Driving in Japan on an Australian licence: the IDP year and converting in Tokyo

You get a year on an international permit, then you need a Japanese licence. The good news: Australians convert without sitting a single test.

The short version

• An International Driving Permit (IDP) only works alongside your current Australian licence, and only for up to one year from when you land in Japan [1][3].
• If you live in Japan and pop home for less than three months, coming back does not restart the clock. A fresh IDP doesn't help either [3].
• Australia is on Tokyo's list of places whose licence holders skip both the knowledge test and the driving test when converting (gaimen kirikae) [2]. The tougher tests brought in from 1 October 2025 don't apply to you [5].
• You need a Japanese translation of your licence (usually from the Japan Automobile Federation, JAF), proof you spent at least 90 days in Australia after your licence was issued, and a residence certificate (juminhyo) [1][2].
• Converting an ordinary car licence in Tokyo costs ¥4,600 in fees, plus the translation [2].

How long you can drive on an IDP

Japan doesn't accept an Australian licence on its own. You need your Australian licence plus an IDP, carried together. The IDP is a translation booklet, not a licence, and it's useless without the card [1].

Get the IDP in Australia before you leave, from your state's motoring club. Smartraveller says the same thing: sort it out before you fly [4]. Japan recognises permits issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention, which is the kind Australian clubs issue for Japan.

The one-year rule

Your IDP is valid in Japan for whichever ends first: one year from the IDP's issue date, or one year from the day you landed in Japan [3]. The Australian Embassy puts it simply: up to 365 days after you first arrive [1].

The three-month trap

This is the bit that catches Australians who live here. Prefectural police guidance says a new driving period only starts if you were outside Japan for more than three months before landing again [3].

So if you're a resident (you're on the resident register with a ward office) and you fly home to Sydney for six weeks over Christmas, you can't come back with a new IDP and reset the year. Police guidance is blunt that an IDP obtained overseas in that situation "is not valid in Japan" [3].

Get it wrong and you're driving without a valid licence. That can mean up to three years' imprisonment or a fine of up to ¥500,000 [3]. Not the souvenir you were after.

The embassy also notes that local authorities expect anyone living in Japan (not a 90-day visitor) to drive on a Japanese licence [1]. If you're staying more than a year, plan to convert early rather than at the deadline.

Converting your licence: gaimen kirikae

Gaimen kirikae (外免切替) means switching a foreign licence to a Japanese one. For most of the world it now involves a 50-question knowledge test with a 90% pass mark and a closed-course driving test. Those tougher tests took effect on 1 October 2025, and pass rates in some prefectures dropped sharply [5].

Australians sidestep all of that. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department lists Australia among the countries and regions whose licence holders are exempt from both the knowledge test and the driving skills test [2]. The Australian Embassy confirms you can convert "without a written or practical driving test" [1]. Reports on the 2025 changes say the exempt list was left alone [5]. You still sit an aptitude test (vision, colour vision, hearing and basic motor skills), so bring your glasses [2].

What hasn't changed for anyone

The 2025 changes did tighten one thing that affects Australians too: hotel addresses no longer cut it. You need a proper registered address and a juminhyo [5]. Tokyo already required one, and it must be the original without your My Number on it [2]. Short-term visitors can't convert.

The 90-day rule

You must have spent at least 90 days in Australia after your licence was issued. Days don't need to be consecutive, and arrival and departure days count [2].

This catches people who got their licence shortly before moving, or who've renewed and been issued a card that only shows a recent date. The answer:

• If your licence doesn't show the original issue date, get a driving record from your state transport authority that does, and have it translated too [1][2].
• To prove your time in Australia, request your International Movement Records from the Department of Home Affairs online [1]. Tokyo police recommend getting travel history records before you come to Japan [2]. Bring every passport you've had, including expired ones [2].

