if you are getting the new mynumber + zairyu card be aware of the glitch that will have it scan as fake

i was going to yucho to update my card and they said it read as 偽物 and called the cops. 7 officers in a tiny neighborhood 郵便局, escorting to police station, 2 hours of questioning later i am free and the only thing they could say was “go to tachikawa and fix it.”

i go on an international trip on sunday, and have work and school tomorrow and friday, and now im scrambling what to do 🤦🤦🤦 keep your old zairyu and passport on you at all times as they get this sorted as that really helped me

I was nervous with all the new rule changes, but it took 5 minutes, cost nothing, and now lasts for 10 years instead of 7, it seems! Also the new card is pink 💖

Hope this can ease some nerves for other PR holders who are worried about the process!

So I (24F) moved to Japan a year and a half ago and I just want to say I love it, I'm enjoying my time immensely and have great friends, high income etc etc.

One thing I noticed though is how women's health is so.. overlooked? I thought it was a myth before I moved here but man, it is not! Has anyone else noticed this?

For example, it is basically impossible to get an epidural during birth (alongside a 40-60% EPISIOTOMY rate!!!! -- In US it is 3%) which solidifies that I will not be giving birth in Japan lol.

Other things I noticed are the fact there is only like one tampon brand and most girl only use pads because they are in quotes as many of my friends said "scared" of inserting them. There is a severe lack of sexual education here as well. Plan b is also so expensive and annoying to get, requiring a doctor visit.

Not to mention the strange way of being treated by male gynos. When I lived in the north in the countryside we only had a few gyno's in the area, all male, and the only treatments for what I had were insertable pills that they had to manually put in themselves. No antibiotics or anything, so strange.. The meds never fully cured me (very minor, curable infection with oral medication back in America) and I had to keep coming back every month.

I'm not remembering everything but has anyone else thought the same thing?

Tried to go shopping, system down and they are sorry … makes one wonder if this is another hack. (Location Himonya)
UPDATE: as of 11:56am they are still closed.

A friend of mine sent this... It feels strange to have to write in your Credit Card details and mail it to them for auto-pay setup...

My family and I are living in Japan and over the past few months, we've noticed an unsettling and recurring pattern of older men targeting minors in public spaces.

We've had a couple of close calls previously, once in Yokohama and another time near a train station where a guy looked at my 15yo daughter very close, followed us down an escalator and stared us down.

Recently, the situation escalated at a local AEON mall food court. I had already noticed this elderly man (in his 60s or 70s) a couple of weeks prior, loitering in the seating area and staring at us.

At first, I brushed it off, assuming he was just a typical old man staring at foreigners since we aren't Japanese.

However, things got worse.

The first day he approached, while my 15-year-old daughter was briefly alone, he cornered her, talked to her and tried to pry into who the man accompanying her was (referring to me).

The second day, we went back to the same area. Even though I was sitting right next to her working on my laptop, the man had the audacity to walk right up and try to talk to her again, completely ignoring my presence.

I immediately stood up, put myself between them, and told him firmly to back off because she is a 15-year-old minor.

He even insisted to talk to her, then I standed and told him firmly and upset that im reporting him to "Koban" then he tried to pull out his phone (likely to show me something or distract me), but I shut him down, told him I was going to the police, grabbed our things, and left.

I went to the local koban (police box) to file a formal report.

As expected with Japanese bureaucracy, they were completely unhelpful because "no actual physical crime or assault" took place (even though he tried touching her shoulder to get her attention).

They just shrugged and advised us to avoid the area. We are changing her routine and funding safer spots and me always with her so she never has to deal with that creep again.

I want to know from people familiar with Japan: Is this kind of predatory loitering and testing of boundaries by older men common here? How do you usually deal with it when the police brush it off as a non-issue? Has anyone else experienced something similar?

Update: Thanks to everyone for responding, it was a very bad experience for me as a dad, but she is safe now, I wanted to clarify, I actually went to the keisatsusho, not the koban, i hate having language limitations in such situations like this, the police station was a big building in the area, so yes, they basically didn't give enough importance to the situation, even me explaining in detail where he is always

I have different katakana spellings of my name across my Japanese records, and I would like advice on how to resolve this issue.

