People love to say this, JIS fasteners absolutely do *NOT* 'require' a JIS screwdriver. 3 decades as a motorcycle mechanic, thousands of JIS fasteners and I've stripped none with a Quality philips screwdriver, never had one that wouldn't come out either (that wasn't already buggered up). I haven't seen the point to buying JIS, and some motorcycle fasteners are made of cheese (like the little buggers they use for the brake and clutch master cylinders), those like to corrode in place too since they're right out in the weather. I've spent countless sums on specialty tools for all other manor of thing, and generally consider myself a tool nerd...

While it may well be the "right tool", a good quality philips (mine are Snap-On, same set since 1999) will do the job just fine with proper technique.

That technique is simply this, apply enough pressure that you don't cam-out the fastener and hold it. Pushing down helps, tapping the screwdriver into the fastener helps, heat can help (but doesn't tend to be an option with most philips/jis). 99.9% of all "stuck" fasteners I've encountered simply needed force applied over time and they break free.


Sorry, this is clearly a pet peeve of mine. :/ No offense intended.