1. Concerning the ability of citizens of one country being able to drive in another country simply with their country's driver's license along with a translation of said license (issued by a government authority)

In order to try to prevent any risk of dangerous situations on the road, and strive for road traffic safety and harmony, only citizens from countries that have a driver's license standard equal to Japan (Federation of Switzerland, Federal Republic of Germany, Republic of France) are able to drive in Japan needing only their country's driver's license, along with a translation of said license (issued by a government authority). There is a disparity between countries on this point, however, currently Japan only grants this privilege to the above three countries.

Consequently, drivers from countries other than the ones listed above must either possess an International Driver's License, or change their home country license to a Japanese license.