Tips for passing the new practical Japanese Driver's Test скачать в хорошем качестве

Tips for passing the new practical Japanese Driver's Test

The Japanese driver's license practical exam will likely be one of the more challenging things you face in Japan, and that is saying a lot! The written and practical test were made more difficult starting in October 2025 and I was one of the first wave of foreigners to make the attempt. I don't want to brag, but I am a very good driver. I am a retired police officer and have passed multiple tactical and low speed technical driving courses over my career. I have also had a CDL and driven a fire engine as a certified driver/operator. Even with all of that and spending hours researching this test online, it still took me 5 attempts to pass! So, please don't rely on your driving prowess to pass this thing. Even if you seemingly do everything right, they still might fail you. Every prefecture is a bit different, and each evaluator is different. I had 4 different evaluators for my 5 tests, so I wouldn't have been able to really figure out what each ones preference was. Try not to get discouraged! If you don't pass, keep your head up, it will happen eventually. Another really important thing to realize is that the driving course is like a choreographed dance. You learn a bit of it each time you take the test. I ended up spending 2 hours with a driving instructor on a Saturday at the course so I could learn exactly what they were looking for. I passed on the next attempt. They wanted certain speeds at exact points, moving through intersections at 5-10 kmph, accelerating and braking at certain points, signaling at certain points, etc. Even though I am a good driver, I simply couldn't figure all of that out on my own. Each time I failed, they only told me 2 things I got wrong, and it was different each time. Once I looked too much while turning. Once I was driving too slow. Once I was driving too fast. Once I didn't stop long enough at a flashing stop light... 3-5 very slow seconds is how you should count it in your head. To sum it up, take all the pointers you can get and know that it is possible to pass in one attempt, it is just very rare. It took me 5 and I was the first foreigner to pass in the Kagoshima prefecture under the new rules and that was 21 days into the month. I talked to a person who took 8 times, one that took 9, one that took 11, a person told me of a friend that took 21 times! Just know that this is part of the process, it is frustrating, but you will eventually succeed and enjoy driving in Japan! Please write any questions and I will try to help out. Let me know if the comments how many times it took you to pass!