Converting my Algerian driving licence in Japan — and why it became Menkyo Helper

In Japan, almost every company expects its employees to have a driving licence. Mine did too: my workplace asked me to bring a Japanese licence, and I planned to get it by converting my Algerian one (外免切替, gaimen kirikae). I applied in June. I thought it would take a few weeks. It took months, several failures and a lot of money — and it is the reason Menkyo Helper exists.

This is what happened, step by step, and what I would tell any foreigner starting the same process today.

Step 1: just getting someone on the phone#

The first problem was that every guide I found online was in Japanese. I translated my licence through JAF (the official translation you need for a conversion), searched for the licence centres near me, and the closest one was Kadoma (門真運転免許試験場) in Osaka.

Then I called. Nobody picked up. I called again the next day, and the day after — every call cost me money. After a lot of searching I discovered why: the centre only accepts conversion calls on one specific day, during one specific hour. On that day I called for about 40 minutes; each time the automated system picked up, I was charged again. I was frustrated, until finally a person answered and gave me an appointment for the application day.

Tip: before you start calling, find the exact day and hour your centre takes foreign-licence calls (it is written in Japanese on the centre's page). It saves days and phone credit.

Step 2: application day and an "investigation"#

On the day there were not many applicants. The staff told me to wait 30 minutes and they would call me. I waited more than two hours. When I went back to ask, they explained the problem: the Algerian licence is new to them. Their records were for the old paper Algerian licence; they had never seen the new biometric card.

They asked me for a certificate for it from the consulate. I told them there is no such certificate, and that the rules only ask for the licence card itself. After another 30 minutes they called me again and started what felt like an investigation: how many steps I had passed in Algeria, what kind of tests, where, and how the learning worked.

Their decision: I had to pass both the written test and the driving test. Japan lets drivers from some countries convert with paperwork only; for many others, including Algeria in my case, the tests are required. I told them my company wanted the licence within one month. The staff laughed and told me that was impossible. At the time I didn't understand why. I do now.

Step 3: the written test — and the first version of the app#

The written test was scheduled for the next month. I could take it in Arabic, but there was no course online in Arabic to prepare with. So I built one.

The first version of Menkyo Helper was only in Arabic: I translated all the past exam questions I could find, recorded every step of the procedure, and saved everything in the app. I studied with my own app — and I passed.

After the test I remembered exactly how the real exam works — the format, the timing, how the questions are worded — so I rebuilt the app's exam system to match it. And I decided to make the app for everyone, not only Arabic speakers: today it is in 12 languages (Arabic, English, Japanese, French, Chinese, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Indonesian, Korean, Filipino, Nepali and Burmese).

Step 4: the driving test, three times#

I was confident about the driving test. I failed. I hadn't prepared the way the test expects, so I started reading the rules properly and took driving lessons. After good preparation, I failed again.

My Japanese friends told me the examiners are very strict with this test. Most Japanese learners go through a driving school, which costs many times more than the fees we pay when we take the test directly — so taking the direct route means you have to drive exactly the way the examiners are trained to judge.

So I studied their system. I used machine learning and AI to understand how the examiners score a drive — what they watch, in what order, and what fails you instantly. The AI helped a lot, but I still didn't have the course map and all the small tricks. On my third attempt I completed about 70% of the course and failed again — but this time I understood why.

I took what I learned and redesigned the Drive Coach in the app around the real coaching system I had discovered, built the final version, trained with it in my friend's car — and the next month I got my licence.

Why the app exists — and why Premium is cheap#

A friend of mine failed more than 15 times; it took him over a year of exams. Every attempt costs money, time off work and confidence. Menkyo Helper was built so foreigners don't have to waste that.

That is also why the subscription is cheap. Studying is free: every chapter can be studied at no cost, and chapters unlock one at a time as you progress. Premium — from $1.77 a week, $2.77 for two weeks or $4.77 a month — opens everything at once, offline study, the full lesson videos, unlimited mock exams and Drive Coach. The money keeps the machine learning and the servers running.

What Menkyo Helper does today#

• More than 1,100 practice questions, each with an explanation in your language that points at the trap in the wording, not only the rule.
• Mock exams that follow the real format and pass mark for each licence type — provisional (仮免), full (本免), foreign-licence conversion (外免切替), moped (原付) and class 2 (二種).
• A road-sign trainer, spaced repetition and a listen mode for studying on the train.
• Guides for all 47 prefectures: documents, fees and the order of events at the licence centre.
• Drive Coach: pick the situations you want to practise and get a course on real roads near you, guided by voice like an examiner.
• After the licence: a scanner for the 車検証 and 自賠責 papers and reminders for renewal and inspection dates, in your language.

What I'd tell you if you are starting now#

1. Plan in months, not weeks. If your country needs the tests, a one-month deadline is not realistic — tell your employer early.
2. Get the JAF translation first, and find your centre's foreign-licence call day and hour before you dial.
3. Bring everything about your licence, and be ready to explain how you got it: the steps, the tests, the training.
4. Don't underestimate the driving test. It judges a very specific way of driving — learn the checks, the order and the course before you go.
5. Use your failures. Ask what went wrong each time; every attempt teaches you something the next one needs.

If you are going through this now, I built Menkyo Helper for you. You can try it at menkyo.7-md.com, or read the project page.

Menkyo Helper is an unofficial study aid; it is not affiliated with the police or any licence centre.