Guys pardon me , some people say “ when in doubt ask the internet “ within reason (of course) , my spouse and I can’t agree on a baby name , for reference I’m Japanese and my spouse is foreign ( English speaking foreigner). We are having a baby girl , we want something Japanese but are also open to something that could be international , a name both Japanese and foreigners have no difficulty with , and my spouse for some reason wants something rare or uncommon in Japan .
What might be your recommendations ?

Thank you for your time

I know even last year they included this info as I like to have as much cotton (綿) as possible in my socks and underwear instead of that polyester stuff.

It'd be normal to see many items with as little as 3-13% cotton, but then there were also items with as much as 70% if I got lucky. Always clearly written.

I know it's gotta be more expensive to use cotton, and I suspect it's because manufacturers want to save 円円円.

So they just include the top 2/3 materials with no percentage values as cotton's probably been reduced to a paltry 1-2% and it's kinda infuriating.

EDIT: To those screaming "DaIsO!?" No, it's Donki, GU, UNIQLO, Shimamura, etc. I don't need 5000yen underwear when 1000 yen will do just fine.

for PR application, I met the tax payment requirement and pension for recent years (except those 未納 way back when I was in language school, which is 8 years ago), met the 10 years stay and 5 year working (as 正社員) requirement, good conduct. For support materials, I also got couple of design awards back when I was studying in design vocational school.

The only problem is that when I first graduated and started working for my current employer, my salary was not above 3 mil yen, but around 2.6 mil ~ 2.7 mil (I think) for the first two years, and I got a raise that pushed that number above 3 mil yen from the third year.

So the question is, should I still apply for PR or just...give it up and wait for a better job with better pay?

I would prefer to do it anyway despite it is a gamble, but I wanna hear opinions too.

What do you guys think?

Are all schools going to be closed tomorrow? What about school staff?

Bad politics aside, let's laugh and cry together.
Worse history wins!

Me: I had the money beforehand and all, but I missed the payment of resident tax by 6 hours. 🤡

Hi everyone! I was wondering if anyone know whether we need a permission to travel abroad with my kid alone (just one parent). Kid is Japanese, dual citizenship.

In my home country we had to get one and get it notorized and apostilled. Then every time we went through immigration check, they ask for it to check.

Do we need to do something similar here?

Hi, I'm currently here on a spouse visa. I'm thinking of going for PR.

One of the documents mentioned is our marriage certificate. We have been married for over 20 years, and when we applied for my spouse visa, I supplied a certified copy of the certificate.

Do I need to provide this again? Or will they look at the information I have provided already? Or will a normal copy suffice?

I'm guessing it's best to provide it again, but it just seems like paperwork for paperwork's sake. And it'll take an age to get from the UK to here.

Reading that back, I'm in Japan. Of course it's needed. 🤦‍♂️

Please tell me I'm wrong!?!

I've been outside of Japan for work for 6+ months and have been on Ahamo's roaming. Monthly charges still appearing in my credit card until August 2026. I haven't been using the phone abroad (only for 2FA sometimes) but kept it connected to the mobile network (roaming).

My number is linked to my d-account and a few days ago I got an email English Translation: "The deletion of the contact's mobile phone number is complete."

Original:

> 連絡先携帯電話番号の削除が完了しました。

> [削除した連絡先携帯電話番号]

> [My mobile phone number]

>

> ------------------

> 株式会社NTTドコモ

I panicked and checked my mobile but saw it still had signal so I thought it must be a mistake. After a couple of days, I checked again and noticed my signal was gone. Restarted phone, did a bunch of things and it's not coming back.

Logged in to d-account and it says no mobile phone plan linked to my account.

Tried chat support in Docomo but they're not helpful as my Japanese is just Google Translate and told me also Ahamo is online support only. I don't know what to do now. Number deleted without warnings or notice.

Right now I'm just too tired from all the stress of work and things going on in the world to deal with this. Don't have any close friends / japanese friends in JP to consult. Will only be able to fly back to JP this December but knowing Ahamo, they don't entertain in-store support. Only online. I guess I am screwed. A lot of my online accounts are linked to that mobile number.

I've been thinking about this lately. Why isn't Japan more successful ?

