How to take the Japanese driver’s license test

1. Differences in driving styles between China and Japan

1. Different left and right driving systems

First of all, the first thing you can find when you set foot on Japanese soil is One difference is - the traffic side is different. In Japan, all vehicles driving on the road must abide by the principle of keeping to the left. Except for one-way streets, you must keep to the left whenever possible even on roads without a center line.

2. Safety is hidden in the details

Secondly, Japan's entire "Road Traffic Law" is consistent in the word "details". As a driver of a vehicle, you should not only ensure the personal safety of yourself and your passengers, but also the safety of all passers-by at the traffic scene. Every detail is covered by the Road Traffic Act and corresponding penalties are imposed when violated. As a vehicle driver, you need to pay attention to the safety of pedestrians and cyclists at all times. For example, when the car you are driving turns left into a crosswalk and a pedestrian wants to pass through the crosswalk, according to Japanese law, the driver must drive at a speed that can stop immediately and must not obstruct the passage of pedestrians. In our country, the "Road Traffic Safety Law" stipulates, "When a motor vehicle is passing a crosswalk, it should slow down; if it encounters a pedestrian crossing the crosswalk, it should stop and give way. When a motor vehicle is traveling on a road without traffic signals, it should stop when a pedestrian is crossing it. "You should give way to the road." However, not all drivers will abide by this rule. In Japan, the "Road Traffic Law" stipulates that "when a motor vehicle passes a crosswalk:

(1) When it is obvious that no pedestrian is passing, it can pass directly without slowing down;

(2) ) When it is uncertain whether a pedestrian will pass, you need to slow down at a speed that can stop immediately;

(3) When a pedestrian passes or is about to pass, you must temporarily stop and wait for the pedestrian to pass, and must not obstruct the passage of pedestrians." .

If your friends who have traveled to Japan have experienced it when crossing a crosswalk, drivers are very polite to let pedestrians pass.

3. Reasons in legal principles

When driving in Japan, you need to pay special attention to the communication between cars. In order to be courteous to each other and express their gratitude, the driver will make corresponding gestures, turn on the corresponding lights, and other expressions. For example, when your vehicle is waiting to turn right at an intersection and is yielded by a vehicle going straight in the opposite lane, you should flash your headlights, flash your emergency lights, or honk your siren briefly to express your gratitude. In addition, when you are driving at a slow speed, you should turn on the left turn signal and pull over to let the vehicle behind you pass first, so as not to hinder the passage of the vehicle behind you.

2. Types of Japanese driver's licenses

In Japan, driving licenses are mainly divided into three categories - the first type of transportation exemption, the second type of transportation exemption and There are three kinds of luck. The first type of driver's license is a driver's license for general personal use, the second type of driver's license is a driver's license for the purpose of transporting passengers and goods for profit, and the temporary driver's license is a driver's license used by trainees during the training period to practice on the road.

In each major category, there are restrictions on the models that drivers can drive. All motor vehicles in Japan are classified according to the regulations of the Japanese Police Agency: large automatic vehicles (buses, etc.); medium-sized automatic vehicles (large trucks, etc.); quasi-medium-sized automatic vehicles (small trucks, etc.); ordinary automatic vehicles (cars, etc.) )? Large special automatic vehicles (bulldozers, etc.)? Large automatic two-wheeled vehicles (large motorcycles)? Ordinary automatic two-wheeled vehicles (ordinary motorcycles)? Small special automatic vehicles (agricultural machinery, etc.) and prime mover automatic vehicles (electric bicycles). Driving various vehicle types requires different driver's licenses. Drivers with a driver's license that require extensive driving experience can also drive smaller vehicles.

In addition, the type of color bar on the driver's license also represents the driver's experience and violation accident record. The green color bar indicates that this driver's license is the driver's first official driver's license and has not been updated. The blue color bar indicates that the holder of this driver's license has renewed his driver's license once. The golden color bar indicates that the holder of this driver's license has maintained an accident-free record for a considerable period of time.

3. How to obtain a driver's license in Japan

As a foreigner, there are generally two ways to obtain a driver's license in Japan.

The first is to switch from the foreign driver's license you currently hold to a Japanese driver's license, which is called "foreign-exempt change" or "foreign-exempt change".

The second is to pass the designated test after studying at a driving school with other Japanese candidates.

1. Foreign-exemption replacement

Foreign-exemption replacement is the most ideal certification method for drivers who have obtained a driving license in China. Generally speaking, there are four steps: preparation of materials, data review, subject test, and skills test.

