Renewing Your Driver’s License in Japan

If you haven’t gotten a driver’s license in Japan yet, you might be interested in this article: Hiroshima Driving Test: The Process.

Getting your driver’s license in Japan renewed is a much simpler feat than attaining your driver’s license from scratch, but it will still take a minimum of 2 hours if you’re lucky.

Before going to your nearest driving center (免許センター), a few months before your birthday, you’ll get a postcard in the mail regarding your driver’s license renewal process. Be sure to keep this postcard because you’ll need it later. It will tell you that you can renew your driver’s license a month before and within a month after your birthday, so you’ll have plenty of time. Make sure you get your license renewed within this two-month time frame or the process will be severely more difficult (essentially, you’ll have to retake the test).

Here’s what you need to bring:

• the postcard you got in the mail a few months prior
• 3,500 yen (for Hiroshima, but it may differ depending on prefecture so check your postcard for details)
• your old driver’s license
• additional money if you want to join the Safety Union (安全協会）which benefits the local children but it’s not required

Really all you need are the first three things. Your postcard will mention that you need a new updated picture, but you don’t need to bring one prior. If you do, they’ll convince you to take a new picture at the site anyway because the brought in picture will be darker and it will take more time to add it to your license vs. taking a picture at the site. Just do what everyone else does and take the picture there. It’s free and you will be saving time.

Reservations are unnecessary, but there are 3-4 sessions for the renewal process depending on what driver class you are in. This may also differ by region.) First you will go through the payment and application process (which I’ll describe in more detail below) followed by a 1-2+ hour lecture depending on your driver class and whether you’ve had any accidents or violations during the time you’ve held your current license. While the process may differ for each individual and region, here’s what I experienced:

• Arrive at the driving center. Enter and the first thing you see is a big sign in kanji that marks the license renewal area (運転免許更新). Even if you can’t read the kanji, you’ll see a bunch of people lining up in one particular area (this was for the first morning session and everything else was obviously closed), so just follow your hunch and line up. Or ask in Japanese. Or show the postcard you received and they’ll direct you to where you need to go.
• To speed up the process, a worker was collecting everyone’s driver’s license to be photocopied. While waiting, they had a screen outlining the renewal process with example pictures and the booth numbers so you know where to go. (Even if you forget, they’ll always direct you so don’t worry.) One of the workers goes through the presentation so you can hear what you need to do even if you can’t read the kanji.
• The workers will also practically beg you to donate money to their Safety Union (安全協会）which benefits the children by educating them about traffic safety and providing children car seats, etc. If you have the extra money, it’s about 700 yen per year, but you’re expected to pay for all the years you’ll have your license in lump sum. So if you’re getting a 3-year license, it will be 2,100 yen, a 5-year license will make it 3,500 yen, etc.
• After the presentation, you’ll get your license back. Proceed forward to receive it when your name is called. If the worker pauses and seems to have trouble reading the name and you seem to be the only non-Japanese person in the vicinity, save them the embarrassment and step forward because there’s no furigana on your license to help them pronounce it.
• You’ll be guided to the next booth to pay. You should have your postcard, money, and license at the ready. They’ll give you a questionnaire to fill out. The front portion includes the relevant info like your name, phone number, etc. Plus, you need to write two different 4-digit passwords. There’s one more box that you only have to fill out if you need to update your address. The backside is a questionnaire to confirm you are capable of driving safety (not driving even if you’ve drank a little alcohol, not taking medicine that would interfere with driving safely, etc.). Check yes or no, sign your name at the bottom, and date it if they didn’t already.
• Another worker is waiting nearby to check to make sure you filled out the form properly before you continue to the next booth where they check your eyesight. There are circles and you should know in Japanese how to say: up, down, left, right so you can indicate which side the circles are open. If you’re wearing contacts or glasses, they’ll ask you if you need them while driving. If you do, let them know and continue to wear them for your test. If you don’t, then remove them. (Some people wear glasses for fashion, for example, so if you don’t need them but you wear them, they’ll mark that you need glasses on your license, so be careful.)
• Proceed to the next area where you’ll take your picture for your new license. For the record, don’t make everyone wait by taking your time to groom yourself in front of the camera. You should have done that beforehand. You’re in and you’re out, so keep that in mind.
• When you’re finished, you’ll leave the booth to wait in the open area for your lecture to start. On the back of your card, you’ll see a stamp. There will be a board with 4 different kinds of stamps indicating your level. “Beginners” who are just renewing their license for the first time have a green square stamp. Since it’s their first time renewing, the lecture takes about 2 hours (about 1 hour Powerpoint and 1 hour video). If you have been in an accident or made a traffic violation, expect to be lectured for an additional hour or more. If it’s not your first time renewing, the lecture is usually 30 minutes to an hour.
• Just before the lecture started, we were guided into a closed room with closed windows (not ideal during a pandemic) but you’re welcome to sit anywhere that had paperwork. Keep in mind that if you spread out too far away from the group, you’ll be easier to pick on during the lecture (the instructor asks questions). If you obviously stand out as a foreigner, the instructor will probably not call on you as they’ll be more scared of you speaking English and being unable to understand you, but if you’re like me and you can blend in, then you may not be so lucky so keep these points in mind.
• First, the instructor had us do a 30-question quiz to test our driving knowledge. He only gave us no more than 5 minutes, so if you’re awkwardly trying to answer the questions, rest assured the feeling won’t last too long. Then he’ll have you check your answers and mark which ones were right as well as mark the amount you got right in each section. If you have a certain number, he encourages you to revisit the rules. If you have no idea what you’re reading, then don’t even worry about it. For those who are studying though, it’s an excellent chance to practice reading comprehension skills!
• Then the instructor will go through a very kanji-heavy Powerpoint presentation on some of the big driving violations particularly emphasizing the dangers of drinking and driving. The instructor also asked questions like “How many points do you start out with when you first get your license?” (Spoiler: the answer is 0.) Basically everyone in the crowd didn’t want to participate and wanted the whole thing to be over as fast as possible just like you will. If you want to try to participate, go for it! If you would rather try to blend in and avoid as little interaction as possible, you’re not the only one. So do what makes you feel comfortable. If you’re serious about studying Japanese though, this is a good chance to apply what you’ve learned and improve more.
• After the Powerpoint presentation, you’ll break for about 10 minutes. (Go outside and get a snack or a drink. There’s vending machines nearby.) Come back and watch the video on various accidents and how to avoid them and interviews from people whose lives were changed after the accident (family members of victims, etc.). The nice thing is there’s subtitles with furigana, so again, another good opportunity for studying!
• During the video, the instructor checked the back of our licenses. For the ones with different stickers that required extra training, they are told where to go (upstairs). If you didn’t have an accident or get a traffic ticket, then you don’t have to worry about it. You’re almost done!
• Once the video is over, you can leave and take the materials you’re given with you. On the back of your card is also a number. When you pick up your license, you will show them the backside of your card so they can find your license faster. They will give you the new copy and return your old copy. Check your new license for errors so they can correct it right then and there. Otherwise, you can leave. Drive carefully because it’ll be awfully awkward if you got into an accident right outside the driving center just after your license renewal!

One of the other things you’ll hear during the presentation is the details about the magical Gold Card which you can get after a total of 5 years of driving with a clean record. So by the time you renew your license a second time, you might be eligible. If you want to know the perks and the fastest way to get it, check out this article.