Hello, I'm a 24yr old Japanese citizen that has been living outside of Japan for most of my life. I'm interested in moving there, however I have some hurdles to overcome.
Primary, I'd be like a ghost appearing out of thin air. I don't have an address, job, or bank account in Japan. In order to open a bank account I need an address, and vice versa.
Secondly, I cannot read Kanji. I can hold a conversation just fine however reading is something else. I can just hire an interpreter for government docs and bank info, however money may tighten up quicky.
Unlike those who already live in Japan or foreign residents who are expected to have a job or school lined up and a system in place to get them situated, I don't have that luxury.
I don't want to just go there and hope it works out. I need something to hold on to so I don't end up homeless or back home with my tail between my legs.
My family in Japan probably won't be an option for help considering they live 4 hours from Tokyo. Not trying to cause meiwaku for them. I already know my aunt wouldn't be privy to me asking for help and my cousin is flaky.
I have looked into Sony bank but it appears the English version is geared to foreign residents. That would have been my best option to have some money ready for myself and not have to navigate an app in Japanese.
TLDR: All I have is a Japanese passport but nothing else to get situated for living in Japan.
All help is appreciated, thank you.
by No_Instruction_6605
9 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Dual citizens, how did you manage to get situated in Japan?**
Hello, I’m a 24yr old Japanese citizen that has been living outside of Japan for most of my life. I’m interested in moving there, however I have some hurdles to overcome.
Primary, I’d be like a ghost appearing out of thin air. I don’t have an address, job, or bank account in Japan. In order to open a bank account I need an address, and vice versa.
Secondly, I cannot read Kanji. I can hold a conversation just fine however reading is something else. I can just hire an interpreter for government docs and bank info, however money may tighten up quicky.
Unlike those who already live in Japan or foreign residents who are expected to have a job or school lined up and a system in place to get them situated, I don’t have that luxury.
I don’t want to just go there and hope it works out. I need something to hold on to so I don’t end up homeless or back home with my tail between my legs.
My family in Japan probably won’t be an option for help considering they live 4 hours from Tokyo. Not trying to cause meiwaku for them. I already know my aunt wouldn’t be privy to me asking for help and my cousin is flaky.
I have looked into Sony bank but it appears the English version is geared to foreign residents. That would have been my best option to have some money ready for myself and not have to navigate an app in Japanese.
TLDR: All I have is a Japanese passport but nothing else to get situated for living in Japan.
All help is appreciated, thank you.
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Sony Bank is for everyone, and anyone can use either the Japanese interface or the English one. As a Japanese citizen you can open a bank account easily after you have an address. Your first address, if not with friends or family, is likely to be a share house. This is fine, you just need a roof over your head.
I would highly recommend opening a Wise account and getting a Wise debit card before you come to Japan. See wise.com. Make sure your online banking in your home country is able to easily transfer to Wise **before** you come to Japan. Put enough money on your Wise card to last you at least 6 months with no work. That will give you a cushion and avoid big problems. US$10k would be enough to live cheaply for 6 months in Japan. **Cheaply!**
When you arrive, you will need to register with your local city hall and file a moving in notice. You will also need to get a national health insurance card, and sign up for pension. The initial payments will be extremely low as it is based on your previous year’s income, which in Japan will have been zero.
You should also immediately apply for a plastic My Number card. This will make many things easier for you, including opening a bank account. However it will take some weeks (maybe up to 6 or so?) for the My Number card to arrive. You need to have your Wise account and funds ready for this time as you may not be able to open a bank account until you get your My Number card.
Do you have a driver’s license? Depending on where it is from, you may be able to easily convert your foreign license to a Japanese one. Canada, Australia, and many other countries have such agreements. If your license is American, only a few states have such agreements. If you have a license that you will be able to convert, then you must look up what is required for the conversion and make sure you bring those documents with you. If you do not have the documents (such as a way to prove that you have had your license for at least 90 days in the issuing area — needs to be solid proof) then you will not be able to complete the conversion. Try googling `drivers license site:reddit.com/r/japanlife` for many examples & stories. Do **not** post in that sub until after you arrive, posting as a non-resident will get you banned permanently.
