Why is driving on the left called the "wrong side of the road"?

It had to be one or the other. As far as I know, the two systems have the same problems, only mirrored.
I expect that Australia and South Africa got it from the UK. No idea about Japan though.

It’s based on perspective. The “wrong side of the road” for countries that drive on the left like the UK is the right side.

This interesting article suggests driving on the left goes back to Roman times and that’s why people in the UK drive on the left. It would seem driving on the left was initially the norm. So the UK, Australia etc. have not moved away from driving on the right, it is the rest of the world that’s made this change or adopted this mode. The adoption of driving on the right in the US (if this article is to be believed) goes back to the use of large wagons and that it was easier to navigate/manage the horses from the right. Most wagons didn’t have a seat on the right side. Never driven a big wagon so I have no idea if this is true.

The French may have changed to the right to spite the British. Entirely possible. :-)

This site supports some of the ideas presented earlier and expands on others. The French may have adopted the right hand side of the road as an effect of the French Revolution. Apparently the aristocracy used the left and the workers were forced to use the right side of the road.

You might be interested in this question I asked about this topic a while back.

Because in English the word right also means correct. It’s the antonym. Right and wrong. Right and left. So, wrong=left. It is a joke of sorts.

^^ Reminds me of this clip.

Why is English called a foreign language in some countries?

@JLeslie To add to that, the Italian word for “left” is synonymous with sinister.

@dxs in English left of center can mean eccentric.

@dxs And I seem to recall that in times past (and places far away) you’d offer your right hand to shake – and grip your dagger in your left, juuuust in case.