Step by step: converting in Tokyo

1. Register your address. Get your juminhyo from the ward office (without My Number). Your address must be in Tokyo to convert there [2].
2. Order your translation. JAF translates Australian licences for a fee. The embassy doesn't do translations [1]. Allow a week or two.
3. Gather the paperwork. Valid Australian licence (expired ones aren't accepted, and neither is an IDP), translation, juminhyo, passport(s), proof of 90 days in Australia, and a 3 cm × 2.4 cm photo [2]. Complete the "list of duration of stay" form if you don't have travel history records [2].
4. Pick a centre. Tokyo has three licence centres that handle conversions: Fuchu, Samezu (Shinagawa ward) and Koto (Koto ward). Koto handles only test-exempt licences like ours [2].
5. Arrive early. There are no bookings at the application desk; it's first come, first served. Desks open on weekdays from 8:30 am, close for lunch from 11 am to 1 pm, and stop at 3 pm. Centres are closed on public holidays and from 29 December to 3 January [2].
6. Bring an interpreter if your Japanese isn't up to paperwork. The police say so plainly [2].
7. Do the aptitude test and pay. Test-exempt applicants may get the licence the same day, but it's not guaranteed. Allow up to half a day [2].

What it costs (Tokyo, 2026)

Your new licence

First-time Japanese licences have a green stripe and expire one month after your third birthday from the issue date. You'll also need to display novice driver stickers for a year [2]. After that, a clean record can earn you a five-year blue or gold licence.

Your Australian licence may stay valid at home, so keep it renewed. Our Australian driver's licence abroad guide covers renewing from overseas. Some states want your renewal paperwork witnessed at an Australian mission, which the embassy's notarial service can do [1].

What's different from driving at home

Good news first: Japan drives on the left, like us [4]. Roads are well-maintained and traffic is orderly [4]. But a few things will trip you up.

• Zero alcohol. Smartraveller notes it's illegal to drive in Japan with any alcohol in your bloodstream [4]. No "one schooner" rule.
• Stop signs are triangles. Red, pointing down, with 止まれ (tomare) written on them. Railway crossings usually need a full stop too.
• Winter driving. Heading to Hakuba or Niseko? Check for snow tyres, chains and a dig-out kit [4].
• Tolls everywhere. Expressways are tolled. Most locals use an ETC card in the car.
• Narrow streets. Many Tokyo backstreets are barely wider than a hatchback, with pedestrians and bikes sharing them.

Do you even need a car in Tokyo?

Honestly, most Australians in Tokyo don't. Trains are fast and frequent, parking is scarce and expensive, and to register a car you need a police parking certificate (shako shomeisho) proving you have an off-street space. Many flats don't come with one.

Where a licence does earn its keep:

• Weekends away. Rental cars or car-share for trips to Hakone, the Izu Peninsula, Nikko or the ski fields.
• Families in outer wards or out in Tama, where school runs and big shops are spread out.
• Work. Some jobs outside central Tokyo expect a licence.
• ID. A Japanese licence is handy photo ID that isn't your residence card.

Even if you won't drive often, convert within your first year. Doing it later, after your IDP lapses, is the same paperwork but with no fallback. If you're still weighing up costs, our cost of living in Tokyo guide shows how cheaply you can get around on transit alone.

Want to know which centre had the shortest queue last month, or who's selling a car-share membership? Ask in Cooee Japan, our Facebook group for Australians in Japan.

Sources

1. Driving in Japan – Australian Embassy Japan
2. Converting a foreign driver's licence to a Japanese licence – Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department
3. Driving with an international driving permit in Japan – Saitama Prefectural Police
4. Japan travel advice – Smartraveller
5. Foreign driver's licence conversion pass rates plummet after October 2025 changes – SoraNews24

Keep reading

• Your residence card in Tokyo: ward registration and the My Number card
• Moving to Tokyo from Australia: the complete guide
• Cost of living in Tokyo vs Sydney and Melbourne
• Your Australian driver's licence abroad