I recently moved to tokyo and thinking to convert my US license which is expiring in 1 year. I will go back to US for work next month..
Wondering if i should bother applying now (will the JP license expire on the US expiration date?) Or wait until I go back to US next month to just get a new one with 5 year expiration term.
3 comments
Hold up, do you currently have a driver’s license for japan?
Only like 4x states have a tit for tat for a japan license. Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC. If you are not one of those you’re about to get wrecked, aka welcome to driving tests, etc. Better know those Kanji.
You’ll need a new US license for taxes. Get a new one.
Don’t forget you need to get the new werid real ID license when you apply, it needs certain documents to get. Theb you won’t need a passport to fly within the US next time you come home.
The Japanese license will have a separate expiration date (usually around your birthday). They also don’t care when your US license expires, only that it’s currently *not* expired and that you were in the US for at least 3 months after getting your license. You’ll also need a translation from JAF.
Here’s the info from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department: https://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/menkyo/menkyo/kokugai/kokugai05.html
Edit: I’ll also point out that, depending on the state, the “issued date” on the license may be not be the original issued date, but the the last renewal date. Also, depending on the state, a drivers record may also only show the last renewal date. If you have a chance to convert your license, I would suggest doing it sooner than later. If you wait too long, you’ll need multiple old licenses, passports and entry/exit data to prove you were in the US for 3 months after getting the license (that’s what I needed when I did my conversion because I waited too long).
Your first Japanese license will expire three years from issue date. If you’re not from a state that has reciprocity with Japan you’ll have to take both a written test and a driving test. The written test I took was in English and it was easy. The driving test was on a glorified go-kart track and it was frustrating. It’s graded very strictly requiring precision driving and they frown on people who take it without practicing first. I took it three times before I passed it. After I failed the second time my husband advised me to hire one of the freelance instructors that lurks around the license center and practice, so that’s what I did.
I went there on a Sunday, rented a test car, and drove the test track for two hours with the instructor in the passenger seat telling me how to drive to pass the test and my husband in the back seat acting as my interpreter. The instructor I hired was a retired cop who was well known to the test examiners there. I think the only reason I passed on the third try was because the instructor was standing next to me while the examiner graded me and he couldn’t fail me after I had hired one of his esteemed colleagues to prep me for the test.