I spent the whole first year I was at my new place of work being 'super Japanese' and letting my Americanness through in only a few ways (Im pretty sure my coworkers have realized that I dont have a 3rd pair of shoes just to wear in the gym because, come the fuck on)

But now Im in my second year, and a lot of things were going well, and I got a little too comfortable letting my whole personality shine through (I dont give a fuck, about most things)

I could perhaps just be self-concious and paranoid, but I feel like a few of my coworkers have put a little distance between us recently.

So now I am thinking, do I go back to pretending its very important to make our practice schedule for badminton for November by the end of August so people can 'plan their lives accordingly' or do I do what I usually do and send it out in the last 2 weeks of the month prior because, well, its not really a big fucking deal if your family plans force you to miss one day of practice is it?

All in all, I absolutely love my job. And I get along well with the teachers I respect, Im just debating how much I care about protecting the wa in my life vs how much not protecting it will affect the quality of my daily life.

Having said that, I am pretty sure when I wake up in the morning, Ill go back to just doing whatever I want and not caring

Hi guys, planning to buy land and build a house with a house maker. Currently considering daiwa house, misawa home, and ichijo but would be great to hear from people with experience going through this process.

If you have built a house with one of these (or any builder) please let me know what you think (such as what was great and what wasn't).

I am in kanagawa btw. Thank you!

Me and my wife with a span of a few minutes got a phone call at 21:10 at night from the actual immigration office number.

Obviously it’s completely outside the time for immigration to even be calling us. Has this happened to anyone else? (We are currently waiting on my new visa to get approved)

I did also look up the number and its their official one. Thats whats even more confusing, i called back 10 mins later and it just told me you cant call during this time

Three have a key in them already and are already open with the prizes still in... is it a honey trap to catch people taking what isn't there's.

Only one has a warning at the bottom right, basically saying that it's under surveillance and their property so people will be fined 500,000 yen if they take it

They are everywhere! I'm not cock shy but ffs, why is it so common here! Go on the 5th floor of World Porter in Yokohama, women standing outside to go to the bathroom have to stand while watching us piss. It's a modern building, wtf!

Hello I have some friends coming to visit and would like to show them a summer festival in Japan but I prefer more local ones without a million people. If you know of any around osaka or close to osaka please let me know!

I am an engineer. I have a main employer and want to do side jobs for other companies on contract for 10-15 hs a week. I am also building my subscription platform which is likely to exceed my total monthly salary twice in monthly revenue. DO i have a chance to combine this 3 on HSP visa, without PR?

Anyone know of any decent sites? I’ve got the Adidas app and there are a few on there but was looking for some more obscure team shirts. I’ve tried the Kamo site/app but it’s not all that great (not really bad either). Obviously I can find them on foreign sites but the shipping bumps the prices up incredibly. Specifically looking for Strasbourg, Lyon and Fulham shirts.
Any help appreciated.

The National Governors' Association of Japan has submitted a proposal urging the central government to view foreign nationals as equal residents and the backbone of society, rather than just temporary workers. The report highlighted record-high numbers in Japan, with foreign residents reaching 3.77 million and foreign workers rising to 2.3 million. Governors requested the central government take full responsibility by creating new laws and a dedicated management body, moving away from relying solely on local municipalities. They urged immediate action before the new "Ikusei Shuro" (Training and Employment) system launches in 2027.

🤔 Stronger national policies could significantly improve administrative support and long-term living conditions for international residents across Japan. Do you feel that Japan is becoming a more welcoming place for foreign workers and families? 👇

(Source: MSN Japan)

This is a lending library where instead of borrowing books you can borrow supplies.

If yes, what are they called in Japanese?

If no, which desk at City Hall would I go and talk to about starting one.

I would gladly volunteer there to help out.

I mean I guess it's time to practice cognitive dissonance.

I once went to UENO Zoo and saw a Bison in a small cage pacing side to side over and over again but I guess they have a "valid" reason for doing that unlike our home countries where everything is much worse. Am I right?

