5/10/2006

Is it ok to have a ’sleeping’ Japanese bank account?

Question: “I’m wondering whether I should keep my Japanese bank account open in Japan. The banks in [my homr country] are terrible. If you leave $50 there for a year, it’ll disappear from account keeping fees and in fact you’ll be in debt, rather than having earned any interest. Is it the same in Japan? Do you recommend keeping open or closing my [Japanese] account?”

Answer: No problem-o!
Japanese banks have no charges for inactive accounts and by law they cannot close an account with only 100 yen in it for a decade!! I have at least five “sleeping” accounts since different employers have forced me to get them for direct payment of wages. Last August, I just “found” one Japanese bank account with 230,000 yen that had been sitting there since 1989. I withdrew 229,000 yen from it and now it’s sleeping peacefully.

Posted by Taro in General, Money | 5 Comments »

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5 Responses to “Is it ok to have a ’sleeping’ Japanese bank account?”

1. Chidade Says:
   May 13th, 2006 at 11:42 am

   Awesome. What are the interest rates like in Japan, then?

2. Taro Says:
   June 3rd, 2006 at 2:25 pm

   Interest rates are nothing, well in fact 0.025% is considered “good” for a regular account.

3. Daniel Says:
   November 20th, 2006 at 8:55 pm

   Hello Taro!

   I’m in Malaysia and want to participate in Linkshare Japan.

   But the Linkshare Japan only transfer your commission via direct deposit to a bank in japan.

   Is there anyway I can open a bank account in Japan from my country?

   If not possible, is there any option to do so?

   Please help.

   Thank you.

4. Joanna Says:
   February 24th, 2007 at 10:16 pm

   So, if you leave a Japanese bank account open, go home, but then would like to close it and transfer the funds, is it possible to do this over the phone? Or does it have to be done face to face at the bank in Japan?

5. Taro Says:
   March 22nd, 2007 at 10:39 pm

   Some Japanese have Internet banking options—that would be the easiest. Wire transfers to your home country are possible from a Japanese bank account that was left open. However, this may involve speaking Japanese well on the phone. It’s often wise to leave a “sleeping account” with a foreigner friendly bank like Citibank if your Japanese skills are not 100%.

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