Japanese to English
Japanese to English translation
For visitors driving here on a Japanese licence, and for migrants with a koseki extract, a birth or marriage record or another official document. We translate it into English and deliver it digitally, with NAATI certification as an option.
日本語で読む：日本の運転免許証をオーストラリアで使うための英語翻訳
What a Japanese document needs
Three things a Japanese document asks of its translator
Japanese documents are compact and highly regular. The work is in the details an English reader cannot check for themselves.
Kanji, kana and name order
Japanese documents use kanji with kana. We romanise every name to match the spelling in your passport. On the original, the family name precedes the given name; the translation labels both clearly so nobody swaps them.
Era years converted, original kept
Dates are often given in the imperial era system — a Reiwa or Heisei year — as well as the Western calendar. A careful translation converts each era year and keeps the original alongside it, so a date of birth or an expiry date reads the same at a rental desk as it does at home.
Seals where signatures would be
Personal seals (hanko) appear where Western documents carry signatures, and we translate what each seal says rather than skipping it. Licences and koseki (family register) extracts follow fixed layouts, so the translation keeps the same order and every field is easy to find.
Driving here on a Japanese licence
Carry the licence, and carry something in English
A Japanese licence card is written in kanji and kana, so a police officer or rental agent here cannot read it. New South Wales puts the choice plainly.
What New South Wales says
“If your licence is not written in English, you must also carry an English translation, or an International Driving Permit.” The word also matters: the translation travels with the licence card, never instead of it.
Source: NSW Government, visiting from overseas or interstate (checked 18 September 2026)
Other states, and the rental desk
Queensland’s page says NAATI “has a list of approved translators” (Queensland Government, driving on an overseas licence, last updated 19 February 2024), and Europcar’s rental terms accept either an International Driving Permit from the same country as the licence, or an English translation issued by NAATI (Europcar Australia, rental terms and conditions, clause 7.2, checked 19 September 2026). State by state detail is on our driver licence translation with a NAATI-certified translator option page.
Landing without a permit
If you arrive without an International Driving Permit, a translation is something you can order online after you land. Our renting a car on an overseas licence guide walks through the counter and the documents.
What a careful job includes
Every field, both sides, nothing summarised
Both sides of the licence card
Name, date of birth, licence number, categories or classes, conditions and restrictions, issue and expiry dates, issuing authority, and the wording of every stamp or code — front and back, translated in full.
Koseki and civil documents
Koseki extracts, birth, marriage, divorce and death records, police certificates, passport ID pages and academic records. The wording on stamps, seals and marginal notes is translated in full, and names follow your passport throughout. A seal with no words, or text that cannot be read in the photo, is marked in square brackets.
NAATI certification and delivery
The NAATI option is prepared by a NAATI-certified translator and carries their certification statement, NAATI stamp and credential number. We set out how NAATI translation works on a separate page. Delivery is by email, and the order page shows the delivery options before you pay.
For driving or hiring a car, or where a form names NAATI, choose NAATI certification. For a visa or a wedding here, see our birth certificate and marriage certificate pages.
Pricing
The full price on screen before you order
Translation is $39.99 per page into English, delivered digitally. Add NAATI certification for $59.99 per page, prepared by a NAATI-certified translator and carrying their certification statement, NAATI stamp and credential number. Where the translator uses NAATI’s digital stamp, it carries a QR code you can scan to check the credential.
Still deciding between a permit before you fly and a translation once you land? Read International Driving Permit or translation, or browse every document we translate.
Driving on a licence in Japanese? Check your overseas licence in 1 second.