UPDATE: As per some suggestions, I decided a better idea would be to ask my city hall about this, so I’ll be contacting them about it. I’ll update this when I get word back.
Hi everyone! I’ve been living in Japan for two years now, and every month when I check my bank account, I receive money from my prefecture and town.
I thought this was something everyone got, and thought it was meant to combat rising costs of living, etc.
However, upon talking with my wife (Japanese native) about it, she says she has never received any such money. She has no idea what I’m talking about, checked for it in her bank account, and didn’t find anything. She suggested it might be because I’m a foreigner. After all, I know other foreigners who get it, too.
I tried searching for it online, but nothing comes up with what I search for. What is this money, and is it really only for foreigners? How do I search for it online to find out about it?
Edit: The deposits are either labeled “prefecture-mayorソンシ” (probably as in 損し), or simply the town’s name.
10 comments
How much, do you have kids, etc
I would double check with city hall because if they made a mistake, you may be legally required to return the money up to a certain point like the person who received that huge amaount of covid money then skipped town.
Reminds me of the municipal council who deposit wrongly to a young man and he ran away with it for gambling angering everyone in the neighborhood destroying his own life. Better clear it before u ended up like him.
Do you guys have very low income? Are you both properly reporting your income every year?
Is it a transportation reimbursement?
what prefecture and do you live in a rural town?
Did you pay any resident tax the first year? (probably not) There were some social payments coming out to folks with low income. The income was decided based on the tax paid. You might have gotten it because it was 0 the first year and maybe some small amount the next year.
FYI, you may find the money is for both you and your wife, but if you are the head of the household it will only go in your account.
All they money our household received in terms of covid benefits and child support go to my husbands bank account.
Yes, foreigners just get free money. Something is off here. ソンジ and 損し（sonshi, ahem) is also a weird one. Damage compensation or loss compensation for what?
There’s a good chance you got low income money because you hadn’t paid taxes yet, but you should investigate.