Kochi CIRs and ALTs have been heavily affected by revisions to the road traffic laws passed in June last year. The international driver's license system was changed under the revision, making it necessary to obtain a Japanese license if you continue to drive in Japan after one year. North American nationals, as well as some other nationalities, must pass a practical driving exam when they change to a Japanese license, which has lead to various hardships and cries of "I want to go home."
The road traffic law revisions came into effect on the 1st of June last year. Although introduced to strengthen the laws against drink driving and hit-and-runs, there were also changes to international license rules.
The expiry date of 1 year remains the same, however, in order to renew an international license it has become necessary to reside in the country the license will be issued in for more than 3 months. In other words, once you have arrived back in your home country, you must stay there for 3 months. If you don't want to do that, you will have to obtain a Japanese driver's license.
However, for English nationals, and those from a total of 22 other countries whose traffic system mirrors Japan's, it is comparatively easy to change from their country's license to a Japanese one. The problems lie with countries outside the exemptions, including the US, where the license system can vary drastically state-by-state. They must clear a practical driving exam.
Under the original laws, people who lost their licenses in Japan and were disqualified from driving were able to obtain an international driver's license overseas. Using this loophole, people were able to abuse the system and drive in Japan again, so the revisions were enacted to stop this.
However, this has caused problems for foreigners working in Kochi on the JET Programme as CIRs and ALTs. Out of the 110 participants, 33 are North American, and for those who are in rural areas where traffic conditions are bad, it is essential to have a car. Since taking 3 months off work to go home and re-apply for an international license is not possible, they have no choice but to get a Japanese license.
Tosa-shimizu City ALT Katherine Nordell is one such person. She has had a driver's license since she was 16 years old. She has 6 years of driving experience in North America, and began her job in July last year, but her International License expired last summer.
So, in order to take the practical driving exam, a friend drove her 3 hours to the Driver's License Centre in Ino Town, Agawa County. On that day, there was another North American and a Romanian who took the exam, but all 3 of them failed. It was the Romanian's 5th attempt and the other North American's 7th attempt.
Ms Nordell stayed in a hotel that night, took a day of paid leave, and tried again the next day. This pattern continued until she finally passed the exam on her 4th try. It ended up costing her Y50, 000.
"It caused trouble for everyone at work, and was spiritually draining from all the worrying I did. My predecessor said she gave up continuing to be an ALT because of the license problem" she said.
"I thought I'll just go home." said a North American male. He was an excellent driver with 7 years of driving experience at home, with no accidents or traffic infringements, but "I failed 3 times. To get to the license centre was a 6 hour round trip, so I stayed at a friend's place in Kochi City. Just as I was thinking that I'll pack up and go home, I finally passed." He said it cost him a quarter of his paid leave and Y20, 000.
Mihara Village, Hata County ALT Ford Grable, who failed the exam 3 times, looks back on his practical exam.
"Safe driving is important. But the test doesn't reflect real-life roads, and is more like an unpleasant game. If only they'll just make it cheaper and easier to pass." At present, there are about 6000 people from 40 countries participating on the JET Programme. One CIR pointed out that it is a problem that will influence the re-contracting decision of JETs.
We work in a system where we renew our contracts on a yearly basis. During the first year, the international license expires. If you are working in a rural area, it makes you think about whether it is worth re-contracting only to have to expend all that effort to get a Japanese license."
The Prefectural License Centre said that in cases where there are enough people wanting a license in isolated areas like Hata, they will try and make it more convenient for them by dispatching a person to the affected areas for document processing. However, as for the practical exam, the centre asked for understanding, saying that "We would like for them to pass, but we can't change the level of difficulty for them just because they are foreigners. The exam is based on and follows the law, so there's nothing that we can do."
Photo: (at bottom of page) "I can laugh about it now, but at the time it was really harsh." Ms Nordell looks back on her driving exam in front of her beloved car (Nishi-machi, Tosa-shimizu City)
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