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News Taxi companies now hiring foreigners - and university graduates!

thomas

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With the transportation industry suffering from a lack of drivers, many cab companies resort to hiring foreign drivers: Hinomaru Kotsu started full-scale hiring of permanent residents and other foreign drivers six years ago. It now has a team of 83 foreign drivers.

One of the difficulties those drivers face are the kanji in their Class 2 license test. Mainichi introduces the case of Massimo Bellini, an Italian driver for a Tokyo-based taxi company and former English teacher who passed after seven failures. Other drivers passed after as many as 80 attempts at passing the test.


'Like code language': Foreigners struggle with kanji in Japan taxi driver's license test - The Mainichi

TOKYO -- When Massimo Bellini, an Italian driver for Tokyo-based taxi company Hinomaru Kotsu Co., came to sit the exam for a license that would allow
mainichi.jp


Given the severe shortage of drivers, the Japanese government is now considering easing the license test requirements:



As more than 10,000 taxi drivers quit their jobs during the Corona pandemic, taxi companies are also looking at hiring university graduates. The flexible work hours and the higher salary attract even academics.

Driver Shortage Sends Japan Taxi Firms to Recruit New Graduates
 
I'm curious how important that Kanji knowledge is to the job? Is it just that the questions are written in them, but are actually about the job? If so maybe implementing furigana as is done in other places would be enough? If it is just about knowing kanji in general, then I wonder what purpose it serves? The need to understand addresses written in Kanji? Understand names written in kanji to know whom to pickup?

They are working in Japan and Japan does use Kanji so I don't have an immediate complaint about them using it, as we would expect people working in the US to know English and I would imagine the same goes for pretty much every country.
 
The National Police Agency will allow the class 2 license test to drive taxis, buses and other vehicles that transport passengers to be offered in different languages to alleviate a nationwide driver shortage. The class 2 test is currently only available in Japanese, and industry groups have requested that the test be made available in multiple languages. The NPA will soon distribute sample questions translated into 20 languages to each metropolitan and prefectural police department.


 
First taxis, now buses, too: Tokyu Bus-Corp President Furukawa Takashi wants to hire foreign drivers, hoping the move will prompt Japan to open up jobs to people from abroad as the country grapples with a growing labour shortage in the public transport sector.


A survey by the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry covering some 3,100 Japanese small and midsize firms showed that more than half saw Japan's need to accept foreign workers. The industry body said the country is losing its appeal as a magnet for foreign workers. Executives in the transportation industry say the appeal of driving as a profession also needs to be raised, given that long hours and low pay are often associated with the job. A weaker yen also makes Japan a less attractive place to work.

Tokyo bus operator banks on foreign drivers as shortage looms

Tokyu Bus Corp. President Takashi Furukawa wants to set a precedent for fellow bus operators that are in desperate need of drivers.
www.japantimes.co.jp
 

Japan taxi, bus driver's license tests to go multilingual

The National Police Agency will issue sample exam questions in 20 languages to prefectural police forces nationwide by the end of March, allowing them to formulate their questions based on local needs, an official said.



Japan taxi, bus driver's license tests to go multilingual

Japan is set to offer tests for driver's licenses for taxis and buses in foreign languages amid a shortage of drivers in the country, with the police agency distributing sample questions in the coming weeks.
english.kyodonews.net
 
Just trying to be imaginative...

Maybe a foreign driver could pop their taxi (or even a bus?) onto a ferry, and sell it on in Vladivostok?

DBS Cruise Ferry

Sakaiminato - Donghae 境港-æ±æµ·
en.go-to-japan.jp
 
If the foreigner in question is Russian otherwise there is really little chance of it happening. First of all most non-Russians need a visa to enter Russia. Then there is the language barrier if you don't speak Russian. Then who in their right mind would try something like that in Japan!
 
Regarding the shortage of taxi drivers, what happened to the self-driving taxis that we were promised for the Tokyo Olympics? They've had them in Singapore for several years now.
 
There are businessmen here in town that buy older cars, think about 10+ years old. The ones that you can get for a couple man, or the cost of title transfer. They are then put on ships over at the port, and sent off to russia and SE asia. So I've heard.

For a visa to russia, these days it might be hard for a US person. But how about someone from china, or Vietnam?