When I first came to Japan, my employer registered my name using a particular katakana spelling. However, I later used a different spelling for my Bank account, Japanese credit cards, and registration at the Driving Center. Interestingly, the same person who registered my name when I first arrived was involved, so I am wondering why a different katakana spelling was used in the first place.

Correct: リ ー (ri)
Registered in Bank, Driving Center, Credit cards.

Wrong: レ (re)
Registered in City Hall, social, health insurance, my number, pension.

For example, one spelling uses リ ー (ri), while another uses レ (re). I believe the spelling used for my bank account and other personal registrations is my official katakana name. Changing it with the banks could be difficult because of the procedures and paperwork involved.

My pension, social insurance, and health insurance records may also contain these differences, and I am concerned about whether they could cause problems.

My questions are:
1. Which katakana spelling should I keep as my official name?

1. Should I correct the spelling at City Hall, with my employer, or at my bank?

2. Could these inconsistencies affect my tax payments, pension contributions, social insurance, health insurance, or other government-related payments being correctly credited to my records?

3. I want to make sure all my records are consistent and that my payments are properly processed. I would appreciate advice from anyone who has experienced a similar situation or knows the correct procedure in Japan.

Thank you for your help!

How do you reserve long distance buses?

I've been to a few sites and they are insane with how difficult they are.

Willer website works but is a bit pricey.

Any other websites you recommend?

Or companies that I can book direct?

To celebrate my spouse getting a great job in the New Year and since we both love kani I thought a trip from Tokyo for fresh kani would be fun. Two night stay. Some say the Kanazawa/Fukui area is very good for this. Any recommendations on where to stay and get the best meal? Ryokan with meal or prefer separate hotel and separate restaurant.

Mercari has asked me to rererify identification after 4 years of using their service and credit card as a verified member. Okay. I have just now attempted it a 4th time.

The error is that they are unable to read the address on my residence card but the reason for that may be that compared to the previous addresses on my card, the latest one is printed with a very thin and light font. Almost as if the printer was running out of ink. I've never had a problem anywhere else until now.

Now I could try to bring the phone much closer when I take the pic through the Mercari app but there is a minimum focus distance beyond which, if I take the phone closer, it blurs more. I can't operate zoom controls inside the Mercari app either. So I'm stumped on what to do.

Does anyone have experience going to the ward office and asking them to reprint the address?

P.S Can't pay using my Mercari card and my account is restricted until I submit the verification. Gee, thanks Mercari.

How do I throw away the metal kitchen sink strainer?

Im talking about the metal cylinder that you put in the sink hole to stop food from going down the drain. Its not draining properly now since its covered in gunk thats hard to get rid of. It stinks too.

Seems too disgusting for disposing it on metals day...but too metal for burnables day haha. I was thinking of crushing it as much as possible and then wrapping it and then throwing it away in burnables, but I dont want it to break and hurt someone.

Any advice?

Just something I’ve noticed. I tend to leave the curtains open to let natural light in, often leaving the window slightly open for airflow too if the weather allows it. But whenever I look around, both in my building and other buildings, everyone has the curtains drawn!!! All day! In summer and winter they’re always drawn. Even at friend houses, lights on full blast and curtains drawn. Why is that? Is it a cultural thing? Are they scared people might look inside? I understand the fear of you live on 1F, but otherwise… no one is looking (I hope?)

I am happy there are crows in Japan. Crows are scavengers and very smart birds. A study at the U of W in America showed that crows remember people’s faces. I make a point of acknowledging and thanking crows when I see them. Do you consider crows at all?

Bonus: Something I love about myself is that I watch sailing videos as a release from daily grind. The bodies of water are special to me. What do you love about yourself?

I will keep it short. I'm transitioning from a student visa to an SSW worker. Submitted my application on 3rd September. Submitted additional documents on 29th September; Hagaki hasn't arrived yet. My visa/residence card expired on 30th September.

Is the timeline of 2 weeks to 2 months real? Moreover, I'm losing my sanity because I have no idea why it is taking so long.

I also hold N2 if that is necessary and the category is caregiver.

