<figure id="attachment_456917" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-456917" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="3ee9e1c8"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/5917a372d4f77da8c6b68f0f349f0b04.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-456917" class="wp-caption-text">Digital Minister recommends to have two driver&#8217;s licenses!　What is the &#8220;too useless&#8221; reality behind the &#8220;unification&#8221; of miner&#8217;s license cards&#8230;</figcaption></figure>
<h3> Digital Minister reveals that &#8220;having two driver&#8217;s licenses is the right thing to do</h3>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The &#8220;miner&#8217;s license&#8221; has been in operation since March 2013. The government is accelerating the integration of the miner-license with the health insurance card and driver&#8217;s license, taking advantage of the spread of the miner-license card. As of the end of last year, 80.8% of the population possessed a miner card, but there is a strong sentiment that the miner driver&#8217;s license is inconvenient in many respects, and that it is more practical to have two cards, one for the conventional driver&#8217;s license and the other for the miner driver&#8217;s license. What on earth is going on in the field?</span></p>
<p> There are three types of miner&#8217;s license: (1) miner&#8217;s license only, (2) conventional license only, and (3) both. The government would like to promote the unification of the three types of licenses, but surprisingly, the minister in charge of digital technology himself recommended the use of both types.</p>
<p> At a meeting of the Upper House Committee on Digital in April 2013, then Minister of State for Digital Affairs Taira pointed out that while it is possible to drive with a conventional driver&#8217;s license in places like Hawaii, the miner&#8217;s license is not supported overseas, and when presented, the minister said, &#8220;That is not possible. He then explained that in the case of driving abroad, <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;such a person should have two cards.</span><span class="strongInContent"> </span></p>
<p> Furthermore, in terms of risk management, the conventional driver&#8217;s license is superior. The minimum time required for reissuing a lost license is &#8220;the same day&#8221; for a conventional license, while the minimum time required for a miner&#8217;s license is &#8220;five days. Mr. Taira, a former vegetable wholesaler, stressed the importance of this issue, citing his own experience.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> He said, &#8220;I think it would be better for professional drivers to have two licenses, one with a miner&#8217;s license and the other with a miner&#8217;s license. Before I became a Diet member, I worked as a vegetable broker at Ota Market and delivered vegetables every morning.</span></p>
<p> Regarding the inconvenience caused to the public by the new driver&#8217;s license, Minister Taira said, &#8220;It is difficult to understand, so I have made sure everyone is aware of it and that it is explained to them in detail at the counter. <span class="strongInContent"> </span></p>
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<h3><span class="strongInContent"> Reality of &#8220;being turned away at the door&#8221; at car rental stores</span></h3>
<p> According to a report published in January of this year by Hideaki Kawagishi of the Nissay Basic Research Institute, the number of miner&#8217;s license holders as of the end of 2013 was only about 2.22 million (about 2.7% of all license holders), and only about 30% of them have &#8220;united&#8221; their licenses.</p>
<p> Behind this sluggish growth lies the slow response of private services. Kawagishi points out that some car rental and car sharing businesses do not support miner&#8217;s licenses, and in some cases, only conventional licenses can be used.</p>
<p> In fact, the website of the National Car Rental Association cautions, &#8220;If the contents of your driver&#8217;s license cannot be read and verified by a terminal at the store, we may refuse (to rent) the vehicle.</p>
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<p> Specifically, the situation is as follows (as of early February).</p>
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<figure id="attachment_456776" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-456776" style="width: 2816px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="21731c49"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/808e1fc01c1c6733805bb3bf4ad6f6ce.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-456776" class="wp-caption-text"> Users find it easier to present a conventional driver&#8217;s license.</figcaption></figure>
<p> Regarding driving a car abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes on its website that &#8220;please bring a conventional driver&#8217;s license. The reason given is that the information on the driver&#8217;s license is not displayed on the face of the Minor Card.</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The renewal fee is cheap, but..."></div>
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<h3><span class="strongInContent">Renewal fees are cheap&#8230; but too inconvenient a reality.</span></h3>
<p> Of course, switching to a miner&#8217;s license has its advantages. In his report, Kawagishi cites the low fees and other advantages. He points out, &#8220;This seems to be a measure based on the fact that the work and costs on the administrative side have been reduced due to the online procedures.</p>
<figure id="attachment_456777" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-456777" style="width: 2816px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="9a0af607"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/5af6492a0bd8e23edaff83167bb45e8e.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-456777" class="wp-caption-text"> One-stop procedures for change of address are available for &#8220;Myna insurance card only,&#8221; and online training for renewal is available for &#8220;Myna insurance card only&#8221; or &#8220;hold both.</figcaption></figure>
<p> Other advantages include one-stop completion of address changes and online training for renewal.</p>
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<p> However, Mr. Kawagishi concludes by citing three disadvantages: 1) the card cannot be used for some rental cars and car-sharing services, 2) it cannot be used overseas, and 3) reissuance is slow.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> We believe that the ideal form of a miner&#8217;s license is for people to choose one after being aware of the disadvantages. It will be important to conduct public relations activities to make the public aware of this.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> We understand that there are advantages to switching to a miner&#8217;s license, but at present, the demerits of the miner&#8217;s license are difficult to understand. In addition to making it easier to understand and inform the public, we hope that the government will take action from the perspective of the users, the public, by sequentially announcing the status of improvements in dealing with the disadvantages and the prospects for future improvements.</p>
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 Hideki Asai

 Why do 70% of miner's license holders "have two licenses"? An inconvenient truth recommended by the Digital Minister. The "too inconvenient reality" behind the "single driver's license" is thoroughly explained, including "being turned away" at the rental car counter, not being able to use it overseas, and delays in reissuing it.

The Minister of Digital Technology unexpectedly recommends that people have two driver&#8217;s licenses&#8230; The reality behind the &#8220;unification&#8221; of driver&#8217;s licenses is that they are &#8220;too useless&#8221;.

The Minister of Digital Technology unexpectedly recommends that people have two driver’s licenses… The reality behind the “unification” of driver’s licenses is that they are “too useless”.

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