Foreign driving license conversion in Japan: guides to the process

Clear guides to foreign driving license conversion in Japan, written from what the National Police Agency and prefectural police actually publish — and cited page by page.

License conversion is administered by the prefectural police where you live, at their driving license centre or test centre. The documents, the way appointments are released, and the practical-test course all differ by prefecture. These guides give the national framework first, then set the published practice of the Tokyo, Osaka, Saitama and Kanagawa police side by side. Where a rule cannot be generalised, it is not generalised here.

Two changes matter when using older study material. An amendment to the Road Traffic Act Enforcement Regulations, in force 1 October 2025, tightened address verification, the knowledge confirmation and the practical confirmation. An amendment to the Enforcement Order took effect on 1 September 2026 and lowered the default speed limit on the affected residential roads. Out-of-date explanations of both are still circulating widely, so read the "last verified" date at the top of each guide before you rely on it.

Source Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department — “Amended Road Traffic Act Enforcement Regulations, in force 1 October 2025” (in Japanese) · National Police Agency — “The statutory speed limit for cars on residential roads is being lowered” (in Japanese)

Guides

• Japan speed limit for foreign-license drivers: 30 km/h on residential roads from 1 September 2026

  Japan speed limit update for drivers converting a foreign license: since 1 September 2026 the default limit on affected roads is 30 km/h. How to identify the road, which four kinds keep 60, and why a posted sign still overrides both.

  Content updated 19 September 2026

• The 1 October 2025 tightening, item by item

  An amendment in force on 1 October 2025 tightened address verification, the written test and the practical test. What is now wrong in older guides, and where the prefectures genuinely differ.

  Last verified 17 August 2026

• Gaimen kirikae: converting a foreign driving license in Japan

  The whole procedure: which countries are exempt from the tests, who is eligible, the document list, the order of the process, the fees, and the real timeline.

  Last verified 17 August 2026

• Eligibility and the four expiry dates that decide a conversion

  Four separate clocks decide whether a conversion succeeds: the foreign license, the period of stay, the international-permit window, and the Japanese license you are issued. Plus how to prove the three-month stay.

  Last verified 17 August 2026

• Booking a conversion appointment when there are no slots

  Why slots are scarce, in the words of the police themselves. How booking works in Tokyo, Osaka and Saitama, the order the stages must happen in, and what to bring.

  Last verified 17 August 2026

Practice questions by topic

Practice for the knowledge confirmation, grouped into six road-rule topics. Five questions each, every one with a full explanation.

• Signs & Markings
• Traffic Signals
• Pedestrian Protection
• Intersections & Right-of-Way
• Speed & Distance
• Parking & Stopping

What the written test actually asks

How these pages are written

Every factual claim carries a link to the body that issued it — the National Police Agency, a prefectural police force, or JAF. Secondary sources such as immigration-consultancy blogs are not used as authority for anything. Where a claim could not be traced to a primary source it was left out rather than hedged. The prefectural police where you live decide your application, so confirm the detail with the original and with their counter before you apply.