Will I receive it within 2 months, that is, before 3rd November, or will I receive it before 30th November, before the end of my Tokurei Kikan.

Thank you and have a nice evening.

Just discovered it this morning, but you can now add you MyNa Card to your Google Wallet as the Japanese Administration made it available since October 20th.

If you missed the news like me, here's a chance to finally have access to a function that was limited to iPhone users only until now.

Source: https://www.khb-tv.co.jp/news/16978843

I’m genuinely curious because I used to work a care worker and every where facilities are always in need of workers that they accept people without experience. Even foreign ones like me who were hired while still being in our home country, didn’t have experience as well, except for the knowledge that we studied about the work and ofc Japanese. Other blue collar jobs like food service or factory work, also hire people all the time. But I think care work hires more and you can come in any time. They’re that in need of workers. Even a lot of staff are in their 60s-70s. The salary is also stable, in fact earns more than English teaching, and you don’t have to worry about documents or visa because everything will be done for you, as well as taxes, insurance and pension. Contracts are yearly renewed and some expect you to stay 3-5 years. Up to you still if you want to renew your work contract. But yeah, they hire easily. It was also self sustainable, got my own place and got to buy my wants and needs. I’m single and don’t have financial obligations back home. (This may not apply to people who have families here already, but then again there are a lot of workers who have family back home too.) I see a lot of people on TikTok or Instagram (and on here) that they’re struggling to find work and also lives in big cities, which is a very big factor.

So why do people not see it as an option? (Or why moving out of the city to a cheaper city/town). Is it because it’s “blue collar job”?

I would like foreigners living in Japan to answer. No other information is needed, anonymity is fine. I am a high school student living in Japan and created this survey as part of my class. My teacher also said that collecting actual opinions from foreigners is the most difficult part, so I would appreciate it if you could help spread this 🙏🏼

How do I deal with this without ticking off the local ゴミ番長
and getting my garbage returned to me? If i put it in recycle it’s going to come back. If I put it in burnable it’s coming back. If I open it up it’s a giant mess.

Is there a good way of dealing with this?

I just moved to Japan recently, and I'm still not great at the language, but I'm studying hard to at least reach N3. Since I don't know anyone or have relatives with connections here, things are pretty difficult. I barely have a social life. I am 18 years old half Japanese and taking a gap year to focus on studying Japanese in an online class so I can get into a public university, as private ones are way over budget for my mom and me. I’m living in Yokohama area.

To be honest, I'm not good at socializing because I struggle a lot with social anxiety, which makes it hard to make friends. Being this isolated has been severely affecting my mental health for almost a year now. It’s really depressing having no one to talk to, and I still want to experience having fun in Japan. Right now, I barely leave my room because going outside feels like a waste of time and money if I'm just going to be entirely by myself. I would find it more enjoyable if I were to be going on trips with friends instead of being alone.

I would really appreciate any advice. Thanks! ^_^

I am on a working visa and have owned my 2001 Honda life for the past 2 years that I have lived here. My mechanic-insurance shop said that my car is too old and shouldn't renew the shaken and instead I should lease a car through them. My other foreign work friends have done it and I was told that I would be paying the same price as them (￥40,000 per month including insurance, shaken, and maintenance for a 2 year contract). All the friends have decently newer cars, the oldest being 2017 Honda full sized van. But they ended up giving me a 2009 Honda Life. Is this normal in Japan? Are they trying taking advantage of me? If all repairs are included should I take the lease, is it worth it? I`ve never leased a car before but I always thought that normally you get a newer car. What is the smart thing to do here? Any advice would be appreciated.

Hello reddit, my wife works baito at a supermarket chain around 30 branches, nobody received their salary last Friday. No official communication was made, her tenchou said he also does not know when they will be paid. .

Today same thing, nothing was paid and she decided to come back and stay home, she'll be going to hello work for advice and look for another job.

We don't have money to hire a lawyer and speak very little japanese, we think this supa will go bankrupt and she wants to quit tomorrow since there is a chance they will never pay her anyway, what other advice would you give? In my home country when an employer delays the salary by even 1 day you can fight on small claims and the judge will order you to pay in double but I doubt Japan has worker protections such as this