Licence conversion pass rates
After the rules changed on 1 October 2025, far fewer people pass. These are the official figures announced by the National Public Safety Commission.
Before and after the change
| 2024 | Oct–Dec 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Written knowledge check | 92.5% | 42.8% |
| Driving test | 30.4% | 13.1% |
Source: National Public Safety Commission chair's press conference, 5 March 2026 (Japanese).
Why the written check got harder
- 10 picture questions with a 70% pass mark became 50 sentence questions with a 90% pass mark — the same standard as Japanese learners.
- You can now get only 5 wrong. A few guesses on trap questions are enough to fail.
- The traps are usually one word (“always”, “may”), an exception, or an exact number.
Why the driving test got harder
- New tasks such as passing pedestrian crossings were added.
- Not signalling and turning the wrong way are now scored as strictly as for new Japanese drivers.
See the test centre guides for the points examiners deduct.
How to be ready
Practise until you score 48 or more out of 50 on full mocks, in the language you think in. Start with 10 free questions.