If you have a Japanese driver’s license and an extract of your “address register” (住民票) from city hall, you may be able to open a bank account at Shinsei or Sony. As a Japanese citizen, you should not **need** your MyNumber card, though many banks do prefer it. (You might even be able to do it with your health insurance card, passport, and an “address register”.)
I’ll write another reply shortly about jobs.
Is there any chance you can start off by joining ur family (temporarily) even though they are 4 hours away. You can settle there for a bit and open bank account etc.
Jobs… Well, you need some skills if you want to make more than poverty wages. What can you do? What are you willing to learn?
As a Japanese citizen you have no restrictions on work. You could work in a gaijin bar, for example (a bar with mostly foreigners as customers). Most foreigners cannot legally work in such places as there are no work visas available and students & WHV holders are forbidden from this type of work. So it’s PR, spouse, or Japanese citizens. However, the pay is garbage and there is no tipping in Japan to make up for the terrible pay.
You could work as an English teacher. This is another job with very low pay, but as a native english speaker who does not need a visa, you should have little trouble landing such a job. These jobs have no career future though, you will be stuck making 200,000yen to 300,000yen essentially forever. It will keep a roof over your head in the immediate term, but it’s not a great long term option.
Do you have any inclination towards tech, or a willingness to learn? You could look into something like networking work. Get your CCNA (or even something like a Network+ cert) and you can probably land a job in a datacenter working as “smarthands”. Connecting cables, racking equipment, *maybe* doing basic config. Again, the pay is not great. **BUT** the difference is you are gaining actually useful skills, and if you are willing to keep studying and adding to your certification list, you can move into much higher paying jobs. Bilingual network architects with 10+ years of experience can make 15m yen or more. I know one guy making over 20m. It takes time and effort, but the career path is there.
Would spend some time figuring out how you are going to support yourself. Build up a linked in profile, and start applying for jobs that you might be able to do. See if you can land a job before you arrive in the country, it will make starting your new life a whole lot easier.
> I already know my aunt wouldn’t be privy to me asking for help and my cousin is flaky.
I suspect you mean “open” here and not “privy”? Privy means “knowing” or “to know”.
https://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Aprivy
And why exactly do you want to move to Japan if you don’t have a job, family or the ability to read and write the language…? What are you hoping to get out of this?
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Hey these sharehouses are pretty disgusting and the worst living situation of my life, but at 25, I was pretty much in the same situation as you and could register my address at city hall(kuyakusho/shiyakusho) for pretty cheap(about 2 yrs ago, 30000 yen per month, startup fees 60000) and easily(no job, not the best relations with family, just a couple thousand dollars of savings). You can’t just register any hostel/hotel as your address, and you usually need a job to rent like a normal apartment. You could also try some airbnb owners and ask if you can register their address at a city hall. There were a couple that said okay to me. Hankos are important but, you need a juminhyo(piece of paper you get from city hall to prove you live there) to get a job, health insurance, to go from ghost to citizen. Also, get a stamp on your Japanese passport at the airport when you enter!!!!! Super important. At rhe city hall, you need it as proof of when you entered the country, but not all agents give it to you before entering. Idk how your Japanese is, but if it’s ok, you should sign up with some recruiters who’ll teach you how to interview. You can basically go for anything with 未経験者歓迎、第二新卒 at 24. I went for network engineering which is a relatively easy field to get into. If no Japanese, maybe start off with English teaching, recruiting, marketing…
https://www.tokyobeta.jp/en/search-by-station/
i was lucky enough to be put up in temporary accomodation by my job for 1.5 months until i moved into my apartment.
that was more than enough time to set up everything
i also couldnt read much kanji (i probably knew ~500 at that point) but i was able to get through it
1. get address (youll have to be sleeping somewhere so just use that address, perhaps an airbnb or sharehouse)
1.5 (optional) get a hanko at any hanko shop, just a basic one with your last name
2. register your address at city hall (move in procedures), you may also need to pick up a juuminhyo for later steps – register for health insurance and pension as well – the people at my city hall were very helpful and friendly so just ask for help
3. open bank account using address/juuminhyo (i went in person to JP post bank)
4. get a phone number (i use ahamo and like it, i think you need the juuminhyo for this as well, can apply online)
5. find an apartment by going to a real estate office or looking online [suumo.jp](http://suumo.jp), use family members as guarantors if you can
i think you can get a job any time after getting a phone number
good luck!