Category: Driver’s License

These are the steps for people who applied for a translation through JAF (the Japan Automobile Federation) after arriving in Japan.

You pick it up by printing it on a multifunction copier at a convenience store. The steps are written so you can get through by matching the words on the screen, even if you can’t read Japanese.

Applying and paying

You apply online from inside Japan, on JAF’s 運転免許証翻訳文 申請サイト (on the English screens, JAF Foreign Driver’s License Translation Application Site), logging in with your email address and a password. The application screens are in Japanese, English and Chinese (Simplified).

You can also pay at a convenience store.

The fee is 6,000 yen (for a translation to drive in Japan).

Some guidance says it takes 2–3 business days on average to be issued; other guidance says usually 1–2 weeks. Plan around the longer one, 1–2 weeks.

The order, up to printing

The order is: apply and pay → the translation is issued (as a rule, the day after you pay or later) → find your number on My Page → print it at a convenience store.

1. Log in to the application site and find your 8-digit or 10-digit number on My Page.

【Japanese on My Page】発行状況を確認する (“check issue status”)

1. The number of digits decides which store you go to: 8 digits means 7-Eleven, and 10 digits means FamilyMart, Lawson or Ministop. Enter the number on that store’s multifunction copier.

【Japanese on the machine’s screen】7-Eleven: プリント (“print”) → ネットプリント (“net print”)

【Japanese on the machine’s screen】FamilyMart: プリント (“print”) → ネットワークプリント (“network print”)

【Japanese on the machine’s screen】Lawson, Ministop: ネットワークプリント (“network print”)

At 7-Eleven, press 「確認」 (“confirm”) before and after you enter the number, then on the print preview screen press 「これで決定 次へ進む」 (“confirm this and go to the next step”).

【Japanese on the machine’s screen】7-Eleven: 確認 (“confirm”) → これで決定 次へ進む (“confirm this and go to the next step”)

At FamilyMart, Lawson and Ministop, press 「つぎへ」 (“next”) after you enter the number, and press 「つぎへ」 again on the print preview screen.

【Japanese on the machine’s screen】FamilyMart, Lawson, Ministop: つぎへ (“next”) → つぎへ (“next”)

1. Put the amount shown on the screen into the machine (20 yen a sheet).
2. Wait until the paper comes out. At 7-Eleven, don’t press 「中止」 (“cancel”) while it’s printing. When it’s finished, take the paper and press the last button.

【Japanese on the machine’s screen】7-Eleven: 終了 (“finish”) (don’t press 「中止」 (“cancel”) while it’s printing)

【Japanese on the machine’s screen】FamilyMart, Lawson, Ministop: 終了する (“finish”)

The paper that comes out

You get 1 or 2 sheets; if 2 come out, the second, white sheet is the 別紙 (“separate sheet”), which explains things like your license classes. You need it with the translation when you drive, and the bottom left of the first sheet says whether there is one.

Only the printed paper is valid. You can’t drive with a copy, a PDF or a photo.

Count the sheets right there, and take them all with you.

If it doesn’t work

You can print it only once. If something goes wrong, the place to ask is JAF, through the message section on My Page.

If you get stuck at the machine, don’t keep pressing buttons — switch to another route: the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office if you’re from Taiwan, ALADDIN for everyone else. How to get one is in “Forgot Your License, or Turned Away at the Counter”.

Once the paper’s in your hand, put it away with your original license and head for the rental car counter.

※ The application screens, fees, time it takes and printing steps at convenience stores can change. When you actually use them, check JAF’s guidance.

Official sources we checked (3)

• JAF：翻訳文の申請方法 (JAF: How to apply for a translation, in Japanese)
• JAF：翻訳文を印刷する－コンビニエンスストアのマルチコピー機の使い方－（PDF） (JAF: Printing your translation — how to use a convenience store multifunction copier, PDF in Japanese)
• JAF：運転免許証翻訳文 申請サイト (JAF Foreign Driver’s License Translation Application Site, in Japanese)

If you’ll be driving in Japan on a Taiwanese license, what you need is a “Japanese translation” (日文譯本).

