President hopes Japan will accept Taiwan's licenses

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on March 22, 2006. It reports that President Chen Shui-bian recently expressed his hope that the Japanese government would recognize international driver's licenses issued by Taiwan. Currently, many countries in Asia and Europe have recognized Taiwan-issued international driver's licenses. These countries include South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, France, Germany, Belgium, Poland and Hungary.

The president made the remarks while receiving Okada Katsuva, a former member of Japan's House of Representatives.

Japan has not recognized Taiwan's international driver's licenses because Taiwan is not a member of the 1949 Convention on Road Traffic. However, Japan does recognize driver's licenses from France, Germany and Switzerland, which are not members of the convention, either.

It is understood that the Japanese Foreign Ministry supports the proposal, but the country's National Police Agency is still evaluating the needs of Taiwanese tourists.

Meanwhile, President Chen extended his appreciation to the Japanese visitor, after Japan endorsed Taiwan's bid to join the World Health Assembly as an observer in May 2004. In February 2006, Japan and the United States also declared security in the Taiwan Strait to be a common strategic objective.