converting driver licence

i have been taking the trip back to australia once a year and gettting an international driving licence.

i have just realised that technically this is illegal as i have not been out of the country more than 3 months.

i just read the info on converting a licence.

does ''converting'' mean i have to surrender my australian licence? or can i have both. also what is the total cost?

You are right. You are allowed to use an international driving license only for up to one year, unless you leave Japan for more than three months in between. Otherwise, your international driving license is considered invalid, and you could be charged with driving without a license, obviously a very serious violations of traffic laws. I recommend to get a Japanese license immediately.

does ''converting'' mean i have to surrender my australian licence?

No. You just get a Japanese one in addition to the Australian one.

what is the total cost?

Around 3000 yen for an official translation of your Australian license and around 4000 yen issuance fee, I believe.

Don't Australian nationals have to take a test of some kind first? I know that some nationalities like UK can exchange-and-go, but I thought it wasn't the same for Aussies (rough deal, I know!).

I believe that Australia and Japan also have an agreement for easy "conversion" from an Australian to a Japanese drivers license. It does not involve any theoretical or practical test. Only a very quick eye test.

Uji is right- it is notably US citizens who have to go through a whole rigmarole with taking tests etc. Australians can transfer over easily.

thanks for the quick and helpful responses. my next problem is that my australian licence will expire in August. if i get a japanese licence does that also expire in August?

No, the Japanese license will expire one month after your birth date about 2 or 3 years after it gets issued.

Is it a question of which side of the road the country in question drives on? How about Hong Kong driver's licenses?

I thought you drive on the left-hand side of the road in HK? It's the same in Japan. I have an idea that's not the reason in any case.

Yes, HK also drives on the left, however you are right that is not behind the reciprocal arrangements with certain countries. I did some checking since I last posted. There are other considerations, such as road safety records and the ease with which Japanese citizens obtain overseas licenses from other countries. The US has particular troubles because driver's licenses are issued by individual states. I don't exactly know why HK is not on the exemption list. Road safety, perhaps?

It makes no difference if your home country drives on the left or on the right. Many EU countries require no test in Japan.
Make sure you have the necessary documents showing the date of when you FIRST got your license in your home country. I found this was needed to get my Australian license converted.
Also, Australian licenses are issue by the different States(as the US does).

This is from the US Embassy in Japan's website:

"Prior to June 2002, Japanese law had allowed foreigners bearing international driver licenses to drive indefinitely in Japan. As of June 2002, however, foreigners are only able to drive on an international driver license for up to 12 months, then have to have applied for and received a Japanese driver license. An additional requirement is that the foreigner has to have obtained the international driver license at least three months before first arriving in Japan. We have also heard from a small number of Americans who were told by the police that they could not use international licenses for even 12 months because they were "resident" in Japan.

The driving test in Japan consists of hearing, eyesight, written and practical/road test components. Citizens of 21 countries, not including the United States, are exempt from taking everything but the eye test. Some of these countries met the exemption requirement because the NPA examined their domestic traffic safety record and determined that it was at least as good as Japan's. The NPA stated that these nations also exempt Japanese license holders from taking a driving test, while some states in the United States require Japanese license holders to take a written and/or a road test before acquiring a state driver license.

The Embassy has been in communication with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which acts as a liaison between the federal government and the states on driver licensing requirements and highway safety issues. While the federal government is unable to force individual states to change their driver licensing requirements, NHTSA is in communication with the state motor vehicle administrations regarding licensing requirements for Japanese citizens.

We shared with the NPA statistics which showed that the United States had a risk value much lower than that of Japan's with respect to fatalities as a share of vehicle kilometers traveled, but were told that the Japanese police still needed to see the safety records of each individual state."