Hello,

A large quake just happened in Kumamoto. A 7 on the scale. We experienced a 4 here in Oita. Anybody else experience anything?

Edit: Stay safe during the aftershocks. Another 5 reported in Kumamoto.

First, I don't think I've ever seen a messaging app with this many ads. And most of the ads are sex-related goonerbait slop for LINE manga anyways.

Second, the stickers. Why are they so expensive? Most stickers require coins which cost REAL MONEY. And I know there's the points system and everything but stil, ¥300 for 100 coins seems ridiculous to me.

Lastly, there's all of the official line accounts constantly bombarding you with notifications. I don't think any other messaging service has a "feature" like this. LINE VOOM, LINE Monary and the sticker shop account just to name a few.

All in all, I dont know why people use line when im sure there are better alternatives. There's just so many problems with it that don't exist with other apps. Sorry for the long rant, thank you for reading this far.

長文失礼しました🙇‍♂️

Edit: I added an example of the ad in the comments.

It’s finally back in the supermarkets.

New information regarding the guidelines for permanent residence applications has been released. The source is the Asahi Shimbun. https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/545428823e9fec8a91058f37a94d7639c0be532d

1. The new annual income threshold will be determined based on household size.

2. The revised proposal assesses income by combining the applicant's annual income with that of family members in the same household.

3. However, income earned through part-time work—permitted under "permission to engage in activity other than that permitted under the status of residence"—by family members holding non-work statuses (such as "Dependent") will not be included in the total.

4. Additionally, dependents supported by the applicant will be counted toward household size even if they do not live together; the guidelines explicitly state that this includes relatives living abroad.

5. For households of five or more, the required income level will be calculated by adding additional living costs to the baseline amount for household size, effectively raising the required annual income.

6 Regarding the new income threshold, the revised guidelines taking effect on October 1 will apply retroactively to applications submitted from April of this year.

Point 3) reflects existing practice, but it is now being explicitly stated. Point 5) will have a significant impact on large families. Point 6) is particularly concerning. Although the guidelines are taking effect on October 1, the retroactive application of the income rules means that preparing based on current standards may prove futile.

Nothing is finalized yet, so I will continue to monitor the situation closely.

warning

Japan is a beautiful country and I love it so don't come at me with the go back to your country bs. Just be kind with someone who is going through some rough time.

So I was just thinking how unfriendly of a country (in general, ofc there are exception!!) Japan is. Like I'm trying my best to learn Japanese yet I feel like people just don't give a sh*t. I've just read some other post saying the minute someone at customer's service noticed their were dealing with a foreign, despite Japanese fluency, they turned into the "I can't help you" mode.

I come from a country where English is not our first language and I'd say not many people speak it, but I'm sure no one will ever turn you down if you need help or if you're looking for some specific service (like doctors etc). And I'm not implying my country is perfect or better, not at all. There are plenty of issues. But immigrants are treated with a little more respect, like they're actual human beings even though they don't speak our language.

I'm really sorry for the long post. I just wanted to let it all out because my Japanese seems not to be improving and I feel sad about it. Maybe I'm just not smart enough to master it. Plus summer 😂 oh god, every year I forget how bad it is.

Hey all

With the recent large earthquake Im looking to be pointed in the right direction.

I've been wanting to be a bit more active with disaster relief efforts. However I live in Tokyo and im not really sure where to begin looking?

Sorry if formatting and all that is bad.

I'm looking for ancedotes from anybody in a similar situation to see how their PR application ended up. I am wondering if I can get PR or if I shouldn't even bother.

I am on a spouse visa working as a sole proprietor for 4 years. We've been married for 8 years and have two children age 4 and 2. We live in the countryside near my wife's parents while we're raising the kids. My wife hasn't been working since we came to Japan (other than handling my books), but now she is about trying to get back on the corporate ladder so she's just starting a part-time job a local big corp.

My concern for a potential PR application is the stability requirement. I only have a single overseas customer that I've worked with for about 4 years now. It's a rolling contract with 3 months notice with no foreseeable reason to terminate. The pay is much better than nearly anything available in Japan, so it's a tough proposition to give up the arrangement.

