- o s g o - wrote:

> On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 19:12:11 +0900, Michael Cash
> <mikecash@sunfield.ne.jp> wrote:
>
> >They can't take your UK license. It isn't their property. In fact,
> >they can't even take your Japanese license without either your consent
> >or a court order. There are certain traffic violations where it is
> >routine procedure to confiscate the license and issue a receipt for
> >it, but if you stand firm and refuse to give it to them, they can't
> >take it from you absent an order from a judge.
>
> I *always* use an Int'l lic. after having a Japanese one taken away in
> the 80's for driving too fast.

Can't you get a Japanese license back? Take a class and retest, or
something?

> That is...if u can get away every year...

If you can get away for more than 93 days, every year.

> if not, order it over the Internet.  Now I realize that prof.
> drivers can't do this, but after all, any driver in Japan is
> considered professional.
>
> Saves time, hassles, and many problems, as essentially they can't or
> don't know

I find road checks in the darndest places, such as pulling over *every*
car going up the road from the biggest local shopping center, coming out
of tunnels, or in the literal middle of nowhere in the dark in the dead of
night, in all such cases with no chance of escape.

> what they hell to do with 'ya when you inevitably get
> pulled over.

Fine you for 200,000 yen if they ever find you, for driving without a
valid Japanese license. There is a guy I met last week in Hiroshima who
has encountered police at least three times while driving without a
license. Twice he pretended to have forgotten his Japanese driver's
license, was told to go to the station to show it to them the next day,
ignored them, and the police never called back nor came for him.

The third time was when he hit a bus. A foreign coworker of his also had
an accident without a Japanese license.

Bad news. Insurance also may not cover drivers without valid licenses.

> My two shekels.
> -osgo
>
> -
> *osgo* -- really is johndoe
> USA-JAPAN-ASIA-ISRAEL-GERMANY-INDIA-ISRAEL-JAPAN (world tour so far...)
> Grew up with smelly hippies, reading Hunter S. again.
> Traveling the world -- sure tastes like garlic!
> http://ns.propel.ne.jp/~johndoe/
>
> PGPkey  E4 12 35 50 F0 AA E7 7B CA 70 08 1A 64 2E B1 1A

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