Person B, Country of Origin: North America
"Having driven for over 15 years, 4 of those years on Japanese streets, I thought I would be okay, but alas all that experience was not enough. After my first failure the test giver started by saying ‘You are a good driver, but...'. The 'but' was followed by two comments about driving school rules that have little base in reality.

After the second test when the test giver told me my driving was okay, but that North American roads were very different from Japanese roads…I was about to explain to her that after 4 years driving in Japan, from Amori to Kagoshima, through Osaka, Nagoya, and parts of Tokyo, I had figured out that the roads were somewhat different!!! Of course, I was completely civil, bowed low, and like every time I failed, I apologized for wasting their time as I knew venting my anger at the test giver was only going to earn me a couple of more trips to Ino-cho.

For the third test I brought a translator, my supervisor, to make sure that I was not misinterpreting their comments. I wasn't, but after failing the third time for reasons that seemed like a joke, I decided to bite the bullet and go for driving lessons. What a shot to my ego, but for my sanity I had to know all the things they were looking for.