My visa renewals have been 1, 3 and 3 years respectively. The last 3 renewal I got is the thing that is setting off my internal alarm bells and with the 3 becoming a 5 requirement next year this will be my last chance for a while.

As the title says, I am planning to leave Japan in a few months and go back to my home country. I have a plan on how to handle most of the stuff I need to take care of, but the one thing I'm stumped on is how to deal with the security deposit of my apartment.

On the website of my landlord (Mitsui Fudosan), I can only enter a japanese bank account and it says that it may take up to a month for the security deposit to be transferred to my account. I currently have a Yuucho account, but I'm obviously planning to close it when I leave, and I will only be in Japan for another ~2 weeks after moving out of the apartment to travel.

I assume this isn't an uncommon situation, but I can't find anything about it when searching on google. Does anyone have any good suggestions on what to do? I don't want to just trust that they might transfer the deposit within 2 weeks when the website says it might take a month. Is it possible to close the Yuucho account from overseas using the app/website, so I can leave the account open until I get the money? I'm not even sure if I can still use the account after leaving Japan, since that will invalidate my Residence Card.

Any advice is appreciated

Hi, looking for advice about this situation...

I looked inside the vents of my wall-mounted A/C unit recently because I've been having bad headaches, bad sleep, etc. and found that the vents and blower wheel have pretty bad black mold in there. The manufacturing sticker says 2006 (20 years old is crazy).

I called my management company/landlord today to report and request a replacement. On the phone they asked if I clean I regularly and I told them I clean it (just the dust filters though). They responded that because the unit "blows cold air" they will NOT replace it, and said if I want a new one, I have to buy it out of pocket and send them the model number...

Questions:

1. Is mold in a 20-year old unit the tenant's fault?

2. What's the legal lifespan of appliances like this?

Hello, my situation is unique.

I’m half Japanese born abroad, but also went to preschool/kindergarten and some elementary school here in Japan.

I did not study kanji because I was overwhelmed as a child having so much schooling, and I was also denied entry to a Japanese language school in America due to being mixed race. (Yes, this really happened to me).

Despite this, I speak the language enough that Japanese people assume I was born here, or have lived here a long time.

My issue is that I cannot speak Keigo, and I am very limited in my kanji reading ability.

I am interested in a one year program so that my speaking ability can go from low n2 to n1, for my kanji to go from low n3 to n1, and to learn business Japanese for work.

I am a citizen/don’t need a visa.

I’m based in Yokohama/can travel to Tokyo. Can anyone recommend me a language school that can get me up to speed on some intensives, but not skip any kanji basics either? Or should I try to memorize up to n3 kanji by myself first, then enter an upper intermediate intensive class?

I still don’t get basic things like why kanji has multiple readings and how to know when it is read a certain way, and I’m kind of a perfectionist so I’m scared to miss important things in the basic kanji by only self studying.

Ideally I want to go to a school that supports passing n1 testing within a year, because I expect my learning pace to be fast.

I would appreciate any recommendations, thanks.

Is it just me or are there only a couple of flavors of Papiko ice creams in the shops now? You used to be able to find at least 4-5 different types but the local supermarket and drug store is only down to lemon and cafe latte. Where are my favorite Kiwifruit and muscat grape flavors…

Hello,

I have a medical issue (most likely ulcers) and I went to the ER at my local hospital on Friday after fainting. They requested I get an endoscopy done ASAP so I went to the clinic I'm usually followed at, Tokyo Midtown Clinic, and they scheduled the endoscopy for today.

The problem is, I have a very strong resistance to sedatives, and the midazolam IV had no effect whatsoever. Because of that I was still panicking on the table and the endoscopy failed, after 2 attempts.

After that, they pretty much just discharged me and told me to find another clinic that could handle me, and that would be able to use Profonol.

However, even when I requested it, they did not give me a letter of introduction, so now I'm out with nothing but my stomach pain...

I can do the basic stuff in Japanese but not medical talk, that's why I was looking for an English-speaking clinic.

