Okay so I have to rant about my BOE for a second.
I’m going to be leaving this August and am incredibly stressed out as it is, but the way my BOE does things just makes things much worse.
First, when it comes to flights. We have to get it approved through a travel agent (I think other BOEs do this, too), and then we have to get it approved by the BOE. My first one didn’t get approved because the travel agent doesn’t work with the airline I sent. Sucks, but okay, did it again. I sent it a week ago and sent emails checking in, and they told me it would surely get approved, but haven’t gotten the official document I need, or have any sort of email notification.
The deadline is soon. But now the flight prices have gone up and probably won’t be below the limit my BOE sets for us. Fantastic.
Second, we get our flights reimbursed, but only 1-2 days BEFORE we leave the country. That’s fine and all, but we also HAVE to close our bank accounts before we leave. My BOE said there are no exceptions on this. Problem is most of us want to travel in Japan before we leave, so how the he** are we supposed to close our prefecture-based bank accounts before we leave when we may be halfway across the country?
Lastly, we have been told that if we have lived in Japan before our time on JET (which I have as a student), we already have a pension number. So my BOE can’t give me a pension book because they don’t have it, and I have to reapply for one. But this takes several weeks, and requires a My Number Card, which I don’t have. So now I’m scrambling to get the card so I can apply for my new pension book. This one isn’t on them really, but it would have been nice to know earlier.
It’s just a lot of added stress for me, so I’m pretty annoyed about it. End of rant.
12 comments
Sound like standard procedure to me. It’s not the BOE picking on you guys or making things unnecessarily complicated.
Welcome to Japanese bureucracy.
>The deadline is soon. But now the flight prices have gone up and probably won’t be below the limit my BOE sets for us.
What’s in your contract? Pretty sure the JEt contract specifies they have to pay for flights back. Doesn’t matter how much they cost they’re on the hook for it. I’d press this and get Clair involved if they flounder you’ll get the flights.
The rest of it is all Japanese bureucracy. If you wan to live in Japan get used to it. But honestly if you want to live in any civilized country be prepared to deal with this bullshit it’s everywhere to some extent.
You have to close your bank account? That’s overreach surely.
> But now the flight prices have gone up and probably won’t be below the limit my BOE sets for us.
The contract says you are owed a flight home. The cost is their problem, budget or not.
As for the pension book, it really doesn’t take very long. Did it recently and it took a couple of weeks. Get on it now and you will be fine. Things have probably changed, but I got my MyNumber done at City Hall in a 10 minute process.
Good rant. As for bank. Open a new personal account at a different bank.
They should provide you reimbursement for your flight home regardless of cost as per contract. Not your fault that prices have gone up because of the pandemic.
In the past, some JETs used to get a bulk payment for flight tickets. Some of these JETs squandered their money and then cried poverty because they booked non-refundable discount tickets, used the balance to do additional travel, and then missed their flight home due to flight delays or other unforseen circumstances.
JET: “But… How was I supposed to know there was going to be a typhoon in Singapore?”
CO: “You weren’t supposed to book non-refundable tickets. Why is this our fault?
>Problem is most of us want to travel in Japan before we leave, so how the he** are we supposed to close our prefecture-based bank accounts before we leave when we may be halfway across the country?
I figure the strategy in their having you receive your money before your leave and insisting you close your bank account are “letting the garden weed itself” measure to make it difficult for your to miss your departure flight.
The pension book shouldn’t be a big deal, but since they didn’t apply for your book on your behalf they may have no power to intervene on your behalf.
I had an employer that was adamant we close our accounts. They said it was because even though my name was on the account, it was made through their office so any activity that happened on that account, even years down the line, would be tied back to them. There’s no guarantee myself or someone else couldn’t use that account for fraud or money laundering, so they wanted to wash their hands of it.
The tickets, that’s the way it was for everyone I knew. They said if we wanted a first-class non-stop luxury flight, we could claim the budgeted amount and pay the rest ourselves. Aside from that, we had to find a flight that was within the budget. It doesn’t seem all that unreasonable, unless they schedule you a three day layover in Guam or some shit.
The bank book and my number card, just go to the city hall or wherever and tell them you need it. I understand the frustration, but the BOE isn’t responsible for taking care of things you did before you were employed by them.
Everyone is saying all this is pretty much standard, but I feel like my prefecture is making things a bit easier. The travel agency is booking out flights for us. We don’t have to look ourselves. We submitted a form with our preferences awhile back and the agency will do their best to accommodate them. As for the bank account issue, my BOE encouraged closing it but didn’t demand it. They did go over potential issues if it’s not closed while in Japan, especially if money is left in the account.
Open an account with JP post and tell them thats your new bank account for salary and all matters from now on. You can access it anywhere and open it same day.
I don’t understand why you don’t have a pension book. Didn’t you get that right when you arrived?
Better get that application in now. You still have a lot to do for the pension process. I’m sure your future self in December/January will thank you for it when you get like 5-10k in your bank account.
> we also HAVE to close our bank accounts before we leave
Just leave it open, what are they going to do? Fire you? Also, you need that account to get your final month’s pay, so they might be trying to slight you (unless they would send you a money slip or something? But everyone else I’ve talked to says it goes in your JP bank account). Completely unsure about the pension thing though.