The 國際駕照 (international driving permit) issued in Taiwan can’t be used in Japan.

Instead, with a translation attached to your original Taiwanese license, you can drive in Japan.

What got stricter in Japan in October 2025 is the procedure for converting a foreign license into a Japanese license (外免切替, gaimen kirikae). As a traveler, driving on your Taiwanese license with a translation hasn’t changed (as of October 2026).

Licenses from some European countries, such as Germany and France, are the same translation type.

Get the translation in Taiwan before you go

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan (台北駐日経済文化代表処) also says it’s quicker to apply at a motor vehicle office in Taiwan before you leave.

Get it in Taiwan, and you can plan to drive from the day you land in Japan.

At a motor vehicle office, the same day

You can apply for the translation at the counter of any highway motor vehicle office around Taiwan.

At the counter, you get it the same day.

The fee is NT$100 per copy.

Bring your original driver’s license and your ID. Some guidance says a copy of your ID is fine, while some offices ask for the original.

You can apply only while your license is still valid. If it has expired, renew your license before you leave, then apply.

If you don’t have time to go to a counter, you can also apply online by logging in to 監理服務網 (the motor vehicle services website) as a member, and the translation comes by mail. It takes 7–12 business days to arrive, and registered postage costs NT$28.

Stop by a counter before your trip, and you’ll have your copy that same day. It’ll already be in your hand on the way home.

If you get it after you arrive in Japan

You can still get a translation after you arrive in Japan.

• JAF (the Japan Automobile Federation): apply online from inside Japan, then print it at a convenience store to pick it up
• The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan: Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama
• ALADDIN (訪日運転者支援協会, an association that supports visiting drivers): a counter in Tokyo

All of these take days, and JAF can take as long as 1–2 weeks. For a translation from the representative office, check first with the company you booked with that you can rent with it.

How to pick one up from JAF is in “Picking Up Your JAF Translation at a Convenience Store“, and how to get one from the representative office or ALADDIN is in “Forgot Your License, or Turned Away at the Counter“. If you’ll be driving soon after you land, get a copy in Taiwan before you board the plane.

Does the address on your license match the translation?

The address on the translation has to match the address on your license.

At Times Car Rental, if the address on the translation isn’t exactly the same as on the license, they won’t accept the translation. Even if it’s the same place, a different way of writing it won’t pass.

If the address on your license has changed, for example because you moved, get a new translation, as JAF advises.

Before you leave, lay your license and translation side by side and compare the address line by line. You can fix it at home before the counter points it out.

How long is the translation valid? Can you reuse an old one?

According to JAF, the translation is valid for as long as the original license is.

But if you renew your license, or details such as your address change, you need a new translation.

You can drive in Japan for 1 year from the day you arrive. If your license expires before then, that’s where it ends.

If you already have a translation you got before, set it beside your current license. Whether the details match tells you if you can still use it.

An older license with no expiration date?

Some Taiwanese licenses have no expiration date on them.

When you apply, check at the counter whether a translation can be made from your license as it is.

Renting a bigger vehicle?

Nippon Rent-A-Car advises checking, before you book, which vehicle classes your translation lets you drive. They say more and more people are booking a 10-seater on a license that covers vehicles seating up to 9.

If you’ll be traveling in a bigger vehicle, take one look at the vehicle-class field on your translation before you book, and you can relax.

What do you show at the counter?

At the rental car counter, you show these three.

Your Taiwanese driver’s license (the original)

The Japanese translation (the printed paper, plus the 別紙 (“separate sheet”) if there is one)

Your passport

If someone else will take turns driving, they need theirs too. Nippon Rent-A-Car and Toyota Rent a Car ask for documents from everyone who’ll drive, but this differs between companies, so check the guidance from the company you’re booking with.

