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.

Q: Can I find medicine for anxiety/depression there? How are medical conditions taken care of in Japan for foreigners?

A: Saaa.
Are your meds available? Maybe. Maybe not.
Ask the Japanese Embassy before you come.

Japan has fewer options for anxiety/depression meds. If you need them, you should always bring them with you (if legally prescribed). Authorities in Japan disagree about what you can bring in but “reasonable” supply of prescribed meds to cover the length of your tourist visa should be ok. Read more about other gaijin dealing with anxiety/depression here, here, and Pills To The Rescue? ; Japan Times; July 10, 2005.

Please note that many Japanese doctors here have little interest-or-abilities dealing with such problems.*

You really you need to think over the wisdom of coming to Japan, if you’re already having such issues. If you have anxiety/depression now just think what changing cultures/languages/food/housing/jobs is going to put you well over the edge in terms of life-change stress factors.
Maji/Serious.
Take the test answering the questions as though you just arrived in Japan. Most regular noob gaijin will score a deadly 300+ points in Life Change Units (LCUs) meaning physical illness or psychosis will be a danger.

*For an American with pre-existing medical conditions that cause insurance problems, the Japanese national health insurance system is wild bargan, IF you can handle the Japanese language/system well.

Q: How should I get a “journalist visa” to work in Japan. I have a good portfolio of samples of my work and some awards> However, I never completed my college degree and have only worked for the school paper. I don’t know where to go.

A: Read Justin’s “Getting a Journalist’s Visa to live in Japan”
Justin got his start with the Japan Foreign Correspondents Club—-They really need new members under the age of 60.

Without a degree (or getting married), Japan is a real pisser for a middleclass American. More importantly, it’s a pisser cause Japan really doesn’t want you. When you get engrish teaching jobs, you will always be paid less without a degree (and abused even more than the regular abuse).

White-collar jobs in companies will be a almost impossible without a degree. Japanese journalism as a freelancer is hard work—without Japanese fluency it will be hell. Mainstream newspapers in Japan hire only one or two gaijin a year, and they always require a degree (or 10 years experience with the New York Times).

Ok, ok, yes there are several non-degree gaijin working in Japanese journalism who scammed their way into a job (but they used less-than-legal methods which are harder to apply since Japanese Immigration finally got computerized two years ago). You’ve picked a damn hard way to start an already difficult career.

Bottom Line:
Do you really need Japan so badly that you want to stay as a non-degreed, second-class, non-citizen?

L8r,

Taro, the lame

QUESTION: Is it possible to get a work visa with just a two year degree
from a Jr or Community College? How about a degree earned from an online university?

ANSWER: Basically, work visas in Japan require a 4-year degree from a university. A 2 year degree will not get you a Japanese work visa unless that 2 year technical degree is combined with 6+ years of real work in a technical field for a real company. Self-employment, consulting work, working for a friend is not going to cut it for you to get a Japanese work visa. You need the degree and/or a special skill such as being a chef.

A 4-year online university degree should be acceptable if and only if the online university has a fully-accredited brick-and-mortar campus. Japanese immigration has a secret internal list of fully-accredited universities so there is no use trying to scam them with a semi-fake online-only college. Bible colleges that offer 4-year degrees for a large “free-will” donation don’t work either.

Basically, Japanese Immigration is hip to all the scam online colleges and you should ONLY consider a real university program whether it’s a traditional or online course of study. If the 4-year online university degree would get you a real job working for a Fortune 500 company, then it will get you a Japanese work visa.

Sorry. No shortcuts.

Q: I want a a design job in Japan but I don’t have a degree of any kind. I am good in the field of design and can speak some Japanese? How can I get a design job?

A: Ignoring your problems of not having a design portfolio with Japanese clients and finding a design job in Japan…

Basically you have a big problem getting a company-sponsored visa problem since you don’t have a degree. You need to prove you have at least 5-7 years’ experience in your field as a “designer”. That’s real experience, not flakey self-employment claims. You’ll need a great design portfolio with major corporate clients and/or a REAL work history as a design company employee in a real design-related company.

