Society Nepali opens driving school with lessons in 5 languages

[thomas]

This Nepali entrepreneur has cornered the market for foreign driving students in Fukuoka: his driving school offers instruction in five languages, including Nepali and Japanese, and has attracted students from across Kyushu only months after opening. Jiva Lal Kandel, 40, launched the Dream Driving School in the town of Onga after struggling to obtain a Japanese driver's licence himself. During lessons, Kandel gives instructions in Japanese to mirror the practical driving test while also explaining details in Nepali. In a prefab classroom beside the course, staff member Eriko Shibata, 42, helps students prepare for the written exam.

Dream Driving School is a registered driving school specializing in the instruction required before taking the official driver's license test. Lesson fees are about half those at designated driving schools, where the entire process from lessons to obtaining a license is completed in one place, and students can also pay in installments. It is also possible to tailor lesson times and content to each student's circumstances. Besides Japanese and Nepali, lessons are also offered in Hindi, Bengali and English.

The Japan Federation of Authorised Driving School Associations says that multilingual driving schools and foreign driving instructors are increasing across the country as Japan's foreign-resident population continues to grow. The government has also expanded the "Specified Skilled Worker" visa programme to include the transport sector, allowing up to 24,500 workers to enter Japan over the five years from fiscal 2024 to help ease labour shortages.

According to the National Police Agency, 1.25 million foreign residents held Japanese driver's licences at the end of 2024, about 1.3 times as many as in 2020. The number of people converting overseas licences reached a record 75,905, roughly 2.5 times the level from a decade earlier.

Driving dream: Nepali man opens driving school in Fukuoka with lessons in 5 languages - The Mainichi

ONGA, Fukuoka -- A Nepali man living in Fukuoka Prefecture has opened a driving school that offers instruction in five languages including Nepali and

mainichi.jp

Here's his website. Check out the fees:

ドリーム・ドライビング・スクール

運転は私たちの生活を便利で豊かにし、いろいろな可能性を広げてくれます。私たち Dream Driving School は、皆さんの「運転免許取得の夢」を叶えるために、ニーズに合わせた丁寧な教習を格安で提供させていただいております。

dream-driving-school.com