Japan Reviews 'Too Easy' Foreign Driver's License Conversion After Crashes

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Japan's National Police Agency is reviewing how it handles the conversion of foreign driver's licenses, a system known as gaimen kirikae. This was announced by Commissioner General Kusunoki Koshinobu at a press conference on May 22.

The gaimen kirikae system allows foreign nationals to convert a driver's license from their home country into a Japanese one. Currently, applicants can do so using just a passport and a certificate of temporary stay, without needing to be officially registered as a resident.

Proof of Residency

However, in response to a recent string of serious traffic accidents involving foreign nationals, the agency now plans to tighten the requirements. As a general rule, applicants will need to submit a copy of their juminhyo (resident record) to be eligible.

"To confirm the address of each applicant, regardless of nationality, we will in principle require a copy of the juminhyo," said Commissioner Kusunoki. "License conversions will not be allowed for those staying in Japan for tourism."

Exceptions will be made for Japanese citizens temporarily living abroad and for diplomats, who will be allowed to verify their addresses using alternative documents.

The agency also plans to make the knowledge and driving skill tests for foreigners more rigorous. Kusunoki said the new approach will help ensure that applicants fully understand Japanese traffic laws.

Collision in Mie

National attention focused on one May 18 case that happened on the Shin-Meishin Expressway in Kameyama City, Mie Prefecture.

A 34-year-old Peruvian man, Elias John Rossi Cruz, was driving the wrong way in the outbound lane when he collided with two oncoming vehicles. He fled the scene without notifying the police. However, he was later arrested on suspicion of violating the Road Traffic Act for failing to report the accident

Cruz, a company employee living in Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture, had obtained his Japanese license by converting his Peruvian one under the current system. 

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Hit-and-Run in Saitama

This incident followed a similar case in May involving Deng Hongpeng, a 42-year-old Chinese man. He was arrested in Misato City, Saitama Prefecture, for a hit-and-run that injured four elementary school children. Deng had also acquired his Japanese license through the foreign license conversion process.

Drivers from countries not party to the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, such as Vietnam, China, and Nepal, cannot use international driving permits in Japan. As a result, many citizens of these countries rely on the conversion system. 

Even drivers from countries that are signatories to the convention sometimes prefer to convert their licenses, depending on the validity period and conditions of their permits.

According to the National Police Agency, about 60,000 people obtained a Japanese driver's license through the conversion system in 2023. The largest group came from Vietnam, with 15,807 conversions, followed by China with 11,247.

The Conversion Process

While the process generally requires taking a skills and knowledge test, applicants from certain countries are exempt from parts of the process. Surprisingly, applicants without a residence card were still able to take the test if they showed proof of accommodation. Some reports suggest that even tourists have been able to apply.

Currently, the written knowledge test is available in up to 24 languages and consists of 10 true-or-false questions. A passing score of 7 is required. In comparison, the standard Japanese driver's test has 95 multiple-choice questions scored out of 100, with a passing requirement of 90 points. This stark difference has added to criticisms that the conversion process is too lenient, but that is now changing.

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Author: The Sankei Shimbun

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