Japan makes taxi, bus driver jobs more obtainable for foreigners; paper exams now offered in 20 languages


Youssef Belkouchia, right, a Moroccan driver, chats with a colleague in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, on Sept 4. - Photo: The Yomiuri Shimbun

OSAKA, (Japan): The exam to obtain a license to drive taxis and buses can now be taken in 20 languages, making it easier for foreign nationals to become drivers in Japan.

As transportation services are suffering an increasingly serious driver shortage, the government plans to accept up to 24,500 foreign nationals to work as drivers of taxis, buses and trucks in the five-year period through fiscal 2028.

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