On using International driving permit in Japan

8 comments

1. 1. no need to register anything

   2. yes

   3. return to your home country for 90 days to reset the counter

   4. no

   5. you are ineligible to use an IDP unless you return to your home country for 90 days to get one issued

2. Just to confirm, the IDP you’re planning to issue/use is your home country’s IDP, right?

   1. Accepted as-is.
   2. Some car rental do accept IDPs, for example [Toyota Rent-a-car](https://rent.toyota.co.jp/global_eng/drive/).
   3. That would be up to IDP issuing country’s rules.
   4. Same with Q3.
   5. [As long as you leave Japan for 3 months](https://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/multilingual/english/traffic_safety/drivers_licenses/index.files/kokusaimenkyo_english.pdf) before returning back with your home country’s IDP. Check the second page of that PDF I linked.

   Theoretically, if you leave Japan today, then issue your IDP tomorrow in your home country, then in order to use said IDP in Japan you cannot come back here before August 13th, 2023.

   Due to the 90-days rule, I personally think gaimen kirikae would be more convenient and immediate.

3. Number 5 nullifies all your other questions. No.

4. > I’ve been in japan for 2 years now, is it still possible to use an IDP (that will be issued, for example, today) ?

   Absolutely not, and if you can be charged with driving without a license if you’re caught using one at this stage.

   The rules are:

   You can use an IDP for up to one year from the date you initially arrive in Japan, or from the date you return to Japan after more than three calendar months outside the country. There are no exceptions or extensions.

   If you did not think to get an IDP before you arrived, or if your IDP expires: During this one year period, you *can* use an IDP that you received by mail, but *you cannot leave the country to obtain one* (unless you stay out for three months).

   FWIW, this law was passed (around 2003) because local drivers who had their licenses revoked (drunks, habitual offenders, etc.) were going abroad to countries where they could receive a local license and a stack of IDPs for a hundred dollars or so, and then returning to Japan with a license that the local authorities no longer had the power to revoke.

   Foreign residents were not the target, but no exception was made, as it was pretty well known that many of us used our foreign licenses and IDPs to avoid the points system that Japanese licenses have. We used to jokingly refer to them as “teflon licenses” because nothing stuck.　

5. > Is IDP accepted in car rentals ?

   Not all. Expensive-ish / big ones like Nippon Rent A Car – maybe. 2525 rental / cheap places? Nope. They will usually mention this on website.

6. 3. No.

   5. I think, maybe, no.

   I do recommend converting your license.

   (edit: unless the 90 day return, apparently)

7. You can do a license conversion in a very short timeframe, which you should do. As others have said, it is not legal for you to be driving on an IDP now.

8. This hasn’t been mentioned and really only applies if you do intend to return to your home country for 3 months for the sake of getting an IDP but the documentation for converting the license is a potential pain.

   You will need to have documentation that proves that you both possessed a license and resided in the country of issue. For example, pay stubs, college transcripts, or even receipts for rent. Unfortunately some countries(the US) do not stamp your passport for re-entry so you cannot in that instance use your passport to prove you were both in country and possessing a license at the same time.

   So, say for example, you were able to just take an extended trip for a few months, make sure you somehow create a paper trail matching the documents listed on the IDP website.