Question # 30. Will I need a driver’s license to teach ESL in Japan?
Of course, it depends on whether or not you have a car. If you have a driver's license in your home country, be sure it has been current for at least 6 months (unless the rules changed) BEFORE going to Japan.
Too many times, new ESL teachers renew their licenses right before leaving for Japan. Wrong.
The Japanese version of the DMV will NOT recognize new licenses.
It costs so much money to get a license in Japan (300,000-400,000 yen) that there was a time that the Japanese went to the US on a Get-a-driver's-license vacation.
It was cheaper to fly to America, spend a week in driver's training, get a license and fly back than to go to Japanese driving school.
The laws changed to prevent that.
Additionally, the Japanese DMV now requires new foreigners in Japan to prove that they had been driving for 6 months or longer in their home countries before receiving their Japanese licenses. And in some cases, driving tests are required.
Many moons ago when I was in Japan…I took my US driver's license to the DMV in Japan, smiled and waited a lot, and then went home with a Japanese license.
Not any more.
How hard is it to get a driver's license in the prefecture where you live?
Tags: 2960, 2980, 3457, 3549, 3550, 3551, 3552POSTED IN: ESL
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