Questions people ask

It is the procedure for converting a driving license issued outside Japan into a Japanese license. If you qualify, you are excused from the full written and practical examinations that a first-time applicant in Japan has to take, and instead go through a shorter knowledge check and driving skills check at a license center.

In principle, no. Since 1 October 2025 you must submit a residence certificate (jūminhyō), and short-term visitors are not registered in the resident register, so they cannot obtain one. The procedure is for people who live in Japan.

After your foreign license was issued, you must have stayed in the country that issued it for at least three months in total. The usual proof is entry and exit stamps in your passport, so gather your old passports before you apply.

Other evidence is sometimes accepted, but this is judged case by case at the license center. Contact the center for your area before booking rather than turning up on the day.

Licenses from 29 designated countries and regions are exempt from both the knowledge check and the driving skills check. For the United States only certain states are exempt, and a license from any other state is not. Check the list for your country before you prepare for the tests.

A valid license is required. If yours has expired, ask the license center for your area what your options are before making any other arrangements.

The one that serves the address on your residence certificate. Procedures, booking methods and even the languages offered differ between prefectures, so use the official page of that specific center as your reference.

The knowledge check went from 10 questions to 50, the pass mark went from 7 of 10 to 45 of 50, illustration questions were abolished, a residence certificate became mandatory as proof of address, and tasks such as crossing a crosswalk were added to the driving check with stricter marking.

Fifty True/False questions, and you need 45 correct — 90%. That leaves room for only five mistakes.

No. Illustration questions were abolished in the 2025 revision. The check is now written questions only.

It depends on the prefecture. Tokyo offers tests in 20 languages and Kanagawa lists 21 including Japanese. Confirm on the page of the center where you will apply, because the days on which each language is offered can also differ.

For the three months after the change, the National Police Agency's figures reported in the press put the knowledge check pass rate at 42.8% and the driving check at 13.1%, against 92.5% and 30.4% the year before. Treat those as a description of the past, not a prediction for you.

The basics of Japanese traffic rules: the meaning of signals and signs, priority at intersections, slowing and stopping, parking restrictions, speed, protecting pedestrians, alcohol, seat belts and child seats. Points where Japan differs from your home country — driving on the left above all — deserve the most attention.

No. The questions are prepared by each prefecture's Public Safety Commission and are not published. Anyone offering you the real questions is not telling the truth. Practicing with well-written original questions on the same rules is the realistic preparation.

You can apply again, but the interval and the rebooking method vary by prefecture, and popular centers are booked up well in advance. Ask the center how soon you may retake it, so you can plan.

Work through practice questions until you are consistently above 90%, and read the explanation for every question you get wrong. Because only five mistakes are allowed, a score in the low eighties is not close to a pass — it is a clear fail.

No. It is held on a closed course on a separate day and by appointment, so you cannot take it on the day you apply.

Tasks such as crossing a crosswalk were added, and the marking standards were tightened, including for signaling failures and incorrect turning technique.

It is not required. Some schools do offer practice sessions on a course for people preparing for this check, which can help if you have never driven on the left or have never been marked on Japanese technique.

The application form and questionnaire, a photograph, a residence certificate, identification, your foreign license, a Japanese translation of it, passports proving your stay in the issuing country, and the fees.

It must have been issued within the last six months. This is one of the points that changed in October 2025, so an older copy you already have at home may no longer be accepted.

JAF, the embassy or consulate in Japan of the country that issued the license, or a body designated by the National Police Agency — currently Zip Plus Inc. and the Japan Inbound Driver Support Association. A translation you make yourself is not accepted.

In Tokyo the application fee is 2,500 yen for an ordinary license and up to 3,900 yen for a large one, plus an issue fee of 2,350 yen — about 4,850 yen in total for an ordinary license. Adding a class to an existing license is 200 yen. The translation is charged separately, and amounts can differ by prefecture.

For an ordinary or motorcycle license, 0.7 or better using both eyes and 0.3 or better in each eye. For semi-medium, medium and large licenses, 0.8 or better using both eyes, 0.5 or better in each eye, and a depth-perception test using the three-rod method. Bring your glasses or contact lenses.

The tests themselves are short, but booking is the bottleneck: appointments at busy centers can be weeks or months out, and the driving check is a separate appointment again. Start with the booking page of your center and work backwards from the date you are offered.

Only if you hold a valid permit that Japan recognizes. There is a route based on an International Driving Permit issued under the Geneva Convention, and a separate route for licenses from a small number of countries accompanied by an official Japanese translation. Both carry strict conditions and time limits, so confirm your own case on the National Police Agency's page before you drive.

Practice differs between license centers. Ask the center directly if you need to keep the original for use outside Japan.

Yes, they are the same document. Official Japanese pages in English call it a driver's license, which is the American form; outside Japan you will also meet driving licence with a c, which is the British spelling. We use driving license on this site, and the official pages we link to use driver's license, so do not be thrown when the wording changes.

No. We are not affiliated with the police or any government body, and the questions here are written by us — they are not the exam questions. Use this site to practice, and use the official page of your license center for anything that decides your money, your dates or your documents.