At the airport, check for your entry stamp

Along with the translation, the counter checks the entry stamp in your passport for the date you arrived in Japan. It’s the landing permission mark you get at immigration; the companies’ English guidance calls it a stamp, and sometimes a seal.

At Toyota Rent a Car, you can’t rent a car if they can’t confirm your entry date. You don’t get this stamp at the automated gates, so at the airport, as JNTO (the Japan National Tourism Organization) advises, line up for a staffed immigration counter.

Once you’re through immigration, open your passport before you go on to customs. If there’s no stamp, show the officer this sentence right there.

【Japanese to show the officer】上陸許可のスタンプをお願いします。 (“A landing permission stamp, please.”)

Check it here, and at the rental car counter you can show the stamped page just as it is.

Once you have all three

Your Taiwanese license, the translation, your passport.

With those three in hand, you can drive Japan’s roads at your own pace.

The scenery you’ve only ever watched from a train window — now you can turn the wheel and drive right into it.

※ Where to apply for a translation, the fees and time it takes, and what the rental car counter checks can change, and differ by company. Before you leave, check the guidance from the issuing organization and from the company you’re booking with.

Official sources we checked (5)

• 警察庁：外国の運転免許をお持ちの方 (National Police Agency: For holders of foreign driver’s licenses, in Japanese)
• JAF：翻訳文の申請方法 (JAF: How to apply for a translation, in Japanese)
• 台北駐日經濟文化代表處：台灣駕照之日文譯本申請 (Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan: Applying for a Japanese translation of a Taiwanese license, in Traditional Chinese)
• 我的E政府：駕照日文譯本申請 (My E-Government: Applying for a Japanese translation of a driver’s license, in Traditional Chinese)
• 日本政府観光局（JNTO）：日本租車 (Japan National Tourism Organization: Renting a car in Japan, in Traditional Chinese)

If you’ll be driving in Japan on a US or Korean license, get yourself one International Driving Permit.

You get it before you leave, in your own country.

JNTO (the Japan National Tourism Organization) also says to get it before you leave. Only a permit from the issuing body in your own country is valid.

If you have a Taiwanese license, what you need is a Japanese translation, not an International Driving Permit (the same goes for licenses from some European countries, such as Germany and France). How to get one is in “Driving in Japan with a Japanese Translation”.

What kind of permit works in Japan?

A paper International Driving Permit, in booklet form.

Card-type and smartphone versions can’t be used in Japan.

The format is the one from the 1949 Geneva Convention. Inside the booklet, the convention’s name is printed as “CONVENTION ON ROAD TRAFFIC OF 19 SEPTEMBER 1949”.

Some countries also issue one in the format of the 1968 Vienna Convention (Thailand, for example). You can’t drive in Japan with that one, so if your country issues both, choose the 1949 one when you apply.

Which parts of the booklet does the counter check?

Toyota Rent a Car’s pre-check page and Nippon Rent-A-Car’s guidance both list what they check in the booklet.

• That it’s a booklet, and that the convention named is the 1949 one
• The date of issue (within 1 year of issue)
• Your photo
• The stamps for the classes of vehicle you can drive

The last one, the vehicle class, is the easiest to miss. One of the common problems Nippon Rent-A-Car lists is a booklet with no stamp or sticker for the class of car you booked.

When your booklet arrives, open it and check these four yourself. If you notice something before you leave, there’s still time to fix it.

Where do you get one in the US?

In the US, only two organizations authorized by the US Department of State can issue an International Driving Permit.

AAA and AATA (American Automobile Touring Alliance).

Some websites claim to issue International Driving Permits, but the US government warns that many of them are scams. Apply through one of these two.

You don’t have to be a AAA member to apply there. You can apply at a branch, by mail or online.

Whichever way you choose, you need the same things.

