As responding to the ``2024 problem'' in logistics becomes an issue, the Fukuoka Prefectural Police Headquarters is the first in the country to offer written examinations for the Type 2 license required for bus and taxi drivers in four foreign languages, including English. We have started operations that allow you to take the exam.
Starting from March 27th, it will be possible to take the Type 2 written exam in a foreign language at four test centers in Fukuoka Prefecture, with test questions in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Nepali.
According to the Fukuoka Prefectural Police Headquarters, there have been no applications to take the exam so far.
Foreign language test questions are created by each prefectural police based on example questions created by the National Police Agency, and Fukuoka is the first city in the country to begin allowing students to take the Type 2 written exam in a foreign language. It's the first time for me.
In addition, equipment was installed that translates questions such as questions about the status of obtaining a driver's license in a foreign country into 134 languages and displays them with subtitles.A demonstration of the equipment was held on the 27th at a test center in Iizuka City.
Koichi Inada, deputy chief of the Fukuoka Prefectural Police Headquarters Driver's License Examination Division, said, ``We are creating an environment where foreign nationals can take the exam smoothly. I want to make sure that there is no unfairness," he said.
In addition to chronic labor shortages, the bus and taxi industries are facing the challenge of dealing with the so-called "2024 problem," in which regulations on driver working hours will be tightened. The Cabinet is planning to make a decision soon to add the automobile transportation industry to the fields eligible for ``specific skills'' that accept foreign workers.