New Australian License to Japanese license

Hello, people of the forums,

I will soon be leaving to Japan on a working holiday visa. I have come to realize that in order to facilitate the process of finding work in Japan, I may need to either purchase or rent a vehicle upon arrival. While I am acquiring an International Driving Permit, my question lies with obtaining an official Japanese License while I'm in Japan.

From what I read from multiple documents, it appears that Australian driver's licenses can be converted (once translated) to a Japanese license without the need to sit for a test.
I recently obtained my P1 license, but unfortunately, I will be falling just short of 3 months. I have held my learner license since June 2013 however, and still have the official (the dates are written on the old card) driver's license card for it. The multiple documents I read do not state whether or not the said license has to be a full license. While I have only had my Ps in Australia for about two months, I have been driving in Australia since 2011 (I renewed my Learner license in 2013, following the expiry of my previous card - I have now driven over 100 hours, as required in order to sit the full driving test).

I understand this is quite a specific question, and would like your assistance in getting a definite answer as to whether or not I may be able to apply for a Japanese license without having to sit another test, as I have driven for a few years already, simply not on a full license.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for your help!

answer is straight forward no, u can't convert your license since yours is less than 3 months old(full license). Learner license do not count.

The Japanese authority are very strict/bitchy about having the right documents.

You will have to get Japanese license the hard/ expensive way like Japanese do.

I think you have two basic options:

1. Just get an IDP and drive on that. It will be valid for a year, which is the same as your WHV. You'll only really need a full license if you decided to convert to another visa and stay longer. You could even plan to visit home long enough (either on vacation or inbetween visas) to make your minimum time to qualify for a license conversion.

2. If you really think you'll need a Japanese license, then it might be best to delay your departure a few weeks until after you have made your 3 month minimum.

That is to both of you for your reply. Following my post, I received a response to an email I had sent my Japanese Embassy here in Brisbane. They called Japan Police to inquire on my behalf and confirmed that the learner license would not count.

It makes sense, but I wanted confirmation. Thanks for you help!