Photo/Illutration The Metropolitan Police Department headquarters in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Tokyo police arrested two individuals tied to a Chinese-run forgery ring that exploited a provision in Japan’s driving regulations to issue fraudulent permits.

Authorities have announced plans to tighten the loophole in driving regulations, starting next month.

Visitors from certain countries and regions, such as Taiwan, can drive in Japan as long as they have a valid driver’s license and an official Japanese translation that shows everything is legal.

The Metropolitan Police Department on Sept. 26 arrested a Chinese man in his 30s and a Chinese woman in her 40s.

Police said the pair used a forged Taiwanese driver’s license and translation via a Chinese e-commerce site for the scam.

The MPD believes there is a “forged driver’s license business” for Chinese nationals visiting Japan.

HOW THE SCHEME WORKED

Taiwan, along with Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium and Monaco, is recognized as having a driver’s license regime on a par with Japan.

Holders of licenses from the six places can drive in Japan if they carry a translation prepared by the Japan Automobile Federation or the Foreign Ministry.

People can apply for the translation online and obtain it by proxy.

Police said the two suspects were part of a conspiracy last November to use forged Taiwanese licenses, each in their own name, when applying via JAF’s online application form to have translations prepared.

The suspect in his 30s is believed to have used the translation to drive a rental car in Japan.

The two denied the allegations saying they didn’t think the licenses were forged.

SALES CHANNEL AND PROXY FILINGS

Police have already confirmed a Chinese e-commerce site that sells forged licenses and translations for roughly 160,000 yen ($1,070) per set.

“If you have a Taiwanese license, you can drive in Japan,” it states.

Aside from the two suspects, two others are suspected of having purchased the documents in the same way, police said. There is also another person of interest.

Because JAF’s application site cannot be accessed from overseas, a Chinese national in his 20s already arrested on the same suspicion and released pending disposition of the case allegedly acted as an agent to handle the applications.

During police questioning, the man, a resident of Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, said: “I made between 1,000 yen and 2,000 yen for every document I applied for. A friend invited me, and I did it to make pocket money.”

Police have also identified another Chinese man who they believe orchestrated the license forgeries and translation applications. They have obtained an arrest warrant.

However, the 37-year-old suspect is now thought to be back in China, so police plan to seek an international wanted notice through the International Criminal Police Organization.

REFORMS START IN OCTOBER

For people in China who wish to drive in Japan, there are two paths available: passing the standard Japanese driver’s test to obtain a Japanese license or undergoing the “gaimen-kirikae” procedure of converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one at a testing center that confirms skills and knowledge.

The procedure has recently drawn criticism for allowing hotel or other temporary addresses to qualify and for the test being “too easy.”

The National Police Agency is now reviewing the system so that tourists without a resident record will be excluded from eligibility.

The knowledge test will be expanded from 10 to 50 questions, with a passing standard of at least 90 percent correct.

The new operation starts in October.

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