A “working holiday visa” is available for Western people who are not from the USA, but those visa’s are short-term lasting only a year or two—it’s a visa for a student on a lark. See the 3Yen post: Working Holiday Visa.

You could self-sponsor your own visa by opening your own design company in Japan, but you need plenty of capital, strict personal organization, legal groundwork and many months (if not a year or two) of preplanning. See the previous post about I want to start-up a new biz in Japan…

Q: Can I claim dual Japan-USA nationality ?

A: Many Japanese-USAmericans do it. First hear out the official government policies (see below). Then seek real lawyer if you do not like the “offiical” answer. Hint: If either government doesn’t want you to have two passports…. remember that [nudge-nudge-wink-wink] what they don’t know about….

Another tip: Never try leave Japan or USA using one passport and then try to return on a different passport.

Questions About Dual Nationality
American Community Update - October 2005

Every year thousands of children are born to U.S. and Japanese parents, with just about all of these newborns obtaining both American and Japanese citizenship. As a result, U.S. consular officials are often asked for information or guidance on a myriad of issues related to dual nationality.

United States law does not contain any provisions requiring U.S. Citizens who are born with dual nationality or who acquire a second nationality at an early age to choose one nationality or the other when they become adults (see Mandoli v. Acheson, 344 U.S. 133 [1952] ). The current nationality laws of the United States do not specifically refer to dual nationality.

On the other hand, according to a pamphlet published by the Japanese Ministry of Justice, Japanese law requires persons holding both foreign citizenship and Japanese citizenship (dual nationals) to choose a single nationality before reaching age 22 (or, if having acquired dual nationality after age 20, within two years of acquisition). Failure to choose one nationality may result in that person losing their Japanese nationality.

“Choosing” Japanese nationality does not mean you lose U.S. nationality. If your choice is to remain Japanese, you will still retain your U.S. citizenship. If you wish to renounce your U.S. citizenship, something we never advise, you must come to the Embassy or a consulate in person to complete that procedure. This is completely separate from the Japan requirement to choose or not choose Japanese citizenship.

While recognizing the existence of dual nationality and permitting Americans to have other nationalities, the U.S. Government does not endorse dual nationality as a matter of policy because of the problems which it may cause. Claims of other countries upon dual-national U.S. Citizens often place them in situations where their obligations to one country are in conflict with the laws of the other.

In addition, their dual nationality may hamper efforts to provide diplomatic and consular protection to them while they are abroad. It generally is considered that while a dual national is in the other country of which the person is a citizen, that country has a predominant claim on the person. In cases where a dual national encounters difficulty in a foreign country of which the person is a citizen, the ability of the U.S. Government to provide assistance may be quite limited since many foreign countries may not recognize the dual national’s claim to U.S. Citizenship.

If you are a dual national, Section 215 of the Immigration and Naturalization Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1185) requires U.S. Citizens to use U.S. passports when entering or leaving the United States unless one of the exceptions listed in Section 53.2 of Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations applies. Dual nationals may be required by the other country of which they are citizens to enter and leave that country using its passport, but they do not endanger their U.S. citizenship by complying with such a requirement.

More information on dual nationality can be found at: Japan.USembassy.gov.

Census-kun

Statistics Bureau: Concerning the 2005 Census
The 2005 Population Census will be conducted as of October 1, 2005, across the country. The respondents of the Population Census are all people living in Japan (about 128 million people, including foreign residents in Japan)..Note: the results of the census will be used only for statistical purposes and never be used for any other purposes such as the immigration control, taxation or police files….it is obligatory to answer the questions of the census….

Q: Since my Japanese visa has been expired for quite some time, is there anything in Japanese law that can force a foreigner to complete the Japanese Census?

