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NHK
10-07-2025
- Automotive
- NHK
Japan to bar foreign tourists from converting driver's licenses
Japan's National Police Agency plans to revise the system for converting driver's licenses obtained overseas to Japanese ones. Under the revised system, foreign tourists and other short-stay visitors will not be allowed to convert the license they hold. People with a license issued abroad can obtain a Japanese one if they are certified to have the knowledge and skills to drive in Japan. The National Police Agency says some 68,000 foreigners got Japanese licenses through this system last year. The figure was a record high. The agency began considering revisions after Japanese lawmakers pointed out in the Diet that allowing foreign visitors to declare hotels and other temporary accommodation as their place of residence could hamper law enforcement if the visitors cause a traffic accident. They also expressed concern that the test to confirm knowledge may be too easy, and foreigners may be driving without fully understanding Japanese traffic rules. The police agency decided to verify the applicant's address in principle by having them present a copy of their residence certificate, regardless of nationality. An agency survey of license conversion systems in 15 countries and regions found that none of them allowed tourists to make the switch. The agency says foreign tourists who wish to drive in Japan will be required to obtain an international driver's license based on the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic. In addition, the test to confirm knowledge of traffic rules will have 50 questions, up from the current 10, and applicants will need to correctly answer at least 90 percent of them. Scoring will also be made tougher for the practical test to confirm driving skills. The police agency will solicit public opinions from Friday and plans to start operating the revised system on October 1.
Japan Times
10-06-2025
- Japan Times
Dart-out cases common among schoolchildren's traffic accidents in Japan
Cases of children running out into the street accounted for more than 30% of serious traffic accidents that killed or severely injured elementary school children in Japan, a government report showed Monday. Of the 1,830 children who got into such accidents between 2020 and 2024, 613, or 33.5%, ran out into the street, according to the 2025 traffic safety white paper, adopted at the day's Cabinet meeting. The report called for promoting lectures for parents and experience-based traffic safety education to prevent accidents. According to the report, over 60% of serious accidents that killed or severely injured elementary school kids involved law violations. Dart-out cases were followed by road-crossing violations, which accounted for 16.9%. Ignoring traffic lights came next at 3.2%, and playing on the street stood at 3.1%. In contrast, about 60% of serious accidents involving 38,480 individuals across all age groups did not involve law violations. The government implemented emergency measures following a fatal drunken driving accident in which a truck crashed into a group of elementary school children in Yachimata, Chiba Prefecture, in June 2021. The white paper stated that 76,404 locations across Japan have fully or nearly completed safety measures, such as building sidewalks. The central and local governments, police and schools will conduct joint inspections to enhance safety, the report added. It also said that special areas called Zone 30, where vehicle speeds are limited to 30 kilometers per hour, had been established in 4,410 areas nationwide by the end of fiscal 2024.
NHK
22-05-2025
- NHK
Japan's police chief seeks tougher rules to convert to Japanese driver's license
The chief of Japan's National Police Agency has called for tougher rules on a system for converting foreign driver's licenses to Japanese ones. He expressed the view that overseas tourists should be banned from using the system. National Police Agency Commissioner General Kusunoki Yoshinobu told reporters on Thursday that there are growing calls for revisions to the system, citing a series of accidents involving foreign drivers who obtained a Japanese driver's license through the system. The system allows holders of a driver's license obtained overseas to convert it to a Japanese one by passing a written exam testing their knowledge about rules of the road and a practical exam to test their actual driving skills. But the police agency is now considering revising the system amid growing criticism among lawmakers. Some have pointed out that even short-term visitors to Japan, such as tourists without a residence certificate, can apply by using a temporary address, such as a hotel, as their place of residence. They are also criticizing the knowledge test for being too easy. Kusunoki emphasized the need to tighten address verification by requiring applicants to submit residence certificates regardless of nationality. He also expressed the view that tourists and other short-term visitors should not be allowed to convert their licenses to Japanese ones. He also stated that the knowledge and skills tests should be made stricter to ensure that applicants fully understand Japan's rules of the road. Meanwhile, the police agency acknowledges that changes to Japan's system could affect Japanese citizens seeking to convert their licenses abroad. The agency is now studying the driver's license conversion systems in other countries.