Who would try it? I was reading earlier about some Vietnamese who had shoplifted millions of yen worth of goods from uniqlo. If people are doing that, then getting someone to hop on a boat to russia (with a hot taxi), might not be too much of a stretch. Their handler might have the deal all structured and ready anyway--they'd just be the mule.
 
[a prescription?] Taxicab industry foreigner and an entertainer troubled with " labor shortage " are employed by a driver
  • It is short of the people who are up with various types of industry, but the taxi carrying a foot of the movement is no exception and the taxicab industry is short of serious drivers and is hit. It is a foreign driver that attracts attention in order to escape from this pinch. Furthermore, there was the company which employed the person who worked on an entertainment positively.

    ◇

    One with many people who are taken care of in big city, Tokyo where public transport developed is the taxi which can go directly to the destination. It was only only a vehicle not to be able to get on when a visitor had already taken it when I looked at the vehicle which came and went, and Tokyo, Ginza was displayed with "a meeting car".

    The following voice was asked about the empty car by the person of the town in the situation that the taxi of a certain thing was not readily caught.

    Office worker (30 generations)
    "Generally I see it off. I see off 3-4"

    Independent business (50 generations)
    "After all I do not drift to the way. It is not caught"

    The reason to feel that taxis of the downtown decreased is a decrease in screwdriver.
  • Although, by "the number of the drivers change by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of the taxi business," kept 400,000 people until 2009; is descending after it. It decreases to about 250,000 in 2021.

    The full operation of the vehicle becomes difficult, too, and the taxicab industry is hit by "a one-two punch" from a labor shortage.

    ◇

    It is a foreigner that a white-feathered arrow was put up to escape from this predicament. I visited the Japanese flag traffic.

    Hassan
    "The chocolate, country of Ghana are Ghana. As I like talking with a person, an interesting person takes the taxi in various ways"

    Hassan from Ghana visits Japan; and 17 years. It is said that I aimed at the taxi driver triggered by a corona evil. However, Japan where is totally different from Ghana in traffic rules. I seemed to have trouble with the acquisition of "two kinds of licenses".

    Hassan
    As "the name is Hassan, receive 83 times. As sweat is a tear of the man, you must do your best"

    I became a pass, "a professional" by the 83rd challenge last year.

    Hassan
    "Visitor gets on, and the back faces it; and "えっ? Is it a foreigner?"

    I say that there is the surprised visitor, but it is said that there is the merit of the foreign driver for the taxi company.

    As "there are many people whom words tell 2-3 languages, instructor Luger Wolfgang who instructed Japanese flag traffic Hassan plays such a role"

    It is said that I show power against a foreign tourist. It adhered to performance of such Hassan.

    At first it is a tourist from the U.K. that took it. It is a foreigner for the breath.

    Tourist from the U.K.
    "I will go for shopping from now on today"

    Hassan
    "I recommend Harajuku. There are a lot of shops"

    Tourist from the U.K.
    What "wanted to just go to Harajuku"

    Hassan
    "I went to Shinjuku"

    Tourist from the U.K.
    "I went to the Golden town of Shinjuku. It was very good"

    I sent the conversation to upsurge, Tsukiji in English.

    Tourist from the U.K.
    Though "I took a taxi many times in Japan, I had never met the driver of the foreigner. The driving was able to be carried in peace at the left side of the stage, too"

    And it is a tourist from Africa that took it from Tsukiji. It is a foreign visitor again.

    Hassan
    "Did you eat sushi?"

    Tourist from Africa
    "It has not yet come. I tried Japanese beef beef"

    Hassan
    "Do you like sushi?"

    Tourist from Africa
    Oh, no!

    Hassan
    If "there is not wasabi, I cannot eat sushi"

    Tourist from Africa
    "It is hard for me to be hot"

    It swelled by a topic of sushi.

    Places of the achievement seem to increase more and more while an inbound visitor comes back.

    ◇

    Taxicab industry to move for securing of human resources in "every possible means." It is people living in the entertainment world that the condor taxi which approximately 30 a day cannot operate with a labor shortage adopts it positively.