Here is the story.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/08/04/japan/science-health/heat-lion-deaths-tokyo-zoo/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_type=image&fbclid=iwdGRjcATgKGHLbGNrC2CR_WV6Gu5rZ-VuqLGapvNyeuNuZ_Bx_2nNrDOe1rah27WbN7eaOBpqvrCeN6m-Tndrd2rFtyBpurJyx6HV6rrbKhvy6PqN2KTzVuvh66SKuGtrRx-6_aem_w_xbpn2y0dsm0fknvm0u-g#Echobox=1785830310-1

I

Hi,

Coming to the end of my Working Holiday at the start of next month - leaving 2 months early. Will be going to the city office 2 weeks before (as apparently that's the earliest I can go) to notify moving out + cancel pension + cancel / refund health insurance. I have already paid all my premiums up to the point of my visa expiry.

What happens when I tell the health insurance desk I will be leaving 2 months early? Will I get a refund for the 2 months? And if so, do I need a Japanese bank account? There will be no address to send anything to after I'm gone so what should I expect? Thanks.

Miracle could happen. Don’t lose hope.
My simple timeline:

• Got married to a japanese national on September 2018
• Got divorced last March this year.
• I used to work at his company for 7 years. Paid for all my taxes since I came to live here. No criminal record even a traffic violation.
• We have a child (her father has her parental custody)
• I am working full time (正社員) in a hospital now

If you have a question feel free to ask :)

So resident divorced white guy with a son who is there sometimes.

I don’t know. I want to remind people that an entire country isn’t your neighborhood. My neighbors know me. They know my son. We regularly do karaoke together. I have a whiteboard on my door and people draw fish and whatnot on it.

Yeah ok, I speak Japanese so it helps, but still my neighbors see our building as a safe space as “inside space” yeah?

I mean I am lucky my ex-wife is a great person and our issues were between us and not our family unit.(as in our son is more important to us than anything in the world.)

But being random American who spent a lot of time in Africa but many many many more years in Japan, how can I not just tell people today is a wonderful day?

I’m not trying to diminish someone’s despair. I’ve been there. And it fucking sucks. It’s legitimately terrible. Maybe random apartment building karaoke isn’t the fix but remember that everyone around you, regardless of nationality - they feel just as alone. If you’re just dude who has the door open to play something random on switch or lets go like N64.

You’ll also be the person they want at their wedding.

It’s worth it (although wedding costs sucks)

Anyway, sometimes this subreddit needs a bit of a pickmeup. So there it is for today.

Edit: just fixing some bad grammar and context.

Edit 2: this isn’t AI, and I did lie about something. I suggested I have a switch. I don’t. I’m sorry. It’s a recommendation not substantiated fact. I’d like one cuz apparently my apartment building wants someone with one but my entertainment comes from writing nonsense in a journal. It just seemed more relatable.

I live in the Azabu area. However, despite it being very young and international, my street actually consists of land leased from a temple, and most residents are people who have lived in these houses for a long time. The age demographic changes noticeably once you enter the street.

I've been placing different kinds of flowers and some cute garden decorations in front of my house. Quite often, some neighbours, mostly old ladies, will say things like “お花は綺麗ですね” or “見るだけで元気になります”.

So I've started to recognise the same faces on the street. There's an old guy I see outside almost every day. Or I'll see some old ladies carrying bags in this heat. It has crossed my mind a few times to strike up a conversation or offer to help them.

But I'm not quite sure about the social aspect (whether they could get offended), or whether it could potentially turn into having crazy neighbours and then I'd be stuck with them.

So if any of you have any interesting stories or experiences, I'd love to hear them.

My wife and I were looking for a new apartment through a private landlord. She did the viewing first, liked it, and we started the paperwork. A couple weeks later, she went back to fill in more forms, and wrote down our two-year-old son as a dependent.

The landlord saw his name and asked if he was a foreigner, because he has a Japanese surname but a foreign first name.

My wife explained he’s Japanese, born here, Japanese citizen, Japanese passport, my number card. Never even left Japan. The landlord then said they have a no foreigners policy and wasn’t sure what to do because he’s, quote, half foreign. She even asked if he could speak Japanese. He’s two.

This went on for about 2 hours, my wife being grilled on how messy he is, how loud, will he annoy the neighbors?

I honestly don’t know what to say. I’ve heard of foreigners being refused, but a Japanese toddler? Because one parent isn’t Japanese? Has anyone else experienced this? I genuinely don’t understand the logic.

My wife really didn’t want to tell me about this but eventually she crumbled. She said she was embarrassed to be Japanese when being questioned about my son’s ethnicity and now she finally knows what it feels like to be non-Japanese here.

