Japanese gov't considering more restrictions on foreign driver's license conversions
By SoraNews24
Last year, we reported on a trend wherein Chinese nationals, who already have Chinese driver's licenses, come to Japan for a week or so on a tourist visa and pick up a Japanese driver's license while here. You might wonder why someone who lives in China would want both a Chinese and a Japanese driver's license, and the reason is that China doesn't have as many international driver's license agreements as Japan does, meaning that it's easier for Chinese nationals to convert their Japanese license into an international driving permit when going to a third country than it is to do the same with a Chinese license.
Going to another country to get a driver's license seems like it ought to be a major hassle, considering you'd need to return there to renew it and apply for international permits. But, it's surprisingly easy in Japan. With the low yen, travel has never been more affordable from a lot of countries, and the system is set up so that converting another country's license to a Japanese one only requires a short test that's easier than the soul-crushing one Japanese people endure by leaps and bounds.
▼ Staying well in your lane but making a slightly wide right turn to clear that tight curb? Sorry, you fail.
Image: SoraNews24
In fact, it's so easy that one doesn't even need a permanent address to apply for one; a hotel address would suffice. Possibly for all of these reasons, the number of foreign license conversions has been steadily rising from 30,381 in 2014 to 75,905 in 2024.
This is causing some politicians to wonder if it's too easy. Manabu Sakai, head of the National Public Safety Commission, said 'the written test is too simple' and announced that it would be looked into. Meanwhile, former cabinet member and outspoken MP Taro Kono seems to have gone one step further and announced that the National Police Agency is already stopping issuance for Chinese license seekers who do not have residence in Japan.
▼ 'The National Police Agency has made it clear that Chinese nationals who do not have a residence card in Japan will no longer be able to exchange their Chinese driver's license for a Japanese one. They will also ensure that the law will be applied to cases where the rules were followed too loosely in the past.'
Although Kono seems certain that a policy is already in place, there haven't been any announcements regarding driver's licenses on the National Police Agency website. Also, a report on driver's license statistics in Japan, published two days after Kono's post, says that the agency is still investigating the matter.
Some social media users were also confused by Kono's apparent proclamation, while most comments online seemed to agree that something ought to be done about the current situation.
'Where can I see this announcement by the National Police Agency?'
'When will this go into effect?'
'They're going to review past licenses too?'
'Just stop it altogether and cancel all past licenses given out this way.'
'The people who got them before had no fixed address. How are you going to find them?'
'It's impossible to cancel existing ones, but easy to stop renewing them.'
'This is a matter of life and death, so I can't believe that it's so easy to get a license with a quick test.'
'They really should take care of this as soon as possible.'
'If they have to take the same test Japanese people do, that would be fine.'
It does make sense that people holding essentially the same license and presumably sharing the same road should have acquired their licenses by the same standards. Perhaps raising the bar for foreign conversions and lowering the bar for domestic licenses to meet each other halfway might be a step in the right direction.
Source: The Sankei Shimbun, X/@konotarogomame, Hachima Kiko, Yahoo! News
Read more stories from SoraNews24.
-- Chinese drivers flocking to Japan for quick and easy route to international licenses
-- Getting a driver's license in Japan the hard way: The first written test
-- Getting a driver's license in Japan the hard way: The End
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https://soranews24.com/2025/05/17/japan-government-mulling-more-restrictions-on-foreign-drivers-license-conversions/
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