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Yomiuri Shimbun
22-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Driver's Licenses for Foreigners: Create System to Facilitate Understanding of Traffic Rules
There have been a series of accidents involving foreign drivers who cannot be said to have a sufficient understanding of Japanese traffic rules. The system should be revised so that licenses are issued after a thorough assessment of a person's driving knowledge and skills. The National Police Agency is considering changing the system that allows a driver's license obtained overseas to be converted into a Japanese license, in order to make it stricter. The system was introduced in 1933. Initially, its main purpose was to enable Japanese citizens who had obtained a driver's license overseas to smoothly become able to drive in Japan upon their return. Since the 1990s, the number of foreigners using the system has exceeded that of Japanese nationals. With the increase in inbound visitors to Japan and foreign workers, the figure reached 69,283 last year, accounting for 94% of the total. Vietnamese and Chinese nationals are particularly numerous. Many countries drive on the right hand of the road, and traffic signals and pedestrian safety measures differ from those in Japan. Just as Japanese people driving abroad may be confused by differences in the traffic rules, foreign drivers likely face similar challenges in Japan. Accidents involving foreign drivers are on the rise, exceeding 7,000 cases last year. In a recent incident in which a driver was going the wrong way on the Shin-Meishin Expressway in Mie Prefecture, and a recent hit-and-run incident involving elementary school students in Saitama Prefecture, both the drivers were foreign nationals who had used the foreign license conversion system. There is strong criticism that the current system is too easy. The test on traffic rules uses a yes-or-no format, and a score of 7 out of 10 questions is required to pass. The passing rate exceeds 90%. Even short-stay tourists can apply to obtain a Japanese driver's license through the system by using their hotel or an acquaintance's address as their residence. This arrangement effectively allows the provision of Japanese driver's licenses to foreigners who may not fully understand Japanese traffic rules. Vietnam and China are not parties to the Convention on Road Traffic, more commonly known as the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic. Therefore, some people are believed to abuse the conversion system in a bid to obtain a Japanese international driver's license, which is valid in about 100 countries that are party to the convention. If accidents involving foreign nationals who hold Japanese driver's licenses become frequent overseas, it could undermine trust in the Japanese driver's license system. The NPA plans to increase the number of yes-or-no questions and make the behind-the-wheel driving test more rigorous. Tourists will be excluded from the system by requiring people to submit a copy of their residence certificate at the time of application. In Japanese society, where the population continues to shrink, foreign workers have become an indispensable part of the workforce. Whether a person has a driver's license directly impacts their career choices and income level. Going forward, it will be necessary to implement measures that take foreign nationals' perspectives into account, such as increasing the number of road signs that have instructions in other languages. (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 22, 2025)
Asahi Shimbun
02-06-2025
- Automotive
- Asahi Shimbun
EDITORIAL: Make system for converting to Japanese driver's license safer
The vehicle involved in a hit-and-run accident in Saitama Prefecture that injured four elementary school students (Shun Tsunekawa) The time has come to think about ways to improve Japan's traffic rules by thrashing out the issues to determine if the current system is adequate. There has been an increase in the number of foreigners obtaining Japanese driver's licenses under the current procedure of converting from a license obtained abroad. Some have pointed out that the procedure is too simple and the National Police Agency (NPA) has begun considering whether a review is warranted. According to the agency, there are two aspects to the system that confirm driving skills and knowledge. An applicant passes the knowledge section by getting at least seven of 10 true-or-false questions correct. The system was originally established for Japanese drivers who obtained a license abroad and wanted a Japanese one after returning home. But in 2023, foreigners made up 93 percent of those who converted to a Japanese license. There were large numbers of Vietnamese and Chinese who utilized the system. There have also been examples of foreign tourists in Japan on short stays who have used the process to obtain a Japanese license. It is only natural to expect those using Japanese public roads to be tested for the necessary skills and to confirm they have sufficient knowledge of the rules of the road. Japan is a signatory to the Convention on Road Traffic, commonly known as the Geneva Convention. Licensed Japanese drivers can therefore drive in about 100 other signatory nations after obtaining an international driver's license. China has not signed the convention and many Chinese come to Japan to obtain a Japanese license to be able to drive in other nations. Copies of a passport and residence certificate are required for an application, but tourists without such certificates can apply by listing their hotel as their 'dwelling place.' But that has led to problems in the past of difficulties in contacting the individual when an accident occurs. The NPA is planning to require, in principle, the submittal of a copy of the residence certificate, in effect reviewing the system to exclude tourists. In line with that proposed change, the knowledge test should also be thoroughly revamped so applicants are quizzed on basic points of the Road Traffic Law as well as their understanding of road traffic signs and warning signs on expressways. Recent accidents, including a hit-and-run in which four elementary school students in Saitama Prefecture were injured and a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction on a Mie Prefecture section of the Shin-Meishin Expressway, involved foreign drivers who had used the system to convert to a Japanese license. Government officials said they do not have statistics about differences in accident rates between those who have converted to Japanese licenses and all others. Still, there is a need to analyze any connection with individual cases of reckless driving in order to establish proper measures. Japanese drivers are often flustered when driving in other countries where driving on the right side of the road is the rule. In addition to making the test more strict, there is also a need to improve the road environment and to change signs, particularly on expressways where the risk of a major accident is greater, from the standpoint of drivers so that they will more easily understand them. There are, of course, people who convert to Japanese licenses in order to work here and who are careful about safe driving. Coexistence with foreigners is an issue for society as a whole. Any review of the system should avoid steering it in a direction that leads to the exclusion of foreigners. --The Asahi Shimbun, June 2
