, respect, and general safety on the street, sidewalk, or trail. I have heard Japan’s driving tests are much stricter so this makes a lot of sense.
Don’t forget the assholes who think just because they have either a fast car or a huge truck the law doesn’t apply to them when it comes to speed and how aggressive they drive despite being told that you are supposed to drive defensively and f♥♥k those people who despite getting a suspended license or have no license and still drive, I was hit by a bitch that had a suspended license and all she got was a fine because apparently the cop who gave her the ticket to appear on court fucked up one letter on her address and they removed the suspended license charge not to mention there are a shitload of lawyers that make it ultra fucking easy for people who get anything from no license to DUI charges go away.
My comment got buried
I’ll try it a different way and hope it works.
Go on a search engine: LookUpAPlate
If I add the last part even just spelling it out it will flag the comment. I have used that in the past, combined with bodycam footage, to get a bad driver off the road.
I do agree though, some people really don’t deserve the privilege of being a driver. I think they should give drivers black marks. When they get enough, they lose their license. When a certain number of people lose their license and just happen to be from the same traffic school or DoL, the agency responsible for allowing them on the road should receive some kind of punishment.
If you’re talking about those on eBikes, then yes they basically want you to run them over even when you have the right-of-way to begin with. It used to be people on bikes and pedestrians now had to watch for cars, but now it seems like they don’t give s♥♥t and want to get hit. Plus the States also have it where bikes share a lane with traffic now, instead of having their own little bike lane, or on the large sidewalk that some places have next it the roadways now.
A little of both tbh. I use an ebike myself. I stay in my lane. I do not try to be a motor vehicle ie: I stay in the bike lane, shoulder, gutter or generally as far to the right as possible. Most of the time. There are areas it’s impossible to do so.
One example is when I was on a four mile ride. There is a spot where it’s a right-turn only and there is no real bike lane or shoulder there. I pull just left of the line designating the turn lane, because I’m going straight and I want to make sure the cars turning right can get past me. While I’m waiting on the light in the straight lane, a group of regular cyclists pull up beside me, taking up the entire turn lane. There’s 5+ cars lined up behind them. Light turns green, they go straight… people like them deserve to get hit. The Tour de France wannabes on mixed trails deserve to get hit. It will sometimes feel like you are the only one who uses pass warnings or turn signals, while they whizz past dog walkers, children, elderly, etc without so much as a peep. I’ve seen more than a few near-accidents.
I like to think of myself as a respectful cyclist. But I don’t have a high opinion of most of the others. I also find, in some parts of my area at least, that the sidewalk is actually more dangerous to ride on, which is why I stay on the side of the road instead. I just don’t act like a dick. I know I’m not as fast as a car on a class-2. I’m not gonna try and compete with a big metal box coming from behind so I ride safe. I do use the sidewalk in other areas though. I keep my speed below 15MPH or simply turn off pedal assist entirely.
Too many dumb parents buying their kids eBikes… like the little girl who died in California and her stupid lawyer of a father sued the bike and helmet manufacturer. That particular model of bike (RadRunner) is 99% safe. As long as it is maintained properly, and the operator rides safely. One set of parents bought it for a child who was too young to use it in the first place. Then the even younger sibling took it out for a spin. Add on a passenger, and you have two young kids not even 14 on a 70+ lb bike. When a passenger, or simply cargo starts shifting, and they are inexperienced, this can be quite dangerous. Add on that they were going down Enchanted Way (California), a hill even experienced cyclists would shy away from, using a bike with mechanical disk brakes (I assumed the bike was poorly maintained by some of the excuses they tried using to blame the companies) they were kind of asking for something to happen. Worth noting that Radpower (at the time) had an age restriction of 18+ (16+ now) but kids could be passengers. They also state in the manual that doubles as the warranty that if anyone other than the owner of the bike gets injured, or worse, they are not responsible. They aren’t responsible for maintenance either. So they should never have been sued in the first place.
Calm the f♥♥k down and keep your head. Don’t run over anybody just because they get you pissy.
Hill starts. Man, that brings back some memories. I bet not one American could pas that one. They don’t even know what a clutch is anymore.
Anime is starting to suck, harder to find vintage episodes from the past.
But “oh no! Mean ol japs bulling foreigners”.
Even this site is cringe…….