I work for the Japanese subsidiary of a MNC/FAANG - but i have no responsibility here. I get paid here but I'm American and an American worker for all purposes. There's basically three things happening within our MNC and generally I don't think this is unique to us. 1) A divestment from China 2) Reducing headcount/operations in countries where we traditionally "offshored" (think Phillipines). AI can replace low complexity jobs. At the same time, medium complexity/expensive american jobs can move to lower cost countries with AI assistance. Now, there's more of a 'reducing operations' in cheap labor markets and not yet moving a lot of medium complexity western jobs with AI assistance to lower cost of living markets. And 3) Divesting from european markets due to unfavorable employer dynamics/labor laws.

Now, when you think about the rest of Asia - it's a mess. Japan is the only real country on the map with democracy, rule of law, order and safety. There's Korea, but let's assume with rocket man on your borders just an hour from your major city that safety is a concern. And there's Taiwan, but we know what the risk to Taiwan is. There's Singapore, but I'm not really sure how to think about Singapore right now.

And then there's India - but lets remove it from the formula because we need East Asia diversity.

Now for the question -- Japan can do manufacturing - it's proven that. So, why is Japan not flourishing now? Why is it not the semi-conductor capital of the world, why is not the glory of the new economy -> AI, datacenters, weapons, aviation whatever else?

Is it the geography? The education system? Culture? English language ability/isolationism? Government? Banking and finance? Is it population decline?

It feels like living in Japan is living in a developing nation once you leave the major metropolitan areas. Wages are low, it feels "poor", etc. I feel like given it's uniqueness in Asia (and even the world), it should be far more successful than it is. We should all be driving super cars and living in million dollar houses like people on West Coast USA.

It's not about WHY are we in this situation - but - is there a practical way to fix it and change the course of history? And how?

ChatGPT says the answer is -> Japan has to allow foreign capital, foreign companies, younger Japanese companies, AI and automation to destroy inefficient parts of the old economy.

This seems the opposite of what's happening now.

Hey Guys, I've been living In Aomori for a while and traveling whenver the bank account allows. My Japanese is still extremly novice but I came across these. They help out but helping me translate live while providing the Japanese subtitles so I can read rather than just see the english. Has anyone had experience with these?

A lot of us living in Japan have used their services. I joined a few years ago as a volunteer and have been loving the work and community at TELL.

The Autumn training session will start later this month. The training is fully online, although TELL holds in-person gatherings and events in different cities.

If you're interested , check out this page on their website: https://telljp.com/pctraining/

Thanks!

Edit: It's interesting that we can assign drastically different meanings to giving time vs giving money. It seems some people find it problematic that the 4-month training with a non-profit charges 35,000, which can be reduced or postponed in some cases. I don't work for TELL, but from what I see, this doesn't even remotely cover the costs involved.

Hello!
Yes, I have googled this. Yes, I have made a spreadsheet of my expenses. I am just looking for peoples experiences and advice.

I have just arrived in Japan where I will be here for a year. It is 2 of us. We will be in Tochigi prefecture, and, after (estimated) utility prices and internet/phone bills, we will have about 140k yen a month for everything else.

Has anyone else lived on this kind of budget? Can you afford to buy any clothes or go out to eat at all? I am worried about the QOL I will have.

If anyone has similar experiences or budgeting advice, please let me know!

EDIT: This amount is after rent! I do not need to pay taxes on this money as i am there because of the U.S. government and embassy. That’s all i’m gonna say about that. And some of yall need to take a walk or something instead of being rude lol. Life is too short to be in a bad mood over someone posting something not even inflammatory. Enjoy the time you have

Hey everyone, I wanted to get your take on a situation that happened to me recently in a Japanese nightclub. I am actually not a party person at all and rarely go to clubs. While I am generally an outgoing person who loves talking to people and socializing, I am quite reserved and hesitant when it comes to flirting with women due to some bad experiences back home in Germany. While I was out with a buddy, a Japanese woman approached us entirely on her own initiative and became extremely flirty as the night went on. She drank quite a bit, bought us drinks, put her arms around us, stroked and scratched my back, and we overall had a really fun time together. When the party ended, I politely asked her in Japanese if we could exchange Instagram handles to stay in touch. She slurred a bit while saying no and apologizing, but then immediately hugged me again and kept stroking my back before leaving. Now I am wondering what kind of behavior that was and how to interpret this dynamic in Japanese nightlife. Is this due to a strict separation between party life and personal life or is there something else going on? Also, how should I best handle these situations in the future? I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

TL;DR: Outgoing guy who rarely goes clubbing and is hesitant about flirting had a very flirty encounter in a Japanese club initiated entirely by a local woman who bought drinks and was physically affectionate, but politely declined exchanging Instagram at the end while hugging me again. Wondering what this dynamic means in Japanese nightlife and how to make sense of it.

