Becoming Japanese

A regular job is good / best, but not always necessary As this site is in English, I often get questions from people whose native language is English and they have worked and lived in Japan for quite some time. Of that subset of people, three types of employment come up most often: English teachers Software programmers Japanese to English translators Of these professions, it's not uncommon for them to be contractor work, freelance, or self-employed — rather than working as a regular employee ( 正社員 { seishain } ) at a Japanese company. I'm often asked by people "how much money do I have to make to qualify for naturalization?" While Japan's MoJ ( 法務省 { hōmushō } ) doesn't reveal their exact criteria, I have spoken to case officers and inquired about other successful applicants, and the general answer is: you don't have to make much . The generic answer is: if your take-home income, minus your liabilities (debts, expenses for food a...

former Asahi Bank headquarters The Tokyo District Court has determined that in the case of financial loans and extension of credit, yes, they can. In the case "Steve Herman v. Asahi Bank", the judge ruled that it was "reasonable" for a money lending institution to deny a loan to a foreigner, because they have right of abode in another country and could thus leave Japan easily, and foreign laws and jurisdiction might make it difficult if not impossible for a Japan-based bank to collect. Steven Herman in Japan In the year 2000, Steve Herman had lived in Japan for over ten (10) years and was forty (40) years old. He was president of the FCCJ for one year (1997~1998) and worked at TV Tokyo at the time . While it was not disclosed exactly, he hinted ("an income triple that of the average salary-man") that he had a much higher than average stable income — estimated by others to be in excess of ¥15,000,000/year. An American citizen, he did not have perm...

Japan Post Office's a bank too When people migrate to a foreign country, one of the frustrating aspects can be establishing a line of credit or receiving a loan. They have an equivalent job and income compared to what they had in their home country, and they were able to get a credit card there (at a much younger age). So why are they declined for credit (often for much lower rates) in Japan? One bit of misinformation that is floated around the net is that it is (sometimes depending on the bank) impossible to get credit (especially a home mortgage or a credit card) unless you are naturalized or perhaps a permanent resident. The truth is that yes, being a permanent resident and especially a naturalized citizen helps . But it is not the only variable. It is merely one variable. When a bank decides to extend credit to an individual, it considers a host of variables used to determine the credit worthiness. In other words, if you're a foreign resident of Japan, you will ha...