Among foreign residents in Japan, there are certain markers of prestige: permanent residency, N1 on the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test, double-glazed windows. But none seem to divide along the lines of the foreigner haves and have-nots so sharply and cleanly as a coveted Japanese driver’s license.

Casually drop “Can you drive in Japan?” at a gaijin gathering and people either nod in placid solidarity or look shattered. That’s because converting a valid driver’s license from another country to a Japanese one can be a surprisingly harrowing experience — but only for some.

Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) broadly divides drivers into two categories: those who can simply pay ¥4,000 (about $26) to translate their existing licenses and trade them for Japanese versions in one appointment, and those subject to a written test and a practical skills test atop a mountain of paperwork.

Drivers from South Korea? Go on in through door one. Maryland? Dōzō. China? NG. New Jersey? It’s door two for you.

According to the NPA, requirements may be relaxed for licenses from foreign places that are “recognized as having a licensing system of equivalent standards to Japan’s.” And in the U.S., the agency notes, exceptions may also be made where individual state policies have reciprocal rules — that is, if Japanese drivers are allowed to convert their licenses to local ones without any further tests, for example. But these decisions can feel frustratingly opaque.

On Oct. 1, citing a handful of high-profile car accidents caused by drivers from abroad, the police cracked down further on the rules: Tourists can no longer convert their licenses, and the written exam has been increased from 10 to 50 questions, with the passing threshold raised from 70% to 90%.

Exasperated comments flooded Slack channels, group chats and Reddit threads across the country in response. “How could they make this harder?”

We wanted to know: In a country where red tape is routine, why does this one procedure get people so fired up?