To get a driver's license in Japan

Sample image of a Japanese driver's license. The fields for all licenses are filled in. Even though there are 15 types of licenses, there are only 14 fields, so two types of towing licenses are listed together in one field.

It is quite expensive to get a driver's license in Japan. It also takes about a month to get a driver's license even if you are a good driver, and several months or more if you are not a good driver.

In Japan, it is not allowed for a person without a driver's license to practice driving on a real road with a licensed driver in the passenger seat.

For this reason, there are many facilities with small courses that resemble roads, called driving schools, all over Japan.

At the driving school, students take classes on traffic laws and practice driving on the course in the school's facilities, and those who pass each test get a provisional driver's license to practice driving on real roads.

You can graduate from the driving school after practicing driving on real roads and passing a second test on traffic laws at the school and a final driving test on the road.

At this point you are still not allowed to drive a car alone. At this point, you are not yet allowed to drive a car alone, because you do not have an official driver's license.

Graduates of driving schools are required to pass a "real" driver's license test administered by the Public Safety Commission. Graduates of driving schools only need to take a simple aptitude test, such as an eye test, and a written test. The driving school will issue you a certificate showing that you have passed the practical test, so you do not need to take the practical test again.

Of course, there is a separate fee for this main driving test conducted by the Public Safety Commission.

So how much does it cost to get a driver's license at these driving schools?

I checked the prices of driving schools in my neighborhood.

350,000 yen for a standard driver's license (for passenger cars with a gross weight of up to 3.5 tons)

A semi-medium-sized license (for small trucks up to 7.5 tons in gross weight) is 420,000 yen.

These two licenses can be challenged from the state of no license.

The following licenses are upgrade fees for those who already have a driver's license.

150,000 yen for a semi-medium-sized license (gross weight 7.5t) to a medium-sized license (gross weight 11t)

200,000 yen for a medium-sized license (trucks up to 11 tons in gross weight) from a standard license

Medium size license to large size license (trucks up to 25 tons in gross weight): 250,000 yen

450,000 yen from a standard driver's license to a large driver's license (for trucks up to 25 tons in gross weight)

Note: In fact, there is no upper limit to the gross vehicle weight that can be driven with a large driver's license. However, if you are driving a single truck, which is a non-towing vehicle, on Japanese roads, the maximum weight limit under the Japanese road structure is 25 tons, so the maximum gross vehicle weight of a truck that can be driven with only a large driver's license is effectively 25 tons. If the holder of a large vehicle license obtains a towing license, the true value of the large vehicle license will be demonstrated since the towed truck has a heavier gross vehicle weight, and the holder will be able to drive the towed truck with an unlimited gross vehicle weight as long as the road permit is granted.

In Japan, people used to be able to drive trucks with a gross weight of up to 8,000 kg with a passenger car license. Today, the new passenger car license system only allows people to drive vehicles with a gross weight of up to 3500kg.

All previous holders of a regular license were automatically upgraded to an 8t limited medium license. Even though it is an upgrade, there is no change in the size of the vehicle you can drive.

There was also a time before the maximum gross weight that could be driven with a standard license was lowered from a maximum of 8 tons to a maximum of 3.5 tons, when the maximum gross weight that could be driven with a standard license was temporarily 5 tons. Those who obtained a standard driver's license during this period were upgraded to a license that is now called a 5t limited semi-medium license.

I also have this 8t limited medium license.

And my 8t limited medium license to large license is 300,000 yen.

In addition to this, the optional license for towing a trailer costs 170,000 yen.

As a result, in Japan, there are six general licenses for driving passenger cars and cargo trucks, including a limited license. In addition to these, there are licenses for towing, motorcycles, cabs and buses for taking fares and transporting people, and licenses for special vehicles such as construction machinery, for a total of 15 licenses.

Each of these 15 types of driver's licenses has an additional limited condition, so it is difficult to count the actual types of driver's licenses in Japan.

The ostensible reason for the creation of this ridiculous licensing system is for safety, that is, to improve driving skills. But that's a lie.

The politicians and bureaucrats in Japan are in the business of creating new interests. In other words, this is the driving school interest.

In Japan, as in other developed countries, the birthrate is declining. As the birthrate declines, the number of people getting driver's licenses decreases. The biggest problem with a declining number of people getting driver's licenses is that the income of driving schools will decrease.

Therefore, in Japan, every time the income of the driving schools decreases, the driver's license is subdivided, the difficulty of obtaining a license increases, and the need to pay high fees to obtain a driver's license arises.