Japan License Guide is a free, English-language router and guide for foreign residents getting a Japanese driver's license. It answers the one fork nobody maps in English: convert your existing foreign license (外免切替) or learn from scratch at a 教習所 (driving school).
Our honesty architecture
Most of our readers can convert — the cheap path that pays us nothing. We serve that path fully and excellently anyway, with no upsell. A visitor whose situation reads "conversion" gets the conversion answer with zero commercial surface. The from-scratch path (for people who genuinely need to learn) is where we show driving-school options — and even there, we state the Japanese-language requirement plainly first, because booking a camp you can't linguistically complete is the one real harm this site could cause.
How we source the numbers
The load-bearing item is the 警察庁 (National Police Agency) list of which countries convert without a driving test — sourced from the current official page, stamped with a "verified as of" date, and carrying the note that the list changes and the official source governs. Fees are prefectural schedules; driving-school cost bands are from operator pages (with the honest seasonal swing noted); the JAF translation fee and IDP rules are cited.
Independence
This is an independent project, not affiliated with the 警察庁, any 免許センター, driving school, or government body. It is informational only, not legal advice. Procedures vary by prefecture and change — always confirm with your own 運転免許センター before you go.
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