The driver's license fiasco ends
As you would have read, this was not a pleasant experience two weeks ago. This time around, we had more documents and information than was outlined on the "new" guideline sheet. We felt pretty sure that nothing could go wrong now.
It was the same situation - I had to make an appointment to process my application in advance; attend the 交通センター (こうつうせんたあ, koutsuu sentaa = Transport Centre) between 1:00-1:30pm, their only opening time, and hope I didn't get the same fool. As soon as I arrived though, there he was. The same old man that my wife scrunched up the paper and tossed over the counter in his direction. The same man with ridiculously bad interpersonal skills for someone working in customer service. Anyway, he was there with one other elderly lady, and I was lucky enough to get her. It was interesting to note that the lady served before me suffered the same fate I had 2 weeks prior with the absent document (Certificate of Residence - juuminhyou). Again, more evidence that the process is faulty and the communication to the public is lacking. Just ask someone (native English speaker) to check what is needed and and create a document that is then easily accessible!
An hour had already disappeared before my number was called. As I approached the counter, the old man (I'll now refer to him as "fool") leant over and obviously briefed her on who I was. I put on a big smile and happy demeanour to disguise my inner frustration. I started pulling out the original documents and copies and placed them in the exact order as listed on the guideline sheet. The old lady then messed them up a little, got sidetracked with a previous customer, forgot where she put her necessary belongings, forgot where she was up to with me (nowhere) and then finally started going through it from the beginning.
Then, the first ridiculous question. On inspecting my passport, she noticed that there were no stamps from the Australian side (i.e. "Departed dd/mm/yyyy") after 2010. She asked me where they were, like it was my fault that Immigration didn't do the stamps and I was making her life difficult. I calmly explained that I believe Australian Immigration was now using the electronic chip in the passport for all arrivals/departures and this would explain why it suddenly stopped and cannot be found in my passport. This blew her mind, she didn't know what to do. I suddenly was made to feel that I was an immigration evader and was caught out. I wanted to scream out that Immigration are using that thing called technology. You know? That device called a computer. For some unknown reason, she wanted to have a full record of all of my entry and exits from Japan as listed in my passport. This was somehow going to magically inform her of my capability to drive a car. I had to call my wife over to assist... well, speed up the process. Eventually we got there, but our blood was starting to boil under our skin.
I then had to fill in a few more pieces of paper, because I hadn't damaged enough of the environment yet, and then pay 2,200 yen ($20) for a postage stamp (I am serious) that we will never know the reason for, and then carry out the vision test. This is a little different to overseas. There is a machine with a binoculars-type opening at the front and an eye chart inside on the far side of the machine. Instead of an alphabet chart, they have a horseshoe like symbol, similar to a "C". See how the "C" has an opening on the right hand side of the letter, therefore I would have to say みぎ (migi = right). This is spun around so that the opening is either up, down, left or right. This symbol appears in decreasing size down the chart, just as in the alphabet chart. They then push a button that covers the left eye-piece (i.e. testing your right eye) and then the right eye-piece on the machine. They also flash a green, amber and red light to make sure I can identify them. 100%
The "fool" was in fine form yet again with other customers. While I was being served, he ridiculed a poor Nepalese dude who was simply following instructions. The "fool" had asked him to sign (I heard it too) a document after reading it. So, the Nepalese man signed it in his own unique signature. The "fool" scowled at him "What's that? I can't read that!". The Nepalese guy said "I thought you said sign here...". The "fool" said "copy your passport name. Print it in block letters!" and then ripped up the page and gave him a new one. Unbelievable.
Anyway, my drama was coming to an end. Or so I thought. I had to wait for them to finish serving all of the foreign customers before they would go to the next step in the process. This amounted to 3 hours of waiting, not knowing when I might be called up. Finally another person came out and ushered us downstairs to have our photo taken and card made. She was the nicest person of all - polite, clear, efficient - in stark contrast to everyone else we dealt with.
In all, it took a whopping 4 hours of my life to have my Australian license changed into a Japanese one. I know that citizens of the USA and some other countries have it much harder, having to also complete a driving test. Luckily I didn't, but I am not happy about the length of time it took to be processed. There was not even a single computer being used in the whole process, instead relying on a ridiculous amount of paper, and some weird box that went across the ceiling from the photographer's room to the card making room while we were waiting to receive that card. My wife put her face down and shook her head saying how embarrassing it was for Gunma, and Japan really.
This is spot on actually. I am pretty certain that no one in that Transport Centre, the main centre for the entire prefecture, has even the slightest idea of how centres in other countries perform the same task. They ought to check for professional development. It was another embarrassing example, and dare I say much worse than City Hall, of lack of technology use. It is as if they had never heard of a computer. So many of these documents (applications) could have been filled online, in advance, or even over the counter via a computer. This information could have easily been shared with the relevant departments, or stored for record keeping. Instead, they persist with a 1970-80s model of filling in a superfluous number of documents and getting postage (?) stamps, ink stamps, and passing documents in person from one department to another.
When will they catch up?
