I just moved into a new building, in Tokyo. Today, a nice old man came to my door and I found out he was a neighbor. Nicities and Aisatsu and such.
But he also asked me to fill out a simple form that he says everyone in the building fills out. It has a spot for room number, name, phone number, kind of work, birthday, and those for others living with you, as well as emergency contact info. Also date moved in.
It seems like just a nice old guy looking out for the neighbors in the building, but at the same time I’ve never done something like this before. I used to live in Saitama and before that Gunma in apartments that were not big at all, but this one is 9 floors, so maybe cause it is bigger?
It is quite an old building, if that matters.
Is this normal?
5 comments
Unless he’s the 管理人さん, we wouldn’t give out private information. Be careful!
Everyone in the building fills out … FOR WHAT?
Anyway sketchy as hell imho. Tell him to fuck off the aisatsu way. 👋
The police in the city where we live take a neighborhood census periodically verifying the names of everyone who lives in the residence. It’s done for disaster preparedness so that people can be accounted for in case of a major event like an earthquake. He probably has some role in managing the building so he needs that information. If you decline to give it to him your next visit will probably be from a ward official or the police.
It’s normal for the police to come by and ask to fill this in. Had that multiple times. I believe it’s sort of so they search for the right amount of people when your building is in a heap. But never just some rando asking for this. Maybe he does this proactively for them but it sounds sketchy. Whoever manages or owns the building will be aware of your details because you already have them to them. Definitely drag your heels on returning this filled in to this guy without more clarification.
The neighbourhood association maybe. Usually you have to (you can say no) give cash too. Everyone chips in for general cleaning, trash, local festivals, and emergency provisions. Might seem like a waste of time and money, but if there’s a serious earthquake you’ll have a team around you.