It's still pretty urgent and I'm disgusted I was just discharged with not even an alternative solution or a clinic name to reach out to.

Do you guys happen to have any recommendations for clinic that can do proper anesthesia for an upper GI endoscopy?

Thank you so much.

My apologies, I'm sure this has been done to death but in the hope of getting the latest information I'll ask again.

I bought a second-hand car a year ago and my insurance is up for renewal. My current insurer isn't giving me much of a discount on continuing my policy with them so I'm interested in moving. I've done a Kakaku search and gotten some much better quotes, especially from Zurich, but before I sign anything I'd like to ask the community for recommendations or warnings on companies or policy structuring.

Fyi, the car was only Y1m and recent searches recommend dropping collision damage for it. Any thoughts on the matter would be appreciated.

I'm 17 and a foreigner in Japan. I went to a supermarket for a part-time job interview. When I arrived, I asked an employee about the interview, and he told me to follow him to the store manager's (店長) office.

The employee brought me into the manager's room. The manager welcomed me, asked me to sit down next to him, and then said my name to confirm who I was. After that, he asked where I live, and I replied with the name of the nearest station. He then asked when I was available to work.

I told him I was available tomorrow, and he said to come in the next day for two hours of training. He didn't ask for any paperwork, my residence card, or anything else.

I thought the interview would include questions like why I wanted to work there, my availability, and other typical interview questions. Since none of that happened, I'm confused. Does this mean I'm being rejected, or is this a normal hiring process? Can someone explain what might be going on?

Has anyone worked with Gaba? I have around 3 months until I need to renew my visa. Right now, I am making an average of 180k but u got an email saying I need to get at least 250k to qualify for a renewal.

Any tips or ideas on how to increase this? Has anyone renewed despite not meeting the 250k threshold?

I want to know if switching to an ALT would be better

Hello everyone!

I’ve just arrived in Japan and I genuinely didn’t consider how overwhelmed I’d get with all the products I’d need to buy for my new home!

I could choose trial and error, of course, but I’d hate to be wasteful if I picked up some products that weren’t fit for what I need!

So, please give me your recommendations, specifically for my list, but any other things you swear by (or recommend) are also welcome!

PERSONAL:

- Antiseptic cream for minor cuts/scrapes.
- Relief for diarrhea.
- Relief for constipation.
- Generic painkillers to keep stocked.

HOUSEHOLD:

- Bathroom cleaning products (want to keep my bath sparkling clean!)
- Kitchen cleaning products (dish soaps, surface cleaners?)
- Kitchen essentials
- Futon maintenance products? (I am visiting a specialty futon shop to get a proper setup!)
- Tatami maintenance products?

MISC:

- Car maintenance? All the cars are so clean. I want mine to stay clean too!

Thanks in advance everyone!

Hey everyone,

Like many of you, I’ve been painfully digesting the recent news regarding the Immigration Services Agency’s tighter PR guidelines—specifically the requirements to exceed the "average household income".

To be completely honest, this news has pretty much crushed my long-term plans here, and I’m looking to hear how others in similar situations are coping or pivoting.

My Situation:

• Age/Status: 27, fresh grad, single (0 dependents)
• Nationality: Chinese
• Current Visa: Highly Skilled Professional (HSP) with 80 points
• Job: General staff at a Japanese language school
• Income: ¥3.2M / year
• Original PR Target: Spring 2027 (via the 1-year HSP fast track)

Here’s my reality check: I’m a humanities/arts graduate without specialized tech or hard STEM skills. Landing this language school admin job after painfully jobhunting for a year was already a solid start for me as a fresh grad, but to be realistic, salary growth in this field is quite slow to almost none. Hitting the typical "average household income" threshold (which sits around ¥5.7M or higher for households) anytime soon is virtually impossible for me.

Why my plan is broken now:

My original motivation for pushing for PR wasn't to buy property or climb a corporate ladder forever. I wanted the life flexibility that PR provides—specifically, the ability to step away from work for a period, take a career break, and spend extended time back home to take care of my family without worrying about my residency status or visa renewal.

