Hawaii Taco (complete with full body red bed-liner paint job) for your time.
Sorry, it’s not a Dacia Sundera.
No, the good news is that instead of renewing my “automatic only” Japanese driving license I get to transfer my complete Hawaii driving license. That means I will have the “manual, automatic, and unlimited manual/automatic motorcycle” Japanese driving license.
Earlier this year a reciprocity agreement came into effect between Japan and the state of Hawaii, and this means that I can transfer the ‘other’ licenses since I do not have them here yet.
The only reason I haven’t gone through all the testing for them is the money. At ¥4000 per test and it usually taking 2-5 attempts before they are willing to pass - it was just too expensive when I don’t have a manual vehicle or a motorcycle.
With this though, I just have to pay the same fee as my renewal (+ an extra ¥3500 for a current translation of my Hawaii license).
Result. (Well, it will be once JAF sends me the translation, and I turn it in.)