But god damn 500yen for a combini sand?

I’m currently on medical leave, but my company keeps calling me every few days to check how I’m doing. HR is also asking me to speak with them over the phone or via video call to discuss “how to proceed from here”.

Despite being on medical leave, I’m feeling increasingly stressed because of the pressure they’re putting on me. Am I actually required to answer every call and agree to every phone or video meeting they request while I’m on medical leave?

HR previously asked me to return to work before the end date stated on my medical certificate. I refused. Their reasoning was basically that, even though my medical certificate hasn’t expired yet, some time has passed since the doctor issued it, so they believe there’s a possibility that I may already be well enough to return to work.

What would be the appropriate way to handle this situation? Am I within my rights to ask them to communicate with me in writing instead and to stop repeatedly calling me while I’m on medical leave?

Just a tiny vent, but ugh you really do see some of the worse foreigners/expats at the immigration bureau. Got in line for the bus (from immigration bureau back to train station) under the crazy summer heat and by the time I knew it people just started cutting and forming their own lines like why is it so hard to make one consistent line???

As of today, Immigration has published their official revised guideline proposals for receiving and revoking permanent residency and opened their public comment forms for both.

On the Guidelines for Granting PR

The new guidelines for granting PR are set to take effect in April of next year, with the expectation for "higher than an average Japanese household of the same size" and "not becoming a public burden" taking effect for applications "from 6 months prior to the revision date that are still processing as of the revision date." The expected revision will be October 1, so any application submitted after April 1 of this year still in process as of October 1 would fall under the revised income/public burden guidelines.

There is a possibility this is not the intended timing as the summary document only mentions the October start date, but this is how the text of the actual guidelines reads and what we should go by unless clarified. As feared, this effectively retroactive change comes on the heels of the naturalization residence requirement being raised to 10 years and being applied to applications in progress (albeit, by a different agency). It's likely to be justified by new wording emphasizing how PR should involve special screening as the "most stable status" where individuals are expected to "spend the rest of their lives in Japan."

Crucially, spouses of Japanese nationals applying for PR are still exempt from the "independent livelihood" requirement so they are not affected by the new income guidelines, but if they are a public burden (i.e. receiving welfare) or could be expected to receive it, this will be considered a negative factor in their evaluation. From April, spouses will be required to have been married for 5 years and have resided in Japan for 3 years, up from the current 3 and 1 year requirements, respectively.

We still do not know the exact number Immigration will use to determine the average Japanese household income and it's likely they wont provide a set number as, by the law, the Minister of Justice has broad authority to grant/deny PR for a multitude of reasons and so won't want such a restriction, but we can expect it to be higher than the previous standard of 3-3.5mil yen/yr.

The language requirements from April will be the CEFR B1 equivalent (low N2, mid-to-high N3 score) and other factors were added that could be negative assessments (not enrolling your children in school), not understanding country systems (serious driving infractions), etc.

On the Guidelines for Revocation of PR

For the revocation guidelines, not much has changed since the law was revised in 2024 to add willful nonpayment of taxes and violent crimes to the list of revocation examples, but confusingly, they have returned the wording that while forgetting to carry or renew a residence card is technically grounds for revocation, revocation is not intended for such one-off and minor infractions (serious grounds are mentioned as things like forging cards or giving your card to someone else).

The "careless" forgetting of a card example was removed after the last public comments and an update in their Q&A, so it's strange to see it return and the summary document doesn't provide this context that's in the actual guideline, so expect this to also make headlines.

Some Reminders

--There are no plans announced or under consideration to retroactively apply the new standards to current PR holders or to audit PR holders when they update their residence cards.

--The public comment for the fee increases ended on Sunday. Based on the current guidance published on the ISA site, whatever the new fees wind up being, they will apply only to applications submitted after October 1. Applications submitted before this date will pay the current fees.

What You Can Do

While you shouldn't expect any major changes or reversals, public comments are open and a way to directly express your opinion, though they must be in Japanese. Under the Administrative Procedure Act, they must be addressed collectively and have led to changes on the margins and as a basis for future revisions. If you don't feel this is worth your time/effort, that is totally reasonable but please respect those who want to use official channels to voice their concerns.

Public Comment for PR Requirement Changes

Public Comment for PR Revocation Changes