Getting a driver license in Japan for a foreigner

[Sangetsu]

When you take your test, you will have to inspect the car. You will have to look at the front, back, both sides, and underneath. You will also have to look over shoulder before opening and closing the door. Whether you do this in real life or not is irrelevant, it must be done when you take the test.

All instructions from the proctor are given in Japanese, so you'll need to know at least enough Japanese to get through the test.

Rarely do foreigners who convert their foreign licenses to a Japanese license pass on the first try. At some license centers foreigners are never allowed to pass after the first try. It takes an average of 3 tries for a foreigner to pass.

This policy may be due to the fact that you must pay 2500 yen or so each time you take the driving test, the more times it takes you to pass, the more money the license center makes. I felt very fortunate to pass on my second attempt, of the 12 or so people who were testing with me that day, only 2 others passed, and the other 2 were Japanese who were converting American licenses. Both of them were failed on their first attempt as well.

[RickOShay]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

It is a test. You know what they are going to test you on. You know they want you to walk around the car and check the tires and the back of the vehicle before getting in.

You think it is a stupid waste of time and refuse to do it... Even though you know they are watching and know they will be checking to see if you do it.

I never said that I would not do it. Of course I would do it. You do what you have to do to pass. My point is that it is silly and should not be on the test or at least you should not be failed for neglecting to do something that has nothing to do with driving skill or following the rules of the road.

Originally Posted by Nyororin

If this were stealing valuable test time from the "truly necessary stuff" I would understand being against it. But it doesn`t. They still test you on all the important stuff too, and it is more heavily weighted than any of the preventative stuff.

Really? Because I thought they just straight up fail you for not looking around your car.

Originally Posted by Nyororin

Tests are not real life. They are tests. The normal flow of getting a license in Japan is driving school then test as "graduation". Think of it as school, not just a random test. I have never taken a test that only tested the "truly necessary stuff". In school, for verifications, etc etc. I`ve had to give fake presentations on things I couldn`t care less about and that would never serve any purpose in real life... But it was a test, so I did them, as it tests the level of effort you put into the course. If all tests were only the truly necessary and important stuff - then you could pick up a page of test points and be ready.

You cannot really compare this to a formal education..All that pointless stuff you did in school improved your overall skill at writing, reading, getting along in the real world, becoming a disciplined adult etc. Taking time out to go through the motions of something like this does not prove anything and is in fact pointless. This is not a skill that one needs to learn because if you have not mastered the art of common sense by the time you are 20, then you probably should never even leave your house. So if looking around your car is so vital to traffic safety here in Japan then it should be a LAW. It is ridiculous to make somebody do something just one time that they will probably never do again, and even if they do look around their car every time they get in they are only avoiding minimal damage to anything at best.

Originally Posted by Nyororin

Despite that, I STILL feel that it isn`t pointless or silly. You are getting into a car you have never driven, you have never seen before that day... It is common sense to actually look at it and check things before just hopping in and driving away. If you get a rental car, don`t you check to see if there is any damage to it before driving? Don`t you check to see where all the buttons and levers are? That is an important skill, and one that should be tested on inexperienced drivers.

Once again this is all hypothetical common sense stuff that people should do, it is not a skill. Would you think it was ok if there was a test to see if you know how to not jump in front of a train? or if you know how to lock your house before you leave it? Or how about hang up your laundry when it is sunny outside?? Because checking to see if you know how to walk around your car and look at your tires, is pretty much in the same category with this stuff.

Let me give you my theory on the REAL reason something like this on a test. Around where I am from (in my home country) there always seems to be lots of road construction going on, and it just so happens that the fine for speeding around these road construction areas doubles (also the speed limit is usually lowered suddenly and significantly in these areas). Ok that makes sense right, its dangerous to speed and even more dangerous to do so in a construction zone. But yet, 95% of the time the actually construction area.. is probably about 100 meters long where the official "construction zone" is usually about 3 kilometers long for that little 100 meter area. Then another 95% of the time nobody is even out there working on anything. So yes, you guessed it, cops have a field day issuing people tickets in these areas.. why? because of safety??? oh maybe you could BS your way into calling it that, but the real reason is REVENUE.

So I ask myself, isn't it peculiar that they would have such ridiculous tasks compiled with such strict guidelines to allow somebody to pass? and add to that the fact the police department gets all, or at least a cut of the money that people throw into trying to get a drivers license??... All in the name of safety right?? ...haha, yeah they almost got me believing that one..

[RickOShay]

Originally Posted by Sangetsu

When you take your test, you will have to inspect the car. You will have to look at the front, back, both sides, and underneath. You will also have to look over shoulder before opening and closing the door. Whether you do this in real life or not is irrelevant, it must be done when you take the test.

All instructions from the proctor are given in Japanese, so you'll need to know at least enough Japanese to get through the test.

Rarely do foreigners who convert their foreign licenses to a Japanese license pass on the first try. At some license centers foreigners are never allowed to pass after the first try. It takes an average of 3 tries for a foreigner to pass.

This policy may be due to the fact that you must pay 2500 yen or so each time you take the driving test, the more times it takes you to pass, the more money the license center makes. I felt very fortunate to pass on my second attempt, of the 12 or so people who were testing with me that day, only 2 others passed, and the other 2 were Japanese who were converting American licenses. Both of them were failed on their first attempt as well.

It is sooo all about the money.. foreigners did not bother to fork over that outrageous 300,000 yen, so they gotta get something more out of them. So ironic that those people who have paid big bucks to go to driving school get a pretty smooth ride when it comes to issuing a license... ..I don't smell a form of bribery, scheming and manipulation anywhere here...

