At the Samezu Driver's License Center in Tokyo, there used to be dozens of foreign nationals forming lines early in the morning to convert their driver’s licenses from their home countries to Japanese ones.
They first had to take a written test — places were offered on a first-come-first-served basis, though applicants can now make reservations beforehand — followed by a driving test on another day.
This process is much simpler, and even easier, than getting a driver’s license from scratch in Japan, which costs around ¥300,000 ($2,100) and takes months of lessons and practice at a driving school.
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