It is best to have an international driver's license. These are trivial to get, any AAA office will sell you one, you don't need to be a member. Bring two photos, your state DL, and I think a fee of $15.

This is different than the license required by Japan for people who are resident in Japan, which has all the requirements you mention.

Unlke the above poster, I would say you can rent a car in Japan, having done it myself a few times. But you would not want a car in any major Japanese city -- that is challenging, expensive, and unnecessary given the excellent public transit system. You would only need the car to explore rural areas. Even then, you should take the train or fly to the nearest city and rent there, not at Narita, unless you are going somewhere other than Tokyo (or another city) directly from Narita.

I am in Hakone now and most folks do drive here, it seems, but am still getting around just fine without a car. So not even all rural areas require one.