I don't really get what some of you guys are saying. If you've got an EASA licence and want to fly US aircraft (commercially) you've got to convert your licence to an FAA one. Same with Japan; if you've got a licence from EASA/FAA/other ICAO members, then you have to convert it to fly Japanese aircraft. You can't pitch up in any country that I know of and fly aircraft registered there without converting your licence, so why bitch about Japan?
Now, if you're talking about the hoops that have to be jumped through or, more likely, the time it takes then you have a valid point. However, it is not actually the conversion that takes the time but the way in which the airlines take SO long because they are not at all efficient in course design. The initial exams for licence conversion are done quickly, as it's only Air Law and radio stuff that you have to do. The aircraft ground school is pretty much the same as elsewhere but it could be shortened a bit. The simulator stuff is far too long, especially as you're only there to learn the JCAB 'script' and not to actually train to fly the aircraft. You get the licence on completion of the sims and another medical. That part of the course could definitely be shorter but the REAL fun starts after that! Sitting for two weeks while getting lectured at about airfields, when you could just as easily read the Jepps and go and have a look is stupidity at its greatest. Having the FOs do almost all their flying as PM is a shocking waste of time, especially when they've come with XX thousand hours in their logbooks. Waiting for the JCAB fossils to get their act together to conduct tests on captains etc all adds up and just prolongs the agony.
Having to convert a licence to JCAB is perfectly normal and no amount of bitching about that requirement will change anything. What does need to happen is for the Japanese airlines to get their act together, have a look at how it's done in other places outside of Asia and tailor their training courses accordingly, taking into account the experience of the pilots on the course. On the plus side, at least you get paid your full salary while you're doing all this; the same cannot be said for China and Korea
