JDL :: Japanese Driver's License

Yesterday Colleen and I (along with Haga resident Grace) took the first part of the Japanese Driver's Exam. We only got to take the writing part, but we all passed. (Mike: 9/10, Colleen: 7/10.) The driving part is notoriously difficult, horrible, and according to most xenophobic. Word is it is nearly impossible to pass the first or even second time - a friend of a friend had to take it 17 times - but we coughed up for a practice session last weekend, so I'm thinking of that as my first failure. More on/about May 9th when we get behind the wheel.



EDIT: in response to the excellent question posed, Japan requires almost all vehicle-operating foreigners to get a JDL after one year of residency. We are just taking it now because we heard the process can be long and obnoxious so we wanted to get it out of the way. Citizens of some countries (England and Australia, for example) are exempt from this for various reasons: they have stricter driving tests/already drive on the left side of the road/their governments have worked out a deal on their behalf. The US government is supposedly working on some such deal for folks like us, but something tells me its not a high priority.