    Condor taxi Masakatsu Iwata, president is "the full-time or part-time worker" of "an entertainment activity and taxi duties. I target people and lay emphasis on a recruiting activity"

    I asked Ise of the driver a story. Originally it is the comedian of three years in an art career.

    Macaroon Shinya Ise (37) "is a style that my lifestyle lies in the taxi dealer for 20 hours for 24 hours," a companion "do an entertainer!" light
    From soft and fluffy macaroon Shinya Ise (37) "the entertainer puts it in trifling one" "comedy live TEPPEN"

    Because an income is not stable, it is said that I became a taxi driver at the same time to begin an entertainer.

    Macaroon Shinya Ise (37) "has this introduce light when work to rest looked for the work that you can take place of (by a shift) when I had work in a hurry" and

    One which features that I work even from little time to balance work with a dream. The schedule including the sudden work seems to accommodate it with the company.

    "Can you concentrate macaroon Shinya Ise (37) as an entertainer light as the money is so, and a heart is better off?"

    A company and a driver, the mechanism with the merit supported taxicab industry each other.
 
Maciamo said:
Regarding the shortage of taxi drivers, what happened to the self-driving taxis that we were promised for the Tokyo Olympics? They've had them in Singapore for several years now.
Click to expand...
Those were shuttles in and around Olympic village. They were deployed but not suitable for general use afterwards.
 
In response to a severe labour shortage in the transportation sector, Japanese authorities have expanded language options for taxi and bus driver's license exams to include English and other languages, facilitating foreign applicants' access to Class 2 commercial licenses necessary for passenger transport. Previously, the Class 2 exam was solely in Japanese, posing challenges for non-Japanese speakers. Tokyo, Aichi, and Fukuoka are among the regions offering multilingual tests. Fukuoka provides English, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Nepalese options, thereby reducing barriers for foreign nationals seeking employment in the industry.




The Japanese government has recently expanded the "specified skilled worker" visa category to include taxi and bus drivers. However, recruiting foreign drivers under this scheme hasn't started. To qualify, these drivers must pass the N3 level Japanese language test, demonstrating basic proficiency in everyday communication. This is a more advanced level compared to the N4 required for foreign workers in the construction and hospitality sectors. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism emphasizes the importance of drivers interacting with passengers effectively and contacting emergency services when necessary quickly.


Paywall alert:

Japan expands multilingual license tests for taxi and bus drivers

Labor crunch brings exams in English, Chinese, Nepali and Vietnamese
asia.nikkei.com
 
Just imagining handing an address to a taxi driving and the driver not being able to read it. That is the only down side for a taxi driver. Bus does not go to random addresses that may be handed to them so I see no such problem with a bus (or train) driver. I had no idea N4 was enough for hospitality or construction, I never heard of a job that took N4 until now, I am surprised. N3 I saw a few but not many. N2 is where it starts to open up.

Of course unlike some other language tests out there in the world JLPT does not test production. no interview/conversation part. A lot of multiple choice. It tests understanding which still has a use. One could pass N1 but be unable to speak much or write, I have heard rumors such people do exist which I find believable if they focus on passing the test.
 
As of 6 September, the exam to obtain a license to drive taxis and buses can now be taken in 20 languages at all prefectural police authorities across Japan. To drive taxis and other vehicles in the transportation industry, people need to obtain a Class 2 driver's license, and there have been calls for the paper exam to be available in multiple languages among companies in the industry.


Belkouchia Youssef, a 41-year-old Moroccan native, has become a taxi driver for Matsushima Mobility Service in Kyoto. He joined the company in June 2023 after passing his Class 2 driver's license exam in Arabic. Belkouchia, who moved to Japan in 2017, brings experience as a bus driver in Morocco. While fluent in conversational Japanese, he faced challenges with reading and writing kanji and was nervous about the technical aspects of the exam. Matsushima Mobility, which serves many foreign tourists, actively recruits foreign nationals as drivers to meet the growing demand. Since late August, Belkouchia has been driving taxis for visitors to Kyoto.

Japan Makes Taxi, Bus Driver Jobs More Obtainable for Foreigners; Paper Exams Now Offered in 20 Languages

<p>OSAKA — 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.</p> <p>As transportation services are suffering an increasingly serious driver shortage, the government plans to accept up to...
japannews.yomiuri.co.jp
 
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