An application form

A passport-style photo

A valid US driver’s license

A $20 fee (as of September 2026; depending on how you apply, photos and shipping may cost extra)

You have to be 18 or older to apply.

According to AAA, if you apply at a branch, you can usually pick it up the same day. By mail or online, it takes longer.

Many branches can take your photo too. If you’re leaving soon, going to a branch is the quickest route.

Where do you get one in Korea?

You can apply for an International Driving Permit (국제운전면허증) at driver’s license test centers and police stations around the country. You can also apply at the international driving permit centers at Incheon Airport and Gimhae Airport, or online.

At a test center or police station counter, you get it on the spot (within 3 hours, during office hours). Online, it takes 14 days in all.

If you’re going to a police station, check first that it issues permits, and bring a credit or debit card.

There are three things to bring.

Your passport

Your Korean driver’s license

A passport-standard photo taken within the last 6 months

The fee is 9,000 won (the amount checked in September 2026).

The center at Incheon Airport is in Terminal 1 and is open from 9:00 to 18:00. Even so, don’t count on your departure day — get it ahead of time.

Your English name should match your passport exactly

According to the Korea Road Traffic Authority, if the English name on your International Driving Permit doesn’t match your passport, the permit isn’t recognized as valid.

When you apply, set your passport beside the form and compare them letter by letter.

A license with English on the back isn’t enough on its own

According to the Korean consulates general in Fukuoka and Sapporo, you can’t drive in Japan on a Korean driver’s license that has English printed on it (영문 운전면허증).

As the Road Traffic Authority advises, bring all three together: your International Driving Permit, your Korean license and your passport.

When should you get it?

An International Driving Permit can be used in Japan within 1 year of its issue date, and within 1 year of your arrival in Japan.

Time it so your whole trip falls within 1 year of the issue date.

Your own country’s driver’s license also has to stay valid for the whole trip.

If it’s due to expire during your trip, renew it first.

What do you show at the counter?

At the rental car counter, you show these three.

Your own country’s driver’s license (the original)

Your International Driving Permit

Your passport

Nippon Rent-A-Car doesn’t accept copies or digital versions.

If someone else will take turns driving, they need theirs too. Nippon Rent-A-Car and Toyota Rent a Car ask for the license and passport of everyone who’ll drive.

This does differ between companies, though. If you’ll take turns driving, check the guidance from the company you’re booking with.

At the airport, check for your entry stamp

At the rental car counter, they check the entry stamp in your passport to see the date you arrived in Japan. It’s the landing permission mark you get at immigration; the companies’ English guidance calls it a stamp, and sometimes a seal.

At Toyota Rent a Car, you can’t rent a car if they can’t confirm your entry date. You don’t get this stamp if you go through the automated gates at the airport, so, as JNTO (the Japan National Tourism Organization) advises, line up for a staffed immigration counter.

Before you go on to customs, open your passport and look for the stamp. If it isn’t there, show the immigration officer this sentence right there.

【Japanese to show the officer】上陸許可のスタンプをお願いします。 (“A landing permission stamp, please.”)

Open it once before customs, and on the day you pick up the car you can hand over your passport already open at that page.

One booklet in hand — now, where to?

Your own driver’s license, your International Driving Permit, your passport.

With those three together, you’re over the hardest part of getting ready.

Along the coast, or up into the mountains? From here on, it’s the fun kind of planning.

※ The procedure, fees and time it takes to issue an International Driving Permit differ by country and issuing organization and can change, and the documents a rental car counter asks for differ by company too. Before you leave, check the guidance from the issuer and from the company you’re booking with.

Official sources we checked (5)

• 警視庁：外国で取得した国際運転免許証で日本国内を運転するには (Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department: Driving in Japan with an International Driving Permit obtained abroad, in Japanese)
• 警視庁：ジュネーブ条約締約国等に関する情報 (Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department: Information on Geneva Convention countries and others, in Japanese)
• 日本政府観光局（JNTO）：Things to know when renting a car (Japan National Tourism Organization, in English)
• USAGov：International driver’s license for U.S. citizens (in English)
• 도로교통공단：국제운전면허증 (Korea Road Traffic Authority: International Driving Permit, in Korean)

If you’re renting a car in Japan, getting ready is simple.

