ペーパードライバ? Paper driver? Does that sound odd to you? I thought so the first time I heard it, but now I understand. A person who has a drivers license in Japan but doesn't drive is called a paper driver. I don't understand why someone would get a drivers license and not be a driver because it is expensive and time consuming to go to driving school and get the license. Public transportation is excellent in Japan so unless you live country side, you can get by without a car or license. (I don't drive in Japan and I admit, it's not always convenient to take public transportation, but I have been able to go and do what I want without driving.)
Drivers licenses in Japan come in three colors - green for new drivers, blue for regular drivers, and gold for drivers with no traffic violations. That means paper drivers have gold licenses! If you never drive, you never violate any driving law. (license photos from the internet)
With a quick search on the internet, I learned that driving school can cost between 240,000 and 340,000 yen, the written examination costs 1550 yen, and the actual license costs 2050 yen. And that's before you pay for a car or a parking space. That sounds like a lot of money to me, even if the license is gold.
There were many years when I had a licence but no car. But I still drove occasionally because I would hire a car if I wanted to go somewhere.
Here a licence is a handy thing to have even if you don't drive, because it is photo ID. You need photo ID for all sorts of things, such as opening a bank account. Without a drivers' licence it can be difficult to prove who you are.
People I have talked to say having a licence is evidence of your ability to learn and pass a test. Stamina and IQ. You might need a driving licence to apply for a job, even if the job itself does not call for driving. On the 'marriage market', any way in the past when arranged marriages were more common, a driving licence together with your licences for tea ceremony, flower arrangement, brush writing, various English test licences and the graduation certificate from a well known university and so on, made you more attractive. You would be even more attractive when you admitted to being a paper driver, i.e. you CAN drive but you DON'T because it is unfeminine to do so. You could 'catch' a better educated and more well paid husband and thereby secure a prosperous future for yourself and your children. A driving licence is a trump card.
I've never heard that term -- how interesting. I remember being a little freaked out every time we rode in a car during our Japan trip. They drive fast!
I remember when my SIL was a paper driver and I can't remember her ever driving. These days, once you reach the age of 70, the renewal system is rigged to get you to give up your lisence. You have to go to a very far location for a written test to see how demented you are, then go home and make another appointment for the second half that includes driving in a strange car on a mickey mouse course. Each test tales about 5 hours if you include the time waiting in assorted lines and don't count the long trip on three trains and a bus. So far, I have taken this test 5 times and it gets harder to take each time, though I have gotten 100% each time and have a gold licence. I still need my car for delivering onigiri to the homeless in the morning before trains are running, and carrying my camping and craft gear to Scout camp. I said to the instructor last time, "It seems you are making this test so hard to take, that people will give up", and he replied. "You're right!"
I guess that means I'm kind of a paper driver too? I got my license at 18 (the earliest age you could get it then in Germany) and spent a couple years driving my grandparents around, but Felix has taking over taxi duties now and I think it's been almost two years since I sat behind a wheel now! I think it's a useful skill to have, and I did it enough to not totally forget it, but I don't particularly enjoy doing it.
Interesting, maybe some people get their licence as a form of ID?
ReplyDeleteThere were many years when I had a licence but no car. But I still drove occasionally because I would hire a car if I wanted to go somewhere.
ReplyDeleteHere a licence is a handy thing to have even if you don't drive, because it is photo ID. You need photo ID for all sorts of things, such as opening a bank account. Without a drivers' licence it can be difficult to prove who you are.
People I have talked to say having a licence is evidence of your ability to learn and pass a test. Stamina and IQ.
ReplyDeleteYou might need a driving licence to apply for a job, even if the job itself does not call for driving.
On the 'marriage market', any way in the past when arranged marriages were more common, a driving licence together with your licences for tea ceremony, flower arrangement, brush writing, various English test licences and the graduation certificate from a well known university and so on, made you more attractive. You would be even more attractive when you admitted to being a paper driver, i.e. you CAN drive but you DON'T because it is unfeminine to do so. You could 'catch' a better educated and more well paid husband and thereby secure a prosperous future for yourself and your children. A driving licence is a trump card.
I've never heard that term -- how interesting. I remember being a little freaked out every time we rode in a car during our Japan trip. They drive fast!
ReplyDeleteI remember when my SIL was a paper driver and I can't remember her ever driving. These days, once you reach the age of 70, the renewal system is rigged to get you to give up your lisence. You have to go to a very far location for a written test to see how demented you are, then go home and make another appointment for the second half that includes driving in a strange car on a mickey mouse course. Each test tales about 5 hours if you include the time waiting in assorted lines and don't count the long trip on three trains and a bus. So far, I have taken this test 5 times and it gets harder to take each time, though I have gotten 100% each time and have a gold licence. I still need my car for delivering onigiri to the homeless in the morning before trains are running, and carrying my camping and craft gear to Scout camp. I said to the instructor last time, "It seems you are making this test so hard to take, that people will give up", and he replied. "You're right!"
ReplyDeleteAt least the paper licence can be used as ID. At each renewal of my licence, I don't always like the photo, like in your passport.
ReplyDeleteI guess that means I'm kind of a paper driver too? I got my license at 18 (the earliest age you could get it then in Germany) and spent a couple years driving my grandparents around, but Felix has taking over taxi duties now and I think it's been almost two years since I sat behind a wheel now! I think it's a useful skill to have, and I did it enough to not totally forget it, but I don't particularly enjoy doing it.
ReplyDelete