As a candidate for foreign exemption, you need to prepare proof of your driving qualifications and your own identity certificate and other materials:

(1) A valid foreign driver’s license (regular) , copy);

(2) Translation of driver’s license. The translation needs to be submitted through the embassy or the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) to be valid.

You need to submit a valid driver's license, residence card (or alien registration card) and a handling fee of 3,000 yen, and you can pick it up within 1 hour after submission at JAF;

(3) Stay in the country after obtaining the driver's license Documents that are more than 3 months old, usually a passport (if you have an old passport, you need to bring it too);

(4) Driver’s basic information form (+ test score sheet), you need to go to the domestic Issued by the vehicle management office. The name of the school where the exam was taken at that time must be recorded in the information form, otherwise it needs to be reissued;

(5) Two ID photos without background and hat, 3 cm long x 2.4 cm wide, can be taken with a self-service ID camera .

(6) Resident certificate, proof of residence issued by municipalities, towns, villages, etc.

After you have prepared all the information, you can go to the "Yunyu Free License Center" in the prefecture where your registered address is to do the application and other procedures before taking the exam.

(1) First fill in the application form. Especially in Tokyo, if you want to take the written test and road test on the same day, you must submit your application in the morning to ensure that it will be accepted in the afternoon.

(2) At the window, the staff will carefully check the relevant documents and materials, and ask the applicant to wait at the window for consultation. After passing the review, go to the designated window to pay the handling fee.

(3) After the handling fee is paid, you will proceed to the same procedure as ordinary candidates - vision examination. The subjects were asked to answer the direction of the gap in the ring displayed on the screen and the color of the signal light displayed. At this time, you need to inform the staff if you are wearing glasses or contact lenses. Your driver's license will indicate that you must wear glasses and you must wear them while driving in the future.

(4) After that, after the material review and vision review, candidates are required to take a written test. Different from the general method of obtaining a driver's license, since the candidates for the foreign-exemption replacement already hold a foreign driver's license and have a certain degree of driving experience, the 10 test questions here are only used to confirm whether they have relevant safe driving knowledge. In addition, candidates who are not proficient in Japanese can also take the exam in English or Chinese. After successfully passing the test, the examiner will send you the test notes and the test route map, and ask the candidates to go to the window to make an appointment for the test. Because there are only a limited number of places available to take the test every day for foreigners, especially in Tokyo, a city where foreigners live in large numbers, you need to make an appointment as soon as possible once you pass the written test.

(5) Finally, we come to the last step of obtaining a driver’s license-the skills test. Different from the normal method, the skills test will be conducted at the sports track instead of on the actual road. The assessment starts from the moment the vehicle is safely checked before getting in the vehicle to the moment the engine is turned off and the vehicle is closed.

First of all, after getting in the car, you need to adjust the seat angle, steering wheel height, rearview mirror angle, etc., lock the door, and start the engine. After the vehicle starts, the examiner sitting in the passenger seat will give instructions. Just follow the instructions and pay attention to the conditions of each traffic scene. After that, it is about simulating various scenarios on the road to deal with them. The content of the test is roughly the same as the test to obtain a temporary driver's license at a training center, so we will not go into details here.

Such an exam seems simple, but in fact it is not that easy to pass the exam. First of all, the driving habits in China are not as strict as those in Japan. For example, when turning left or right, you may not necessarily carefully check the safety, or even turn on the turn signal; but in Japan, it goes without saying that you must turn on the turn signal. , when turning left or right, you need to look at the rearview mirror and look directly behind you to ensure that there are no vehicles or pedestrians nearby. Furthermore, because in Japan, there are not that many venue personnel trained for foreign exemptions, candidates who take the exam often can only learn from failure. Therefore, there are many people who fail to obtain a driver's license even if they have passed this test ten times or eight times.

2. Apply from a driving school

The driving schools preferred by college students are often the "designated training centers" recognized by the public security committees of various prefectures.

From entrance to the training center to graduation, it can be roughly divided into the following six stages:

1. Driving personality test (driving suitability test); (difficulty ☆☆☆☆☆)

2. The first stage of teaching; (difficulty ★★☆☆☆)

3. Provisional driver’s license test (exemption from the test); (difficulty ★★★☆☆)

4. Completed the test (revised the test) (Difficulty★★★★☆)

5. Second stage of teaching; (Difficulty★★☆☆☆)

< p>6. Graduation test (graduation test).

(Difficulty★★★☆☆)