WITNESS: Devil in the detail for would-be drivers in Japan

(Chang-Ran Kim has covered the Asian auto industry for Reuters in Tokyo for six years. She joined Reuters as a sub-editor in 2000. In the following story, she describes getting a driver's licence in a notoriously draconian system.)

By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia Autos Correspondent

TOKYO (Reuters) - Here's my confession: I was a car industry reporter without a license to drive.

I had let my U.S. driver's license lapse some years ago and, living in Tokyo where it's easier to get around by subway, I didn't feel an immediate need to renew it.

Still, over the years I grew weary of having to decline test-drive offers from the companies I cover. With electric cars and other innovative models coming to market, I decided it was time to bite the bullet.

Besides, I'd heard a lot about how hard it was to get a license under Japan's draconian system and I was curious.

To get a license, you must attend 26 lectures lasting 50 minutes each, and have 34 driving lessons before the final test. If you want an automatic transmission-only license, you only have to take 31 lessons behind the wheel.

The curriculum includes three hours of first-aid training, and a kind of personality test on the first day.

There's no pass or fail in the latter but, through questions such as "Do you often get into long arguments with people?", the instructors analyze your mental disposition and suggest ways to make sure negative aspects don't get in the way of safe driving.

I didn't want to spend every weekend for months on my quest so I decided to enroll in a 16-day course in the sleepy tourist town of Matsuzaki on the Izu peninsula, southwest of Tokyo.

It cost around $2,500 and I was told this was a bargain, although my U.S. Pennsylvania state license took only a few days and $30 to obtain.

The training and lectures during the first week covered what I needed to know to take a written and driving test for a permit. With the permit, you can immediately start practicing on public roads to go for another round of tests.

TRICK QUESTIONS

The driving course in Izu was the size of a football field, with traffic lights, a railroad crossing and a slope to practice starting without stalling. We trained in Toyota sedans, with extra foot brakes for the teachers.

I started the course with a motley crew of Izu locals: a 41-year-old mother, a young man just out of college and a hotel owner who had had his license revoked.

Though we shared little in common, it didn't take long for us to bond, thanks to a common enemy: the quizzes we were required to take at least twice a day to prepare us for the mind-twisting exams ahead.