Kirk here with a report about a problem I encountered using my Japanese driver’s license with an international license (issued in Kumamoto) to rent a car in the U.S. Hertz refused to issue the car I had reserved to me. They said that if I wanted to use a Japanese driver’s license, then I would need a Japanese passport. Or, if I had maintained my U.S. license for the whole time I was in Japan, that would have solved the problem. But, alas, my U.S. driver’s license expired many years ago.
As far as I know, this is only a Hertz policy. I’ve complained to the Better Business Bureau and hope to be able to get them to reverse this completely unreasonable rule about the license and the ID being issued by the same country. In the meantime, if you rely on an international license to rent abroad, please be aware that Hertz but leave you without the transportation you paid for if your passport isn’t Japanese.