Overview

• Applicants must submit a resident-record copy to prove long-term residency, effectively barring short-term visitors from converting foreign licenses.
• The knowledge exam will expand from 10 to 50 multiple-choice questions and raise the pass threshold from 70% to 90%.
• The driving skills test will add evaluations for yielding at crosswalks and level crossings and enforce stricter scoring on signaling and lane positioning.
• Reforms follow a 22.5% surge in conversions to 68,623 in 2024 and an 8.3% rise in accidents involving non-Japanese drivers.
• A public comment period runs July 11 through August 9 before the new rules take effect on October 1.