Basically, Japanese people go to driving schools to get a driving license. However, everyone thinks that the cost of driving schools is unusually high. The price varies from school to school, but it usually costs about 300,000 yen. So in this article, I will explain why driving schools in Japan are so expensive based on my experience.
Breakdown of Costs
Enrollment fee: 40,000 yen
This may be at the discretion of the driving school, but it should be considered as a future maintenance cost for the school.
Tuition fee: 62,000 yen
You can think of it as the amount that includes the labor cost of instructors, DVDs used in driving lessons, and other small expenses. If you think of it in that way then, it’s not that outrageous.
Technical training fee: 150,000 yen
If you actually get in the car, of course, you will have to pay for gasoline and vehicle maintenance. There is also the cost of washing and cleaning the car so that the student can have a pleasant learning experience. There is also the cost of using a driving simulator. The most costly thing is the labor cost. If you think about it, it may be cheaper than reasonable.
Textbook fee: 3,000 yen
Without this, you will not be able to take the practical training.
Photo fee: 2,100 yen
Photos are used quite a bit during training, such as in the training book and on the provisional licenses and the service is good. In some cases, they also provide you with the photos you need when you go to the license center. I think it’s reasonable.
Aptitude test fee: 2,700 yen
This is the fee for the basic physical ability test before the actual driving lesson. In addition to eyesight, hearing, and color judgment, it also includes situational judgment, accuracy of movement, and speed. As well as the ability to consciously restrain actions, emotions, and mental stability.
Final examination fee: 8,000 yen
Certificate of completion: 4,000 yen
Road test fee: 14,000 yen (This may be more of an insurance fee since you will be going out on the road with a provisional license)
Graduation examination fee: 8,000 yen
Graduation certificate 8,000 yen
The total cost is about 300,000 yen.
Reasons why driving schools are expensive
There are many lessons
If you want to get an (add the full meaning of AT and the bracket the abbreviation AT) license, you need to take at least 31 hours of technical training and 26 hours of academic training.
Some people need to take this amount of training, but in reality, about half of the people can get their license without needing the prescribed hours of training. However, since they all take the same amount of lessons uniformly, the price is higher.
Also, with the current development of automatic driving and braking, there is no need for the instructor and student to be one and the same during driving practice. In some parts of China, the instruction is done from the software installed in the car, and the instructor watches the students driving from a monitoring room.
We are not at that level yet, because Japanese laws are not in line with modern society.
Inefficient classes
Every time you attend a driving lesson, you have to take it in a large classroom. Each time you take a class, you get a stamp of approval/attendance/competence, which without you cannot take the test to get your license.
However, I think it is inefficient to go to the driving school and take the class every time. Nowadays, thanks to the development of video services such as Youtube, you can learn for free. Except for the practical lessons (driving simulator, first aid), I think it’s fine for each student to study in their own style.
If we can introduce this, we can lower labor costs and tuition fees.
Land Cost
By law, a driving school must have at least 8,000m² of land. Owning such a size alone will cost about 20 million yen in property taxes per year. In addition to this, the initial investment cost is also higher in densely populated areas such as cities.
After all, it can be said that the law does not fit the modern age.
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