What you need is your own country’s license, plus one more document.

Your own license alone won’t let you drive in Japan. It’s the second document that makes it valid for driving.

If you’re wondering whether you should rent a car in the first place, start with “Train or Rental Car in Japan?“

The “one more” comes in two types

The second document is one of these.

• An International Driving Permit (also called an IDP)
• A Japanese translation (your license translated into Japanese, a document from a designated organization)

Which one you need isn’t something you choose.

It depends on the country that issued your license.

For some countries, neither type can be used. If you think yours might be one of them, ask the rental car company before you book whether you can rent with your license.

From the US, Korea and some other countries: an International Driving Permit

If you’re from the US, Korea or some other countries, you need an International Driving Permit.

The one that works in Japan is the booklet made to the format of the 1949 Geneva Convention.

Some countries also issue one in the format of the 1968 Vienna Convention (Thailand, for example). You can’t drive in Japan with that one, so if your country issues both, choose the 1949 one when you apply.

You get it before you leave, in your own country.

How to get one, and what the counter checks, are in “Driving in Japan with an International Driving Permit“.

From Taiwan and some other places: a Japanese translation

If you’re from Taiwan, you need a Japanese translation.

The 國際駕照 (international driving permit) issued in Taiwan can’t be used in Japan. You get a translation instead.

When you drive, you carry the original license with the translation.

Licenses from some European countries, such as Germany and France, are this type too.

You can get the translation in Taiwan before you leave, or after you arrive in Japan.

How to get one, and what to watch for with your address and expiration date, are in “Driving in Japan with a Japanese Translation“.

Not sure which one you are?

The surest guide is the rental car company you’re booking with.

Toyota Rent a Car’s site, for example, has a page called “Check Your Driving Eligibility in Japan”; answer the questions and it tells you whether you can drive in Japan.

It’s in English, and in Traditional Chinese and Korean too.

Note that Toyota Rent a Car doesn’t accept International Driving Permits from countries whose format the Japanese authorities say they’re still checking.

Look up your own case once before you book, and you’ll be a step ahead of what the counter asks.

What to look over at home before you leave

All you do at home before you leave is open your documents and look them over.

Check that you have the originals, and that the second document says the right things (on an International Driving Permit, the stamp for the class of car you’re booking; on a translation, your address). Then, when you land, get an entry stamp at a staffed immigration counter.

Where exactly to look is in “Driving in Japan with an International Driving Permit” and “Driving in Japan with a Japanese Translation” — each covers only its own type.

Check that much at home, and you’re ready.

Three things to show at the counter

Your own country’s license (the original)

The second document (an International Driving Permit or a Japanese translation)

Your passport

Once you have those three, the next question is where you’ll drive.

For the first 10 minutes before you set off, see “Your First 10 Minutes Driving in Japan.”

※ The documents you need to drive, and how the counter checks them, can differ by country and by rental car company. Check your own case in the guidance from the company you’re booking with.

Official sources we checked (5)

• 警察庁：外国の運転免許をお持ちの方 (National Police Agency: For holders of foreign driver’s licenses, in Japanese)
• 警視庁：ジュネーブ条約締約国等に関する情報 (Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department: Information on Geneva Convention countries and others, in Japanese)
• 警視庁：外国で取得した国際運転免許証で日本国内を運転するには (Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department: Driving in Japan with an International Driving Permit obtained abroad, in Japanese)
• 日本政府観光局（JNTO）：Things to know when renting a car (Japan National Tourism Organization, in English)
• JAF：翻訳文の申請方法 (JAF: How to apply for a translation, in Japanese)