Getting your driver's license in Japan is nothing like what I went through to get mine back home in the US. What I did was take a written exam, which probably took a good 45 minutes or so. Afterwards, I was followed by an officer out to my own car. Once we were inside, I was instructed to drive out onto the road and drive straight. Once we got down the road a little ways, I was instructed to turn left off of the road onto a large dirt lot. I was then told to turn around and get back onto the road going in the direction that we had just come from. She then told me to turn back into the office where we had started and to park. That was it. I passed and was now legal to operate a motor vehicle capabe of causing all sorts of havoc to the world.
知ってました？アメリカの運転免許って45分くらいの筆記試験をして、警察官を自分の親や友達の車の助手席に乗せて、警察官の指示のもと、真っ直ぐ運転して、何回か右・左に曲がって、来た道を戻って、出発地点の試験場に戻るというたった5分くらいの運転で終わりなんです！（自分が免許取ったところは少なくともこんなんでした）こうして、免許を取得できてみんな運転してるんです。日本に戻ってきて、アメリカの免許から書き換える場合は3年以上乗っていた証明が必要で、免許センターで試験があったと思います。
In Japan, it's not so simple. For a Japanese citizen, not holding a foreign driver's license, one is required to go to driving school. At the driving school, you are taken out on a closed course to practice along with an instructor. This closed course consists of many turns, stop signs, traffic lights, parallel parking, reversing, hills, and sometimes even fake railroad tracks. Once you are capable enough, they will then take you out on the public roads for more real practice. Once you've finished driving school, you are then allowed to attempt to pass the actual license tests. The tests consist of a driving test to get your permit for driving with an instructor, a written exam, followed by another driving exam. The driving exams are carried out on a closed course similar to the ones at the driving schools. While taking the driving test, the officer is doing mirror checks, accelaration checks, stopping checks, turn signal timing checks, eye direction checks, hand maneuvaring on the steering wheel checks, etc. And on top of all of that, you have to memorize the course and know where to go since the officer remains silent while he's examing and rating your skills. And to add even more pressure, there is often another student in the back seat of the car waiting for their turn next.
でも、日本ではそういうわけにはいかないですよね。日本に滞在していて、国際免許を持っていない人は、自動車学校へ通います。自動車学校では横に教官を乗せて、運転の基本から、縦列駐車、坂道発進などを学びます。そして、自動車学校を卒業して、筆記試験を受け、免許センターで実技試験を受けるといった流れです。この試験ってとなりの試験官がだまって色んなポイントをチェックしてるんで緊張しますよね。更には、後部座席にほかの人が乗ってるのでさらに緊張しますよね。
Once you obtain your driver's license, for the first year you are required to place a magnet on the back of your car indicating that you are a new driver. They also have different magnets indicating elderly drivers and deaf or hard of hearing drivers.
初心者マークやを付けるというのも日本の独特なことです。もみじまーく、高齢者マークとよばれる70歳以上の人が運転する際につける磁石のマークなんかも特徴的です。ほかの国ではどんな感じで免許が取れるんだろう？
