“What type of service is available in your country that you would like to see in Japan?”
This may be a question that we ask and read constantly from people who are looking for business opportunities in Japan.
Instead, I would like to know which services are from your country, or made for your nationality/language that you use in Japan.
For example:
In Portuguese, there is a job platform (called shigoto.me) for descendants and spouses of descendants who are looking for jobs in Japan, which is connected with various companies (派遣会社), allowing them to easily find jobs in factories.
22 comments
We have a whole online “grey” market for our countrymen, specialized in food and ingredients. You order stuffs on Facebook, get it delivered COD style. And after establishing yourself as a trustworthy customer, can receive the products first then pay later via bank transfer.
There is also an underground banking system to send money back home, although I personally don’t use that.
I cannot think of any at all. I do use some services that are not available in Japan, kind of, but I use them (through the Internet) while in Japan.
I got my job through a countryman that specialises in putting new Zealanders into jobs in Japan zoos. I’m the only one here this year but pre pandemic and next year there were and will be at least 3,maybe more at a time over here. So kind of a group chat and network of people from home now working the same job.
Nothing really that I know of. There is a “Government of Canada’s Registration of Canadians Abroad service” thing I signed up for but it’s just the occasional email informing/warning me of impending typhoons or travel restrictions or information/consular contact info after a serious earthquake has hit whatever
>which services do you use in Japan that are exclusive to your nationality or language?
I guess the ability to pay overseas Voluntary National Insurance contributions to the UK to secure/increase my UK state pension in retirement. Although that’s not limit to just Japan, and it’s not just limited to British either (any nationality can contribute whilst residing outside Uk as long as they meet the criteria)
>”What type of service is available in your country that you would like to see in Japan?”
Right now only Japanese residing outside Japan can make voluntary Kokumin Nenkin contributions. It would be great if that was not limited to just Japanese. For example, if a non-Japanese has contributed to Japanese pension and ceases residency, they should be allowed to continue voluntarily contributing to the Japanese system (like the UK would allow Japanese who lived and worked in the Uk to continue (voluntarily) contribute to UK)
USA – I guess registered to vote for American elections in person?
Nothing specific, but recently I’ve used a local (home country) app to extend my driving license online, all the way from here. Cause otherwise if I let it expire I have to redo the whole process of applying for a driving license again from zero- including the written and practical exams.
Regarding a service available back home but not in Japan…
Back home there’s a service where you can request a “delivery taxi” sort of, usually someone with a motorbike, registered to the app provider, to deliver small items. Open the app, request a delivery and specify destination, driver comes to our location to take item, delivers it to destination. (It’s not perfectly safe, there has been cases of drivers disappearing with high-value items like electronics in delivery)
That, combined with how lax food safety / health regulations are, everyone can make food to be sold via social platforms (facebook / instagram) and delivered with that service.
We have a 50+ member line group chat called “Pie Spotting” which is all Australians and a few Brits announcing when they find Australian food in Japan (mostly beef pies) but also sausage rolls, various slices, lamingtons, vegemite, beef sausages, chicken schnitzel etc.
User-friendly online banking from back home always feels nice to use.
Income tax filing services for a country I don’t even live in.
Money laundering and parcel delivery.
I just found out (very late) that quite many people of my nationalities sell really cheap 2nd furniture set with complimentary free shipping. And I’m talking really cheap 20k with washing machine, fridge, microwave and bet that I can find cheaper deal among the community as well.
Cheap airport pick up service, which I haven’t used because I was too confident that I can travel back with 3 large suitcases.
Lots of fruit.
im from Hungary, theres absolutely nothing
I was in Tokyo during 3/11. The following week, as the situation in Fukushima was looking really bad, the US embassy decided to distribute iodine tablets to US citizens. But (perhaps to avoid aggravating the Japanese govt) they didn’t announce it publicly; they did it in secret and you had to find out through word of mouth. I had an American co-worker who told me I should go to the New Sanno and bring proof of citizenship, so I did, and the embassy staff had set up shop in a ballroom and handed me a blister pack of tablets, telling me not to take them until there was an official announcement.
The situation got better by the end of that week and I ended up throwing the tablets away a couple of years later. I later learned that they had contingency plans to evacuate all the Americans from Tokyo by aircraft carrier.
Anyway, that is pretty much all I have gotten in exchange for filing US tax returns every year.
I can get authentic Venezuelan food delivered to my door including tequeños, pabellon, empanadas, etc
I send my kid to some local tutoring services only available to English speakers (nationality is unimportant but kid has to speak English) and kid is in US scouts (despite it being US scouts, ditto)
Nothing really, almost all the Americans near me are in the military, so most American -focused things are intended for them, sometimes to the point of exclusion (whether intended or not).
I use the Sweden specific bank-transfer-via-phone-number app (Swish) almost every day with my partner and a couple of my friends. Doesn’t matter that our swedish phone numbers aren’t connected to our phones anymore. Makes a 50/50 living situation so much easier
This whole language locked world that has its own SNS, Taxis, moving companies, E-com and more.
Affordable online university education.
You can get an online degree at Western Governors University (WGU) for very cheap. They “require” that you reside in the U.S., but they only check your social security number and ask for a US address. The address can be solved with a P.O. box or a friend/family address. The rest of the degree is fully online + maybe a trip to a Pearson Vue testing center (you can find them all over japan)
You can also get a fully online masters in computer science for very cheap (7000 USD or so) at Georgia Tech. Though, I believe you don’t have to be a US citizen for the cheap price.
I can speak Japanese just fine so I considered Japanese universities as well, but online options were very sparse, didn’t seem too reputable, had terrible schedules for full time workers, were expensive, or all of the above.
Not exactly service but due to the sheer number of Indonesian international students in Japan, there is a network of Indonesian student associations for each university, town, and region of Japan. In my own university people usually share used apartment info, part-time jobs, career fairs, job openings, and giveaways (furniture, electronics, clothes, books, etc.) from people who are moving away from Japan.
Back in my hometown, we have something like a 漫画喫茶, but it’s for streamers and aspiring YouTubers. You rent a small booth for a couple hours that has most of the essentials (lights, semi-pro mic, sound dampening, decent desktop with stream deck, etc.), a few large studio spaces you can’t rent out for special videos if you need more space (and can rent the space for a few days if needed), and a communal space to eat food, collaborate with others, and hold special events.
Since the noise tolerance in Japan is a bit less when compared to other countries, seems like it could be something that could take off here if done correctly (and safely).
Edit: I know there used to be YouTube Space in Roppongi Hills, but it’s not there anymore. It was supposed to move to Shibuya, but it hasn’t yet. (In addition, you already need to have 5000+ subscribers, and doesn’t cater to other streaming platforms.)