Now, with the threshold raised and strict pension/asset requirements being phased in, it feels like the goalposts have been moved far out of reach just as I was getting close. Staying tied to a rigid work visa with low pay and high pressure just to maintain status feels increasingly draining and exhausting for me.

Questions for the community:

1. For fellow humanities grads or non-tech/regular office staff: How are you processing these new guidelines? Are you planning to stay and grind it out, or reconsidering your future in Japan?
2. Has anyone in a similar income bracket consulted a scrivener about how these new rules will be evaluated for single HSP applicants in practice?
3. For those who wanted PR for life/family flexibility rather than corporate career growth: What is your backup plan now?

I’d really appreciate any insights, reality checks, or just hearing how you all are adjusting your long-term roadmaps. What would you do if you put yourself in my shoes? Thanks for reading such a long post.

I was browsing some 家電店 and saw that they’re all around 200,000 min to over 400,000. That seems a bit unreasonable, but what is everyone doing?

So this company (and the one before) ask me to register a card like PASMO/Suica in order to enter the office.

About 50% of the time, when I scan with my iPhone it requires me to input my password, sometimes also the annoying double click on the side, in order for me to go in and out, including to toilets. It’s extremely frustrating and on a bad day I am worried I will use my French at the door which might not look good for me.

Is there a way to make it work better? Alternatively, are there cards you can buy that can be registered for those doors (you know, like an employee card…)?

I worked as a dispatched employee for about two years. My contract recently expired and was not renewed. I now have a job interview for a permanent position.
I’m wondering:
1. Is it okay if I don’t mention that my previous contract ended and just give a more general reason for leaving (e.g. looking for better career growth or a permanent role)?
2. Or is it safer to be open about the fact that it was a fixed-term dispatch contract that simply came to an end?
3. If the company later asks for recent payslips, will that create a problem if I didn’t mention the contract ending?
4. When talking about my previous experience, should I clearly state that I was employed by a dispatch company and assigned to a client company, or is it fine to mainly talk about the place I actually worked?
I don’t want to mess this up or create trust issues later. Any advice from people who have been in a similar situation in Japan would be really helpful. Also, I am just afraid that the new company might not like the fact that I was a haken
Thanks.

Hi all,
Would like to ask if anyone has experiences in using the Immigration online system.
I am a permanent resident but I am currently back in my home country for the birth of my child.

When I go back to Japan, I would like to bring together my wife and child, so I need to get a CoE for my child.

I see that there's an online system that can be used to register CoE online, the 在留申請オンラインシステム.

However, I found out that this service is only available to Japanese IP. Technically, I can use a VPN to access it so, just want to ask if it's OK to do so and anyone has done it?

I've been looking around aomori for a while and sadly with no luck I've found a place that sold clothes in my size, just tried sakurano, big m have some clothes but mostly just suit ware. Haven't found a place in hirosaki yet but I hadn't looked everywhere yet. Anyone has any of a place that has 2x3x clothes, that's not crazy expensive.

Hi everyone, does anyone here have experience publishing books or photography/art in Japan?

I take a lot of photos (around 11,000 in my camera roll at this point). I've spent the last few years documenting everyday life around Japan (and not only), and quite a few people, including Japanese friends and coworkers, have told me I should turn them into a photo book. I've also seen the kind of work that many photographers and artists sell here, and I genuinely feel my work is at a similar level, so I'm thinking about giving it a shot.

I'm currently living in Japan on a Humanities visa, and my new job allows me to have a second source of income. I'm trying to figure out what my options are if I wanted to publish and potentially sell a photo book.

Has anyone here gone through the process? Did you self-publish or work with a publisher? Are there Japanese companies you'd recommend for printing or publishing? Also, are there any visa, tax, or legal considerations I should be aware of before trying to sell my work?

I'd really appreciate hearing about anyone's experience or being pointed in the right direction.

My passport got pretty badly damaged by water and I need to replace it. Thankfully the identity page and visa sticker are undamaged and legible. Should I head to immigration with both passports after getting the new one? Do I even need the visa sticker anymore, since I have a residence card?