[Tsuwabuki]

Originally Posted by RickOShay

It is sooo all about the money.. foreigners did not bother to fork over that outrageous 300,000 yen, so they gotta get something more out of them. So ironic that those people who have paid big bucks to go to driving school get a pretty smooth ride when it comes to issuing a license... ..I don't smell scheming and manipulation anywhere here...

Bullcrap. It's a major investment of both time and money. The written test on the Japanese side is ridiculous. I haven't seen so much cheering when the numbers came up than the last time I went with friends to check if they had passed their entrance exams to a university.

It is anything but a smooth ride.

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by Tsuwabuki

Bullcrap. It's a major investment of both time and money. The written test on the Japanese side is ridiculous. I haven't seen so much cheering when the numbers came up than the last time I went with friends to check if they had passed their entrance exams to a university.

It is anything but a smooth ride.

Thank you.

Out of the 16 or 17 people in my group that day, only 3 of us passed on the first try - that included me, the sole foreigner in the group. There was one girl there who was on her 12th(14th? I forget) try and did not pass. I am guessing she is a serious exception - it seemed that most people were passing on their 3rd or 4th try. All Japanese, by the way, so I`m going to guess that it takes an average of 3 tries for ANYONE to pass - not just foreigners.

But hey, if you want to pull a racial discrimination card, feel free to do that.

As for the revenue, etc, etc conspiracies... Why not just NOT SPEED IN THE CONSTRUCTION AREA??? You can avoid all of it by simply doing that one thing.
Same with the test - there is no conspiracy. Just do what is required and pass the thing and they won`t have the opportunity to get any extra money out of you.

[RickOShay]

Originally Posted by Tsuwabuki

Bullcrap. It's a major investment of both time and money. The written test on the Japanese side is ridiculous. I haven't seen so much cheering when the numbers came up than the last time I went with friends to check if they had passed their entrance exams to a university.

It is anything but a smooth ride.

What are you talking about??? I am talking about a how overpriced drivers school is in Japan and how the public duped into paying for it... Not university exams...

[RickOShay]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

Thank you.

Out of the 16 or 17 people in my group that day, only 3 of us passed on the first try - that included me, the sole foreigner in the group. There was one girl there who was on her 12th try and did not pass. I am guessing she is a serious exception - it seemed that most people were passing on their 3rd or 4th try. All Japanese, by the way, so I`m going to guess that it takes an average of 3 tries for ANYONE to pass - not just foreigners.

But hey, if you want to pull a racial discrimination card, feel free to do that.

As for the revenue, etc, etc conspiracies... Why not just NOT SPEED IN THE CONSTRUCTION AREA???

I never said racial discrimination... if anything it is still cheaper for foreigners who do not pay for driving school to get a license, and that is a good thing. Even if it is true that most Japanese who have gone through drivers school still take a few times to pass it does not cover the fact that the system is set up to make money, more so than it is to test skills as driver (as shown by the wonderful test).

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by RickOShay

What are you talking about??? I am talking about a how overpriced drivers school is in Japan and how the public duped into paying for it?? Not university exams...

Think of it this way.

The test is extremely difficult. Very hard to pass without extensive studying and practice. In Japan, you cannot practice on public roads - only in vehicles with specific markings and override controls, and with a specially licensed driving instructor. Smaller streets, less room for error - it`s a safety issue.

Driving school isn`t a few hours and a wad of cash to bribe people. It`s an actual school. There are extensive classes, and they actually test you on close to ALL the laws (Not just a handful sample of important ones) on the paper test.
You actually need to spend a huge amount of time studying to pass it. A lot easier with a teacher diagramming things out, etc.

I thought it was way overpriced too, until I actually enrolled and went. 30 something hours of classroom time, and 30 something hours of one on one driving practice - more than half on public roads with the insurance surcharge that must be paid in order to do so. Oh, and a 6 hour scooter/motorbike course... And a 4 hour first aid certification course... A 2 hour car insurance seminar thing (how to choose your insurance, and how to exchange insurance information, with discussion of how "fault" is decided) On top of that, provided lunches and all the gasoline and expressway fees included. Oh, and the bus to come and pick the students up all over town.

There is a need for classes to pass the test - so someone fills that need.

ETA; I am just going to end this and say that I do not agree that the test and the like is pointless. I am of the belief that it SHOULD be hard to get a license, and that you shouldn`t be able to get one if you can`t put in the time and effort to learn the things necessary. In the US, having a car is linked directly to the ability to have an income as it is a car based society - so I suppose that the ease in getting a license in those circumstances can sort of be forgiven... But Japan is not. There are terrible drivers everywhere, but at least you can weed some of them out with strict testing.

[Tsuwabuki]

In Kyoto, there are almost a hundred people each day trying to pass. And there is a giant scoreboard where numbers flash at the end of the day showing who passed.

It is very much like the way university exam results are posted.

[RickOShay]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

ETA; I am just going to end this and say that I do not agree that the test and the like is pointless. I am of the belief that it SHOULD be hard to get a license, and that you shouldn`t be able to get one if you can`t put in the time and effort to learn the things necessary. In the US, having a car is linked directly to the ability to have an income as it is a car based society - so I suppose that the ease in getting a license in those circumstances can sort of be forgiven... But Japan is not. There are terrible drivers everywhere, but at least you can weed some of them out with strict testing.

I do agree with you on these points. I do not think it should be easy either. The majority of the test maybe very good and necessary, but I still say it has its over the top, ridiculous points. That being said, this is Japan and things are done the Japanese way. I know this and fully accept this, but this is an forum, and people debate on forums and I am simply calling it how I see it. So on the point of the necessity of walking around your car and checking the tires being on the test, I guess we can just do the old agree to disagree.