How is it for foreigners coming from your home country to be able to drive in Japan?
If you want to drive in Japan you usually need a Japanese license or international license.
Yet each country can be different in applying for different methods for an appropriate license in Japan.
International licenses only last a year, so you would have to renew it every year. And not every country is accepted to apply for a legal license in Japan. You will have to research to see if your country is allowed to use an international license in Japan.
Japanese licenses usually last a couple of years depending. Starting out at 3 years, and then after that 5 years. However, it is really complicated and costs more than most countries to apply for a drivers license.
In some cases, if you have a license from your home country you may be able to convert it to a Japanese license. Meaning you would have your country as well as a Japanese license.
Yet many if not most countries, or parts of countries may not be approvable. For example, even for those from the US, out of the 50 states only 3 states are approved to convert in a Japanese license. This is because it those 3 states, they have strict driving laws.
Do you have a driver's license, and how was the process for you?
I have a Japanese driver's license, converted from my California drivers license. But that was many years ago. I know that things have changed since when I did that nearly 30 years ago. At that time, I didn't have to take any tests at all.
I have, however, since then, taken a paper test once. It was pretty easy, though, since I have driven in Japan now for more than 30 years and am aware of local driving laws. In fact, I have a gold license, indicating that I haven't had a driving violation in a very long time. I think the last ticket I had–for parking–was around 18 years ago.