Yep, you can be compelled to do the census, but they have to find you first.
Japan’s Census Regulations clearly state, “Everyone living in Japan as of October 1 will be surveyed at their place of residence. Foreigners who live in Japan will also be covered, regardless of their nationality. ”
[110月1日現在、日本国内に普段住んでいる全ての人を、その普 だんす ちょうさ にほん す 段住んでいるところで調査します。このため、日本に住んでい がいこくじん かた こくせき かんけい ちょうさ たいしょう る外国人の方も、国籍に関係なく調査の対象となります。 ]

The problematic term that provides a slim possibility for an “out” from this law is kokumin, 国民【こくみん】 (n) national; people; citizen. Only Japanese people/citizens” are covered in the original Census law of 1947.

I don’t like the odds of winning such an argument, so I just “lose” my census form and only speak Lithuanian if a census guy catches me coming out my front door. ;-)

Statistics Law Appendix 1-(2) [Population Census]
Promulgated on 26 March 1947 (Law No. [u]18[/u) Latest amendment pursuant to Law No. 160 of 1999
Obligation to Answer Questionnaires
—snip—
Article 5 The Government, the chief of a local public entity or a Board of Education is authorized to place an obligation on a person or a juridical person to answer the questionnaires of the designated statistical surveys.
2 If the person required to answer the questionnaire in accordance with the preceding paragraph is a minor without legal contractual capacity, or a person under guardianship having reduced mental capacity or a juridical person, his/her legal representative or the director or other person authorized to represent the juridical person by law, shall be under an obligation to answer on behalf of, or as the representative of the person concerned.

—snip—

Penalties
Article 19 If any person
(1) being requested to answer under Article 5, refuses to answer or gives a false answer,
(2) obstructs answering as requested under Article 5,
(3) refuses, neglects or interrupts the inquiry, refuses or neglects to submit the materials required, submits false materials, or makes a false statement in answering questions requested under Article 13, or
(4) being a person engaging in the operation of the designated statistical surveys or participating in it, acts to falsify the results of the designated statistical surveys,
this person shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand yen.

/

Bottom Line: Try to avoid the census if you can, submit skewed information if the census folks twist your arm, but don’t bother fighting them.

UPDATE:
Question: I will be on vacation overseas during the Japanese Census. Will I still be counted?

The Japanese census counter will come by your house in late Sept. If you’re not home, they leave the census form in your mail slot.

Let’s say somebody wanted to avoid the census—
That person could leave the form in the mail slot until they returned from a long overseas trip. Most likely the census folks will just skip your house (they skipped mine in 1985 and 1995).

Let’s say somebody wanted to be counted in the census but missed it—-
You can mail in the form late or call them ahead of time and they will send someone out.

Chindoya ちんどん屋 , traditional Japanese clown-band of sandwich board advertisers

Manila Standard Today – With Japan tightening up…….Japan itself has not continued to accept a steady stream of Filipino performing artists considering its stricter visa …. Japan has drawn up measures to curtail human trafficking.
…artists can be issued visa to Japan by either passing any of the two requirements namely, two-year experience as artists in other countries or two-year college education on performing arts.

Japan’s “Entertainer Visa” is dead. Even my Iowa farmboy friend Brian was refused that visa category this week and he has a dozen movie credits.

The above visa “rule” of ‘two-year experience as artists in other countries or two-year college education on performing arts’ is only a guideline and in reality everyone but Tom Cruise is being rejected at this time. If you really are an entertainer (and not a hooker) and you want to apply for an “Entertainer Visa” to Japan, just wait until next year and by then things will loosen up .

Question: What is the law regarding self-defense in Japan? What if someone hits you, what can you do in Japan, legally?

Answer: Nothing.
Really.
Japanese law does not have self defense as a “right” — it’s only an mitigating option.
If you attempt to defend yourself, you might be charged with assault. You are supposed to run away from an assault or lay on the ground and pee in your pants crying.
In Japan, self-defense is not a right—it’s a rare possible privilage.
Whether you get get charged with assault is up to determination of the lazy Japanese police and case-by-case-phase-of-the-moon basis. Japanese police only want to preserve the “wa” / 和 , so never expect justice. Basically, make sure you look very hurt and assaulted before the police get involved. Since you are an “evil” gaijin, you need a lot of mitigating circumstances to plea self-defence: you better be bleeding and your opponent better look like insane maniac.