The Japanese government/Japanese companies have got to be the most incompetent bunch of fools when it comes to verifying identity.
This has been a constant struggle for me since moving here last month. I have citizenship and even have a Japanese passport issued in 2019, but somehow that’s never enough to verify who I am. If I came here as a foreigner and had a residence card then I’d be allowed to sign up for internet and a phone and a bank account no problem, but because I’m a citizen with a passport I have to jump through 7 hoops every time I try to open an account???
What the fuck is wrong with these people.
I can see why they’re trying to implement the MyNumber system, everything is so fucked up here they just have to start over. How is the average Japanese person w/o a driver’s license supposed to ID themselves?
6 comments
> If I came here as a foreigner and had a residence card then I’d be allowed to sign up for internet and a phone and a bank account no problem
Absolutely amazing that you think this.
>If I came here as a foreigner and had a residence card then I’d be allowed to sign up for internet and a phone and a bank account no problem
Haha, good joke mate.
I’ve always suspected all these cases are the result of deliberate, benign neglect. Passive aggressive hurdles via underfunding or mal-administration thrown in the path of any synchronizing of international trade and freedom of movement. Japan’s elites like to keep the country locked down. Nothing more annoying than seeing obedient staff finding alternates to the misery of the salary grind by creating their own alternatives. Historically, it could be a death sentence just for wearing the wrong clothes or being in the wrong area in this country.
It’s all too coincidental. The crap English education, the endless decades of issues with first, middle, last names, the mindless and arbitrary ID verification systems. 15 years ago, a Japanese relative of mine wanted to sell her Pfizer stock she’d bought through Nomura and was told the process would take 2 weeks. Things improve but at a glacial pace. Japan seems to have no problem with engineering or construction though.
I recall a story from the 80’s when Jaguar had a sudden rise in sales popularity in Japan and the cars were stopped on the docks being told that the tail light plastic was 5mm to thick and needed to be changed before being allowed for sale. Lots of teeth sucking and sumimasen’ing is deliberate policy.
What are some examples of these “hoops” you’ve had to jump through that us dirty gaijin don’t have to?
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Since Japanese passports does not show your name in Japanese language, they are useless as a form of identification within Japan.
Similar to some other countries, Japan does not have a mandatory national ID card implemented. Because of this, people get driver’s licence even if they don’t intend to ever drive. They implemented my number cards to partially remedy this problem.
Some institutions accept your insurance card as a form of ID if it is supported with other documents such as a company/student ID card etc.