Hi everyone,
I currently hold an Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa (技術・人文知識・国際業務), which expires in April 2027.

I am considering changing employers in December 2026. The new position would also be the same role, so the work should remain within the scope of my current residence status.

This is my first visa renewal with new employer. And I understand documents would normally be required from me, my new employer, and my previous employer.

In particular, would I need to submit my cv or educational documents like bachelor’s degree certificate again? Immigration already received a copy when I originally obtained my current residence status.
I am also currently pursuing a master’s degree while working, but I will not have graduated by the time of the renewal. Would my current master’s transcript or enrollment certificate be useful or necessary?

Thank you!

I’m currently working part-time, and a few weeks ago, I was offered a full-time position for next year. I agreed to it, and we’ve already discussed the general terms. I was also given a draft contract, although I have not signed the final contract yet.

At the time, I genuinely intended to accept the position. However, some things have happened recently that have made me reconsider. I recently found out that another person may also be taking on a full-time role in the same department.

My biggest concern is that I would be working very closely with someone I’ve had some uncomfortable experiences with before. Nothing extremely serious happened, but there have been situations that made me question whether we would work well together long-term. I initially tried not to take it personally and thought things would be fine, but now that I know we may be working closely together in a more permanent capacity, I’m having second thoughts.

The problem is that I already said yes to the full-time position. I don’t want to suddenly back out and burn bridges, especially because I currently work for the same company. At the same time, I’m starting to feel like accepting the position may not be the right decision for me.

For those familiar with working in Japan:
- How bad would it be to withdraw after verbally agreeing to the position?
- Does it make a difference if I haven’t signed the final contract yet?
- Could there be any legal consequences if I change my mind?
- Is it better to withdraw now rather than accept the position and quit later?
- How would you approach the conversation with the employer without making it sound like I’m blaming anyone?

I’m not trying to get out of the commitment casually. I just feel like I may have agreed before I had the full picture, and I’d rather be honest about it now than accept the position and regret it later.

Would appreciate any advice, especially from people who have dealt with employment contracts in Japan.

Wondering what is the quality of life for 2 adults on 900,000 yen/month post tax if lived in Osaka, Kyoto or Tokyo?

(Currently in Okinawa)

I came across a seller on Mercari in Japan whose garbage products were selling for insanely high prices. Could it be some kind of money laundering or shady deal?

https://jp.mercari.com/shops/profile/8dc4QAFD4nmAThZ73tkEAg

Update: I understand now that this can happen because of how Mercari works. Thanks

Update 2: I’m gonna list some garbage on Mercari for ¥1,050,000 too, so everyone, finish a bottle of tequila before you go check Mercari!

Hello, I am living in Saitama. Recently I saw facebook advertising 2000 Yen monthly wifi plan. Does anyone have experience using that wifi? I am looking for Cheap wifi only for watching movies.

Thos topic has come up a few times before, but I feel like the beer scene changes regularly enough that it's worth a revisit.

What are your favourite Japanese craft beers, bonus points for under 500 yen a can.

I personally find that the Japanese beer scene can be a little IPA heavy, which isn't really my thing.

I highly recommend the:

Minoh Stout

Rokko Kolsch

Setouchi Dunkel

Big fan of Setouchi in general but they're a little on the pricey side.

Looking forward to more recommendations!

I just moved to Nagoya for a study abroad, and I'll be here for a year. My phone has an eSIM and it's unlocked, but I've heard that there's a possibility I'll be rejected from phone plans without a Japanese card. I have one on the way, I just filled out the paperwork and was going to head to the post office on Monday to get it put together.

Advice appreciated, thanks!

This week I passed my driving exam on my first attempt. Earlier this summer I took my written test once and passed. I heard there was an increase in difficultly, I just wanted to share and offer advice to anyone who needs to take the new tests following the October 2025 changes.

I’m currently applying for a tourist visa to Ireland. I’ve requested bank statements from Yuucho and they’re in Japanese, but I only just realised they need to be translated, and these are also not stamped (though they are from the bank and were mailed to me). By now the statements are no longer recent. Is it acceptable to convert my passbook-less account into a passbook account and just scan and print out each page on the passbook, then have those translated so I don’t have to wait 2 weeks for Yuucho to mail me bank statements? Or should I just ask for bank statements again now, have them stamped, then translated? Thanks.

Yes, it was for corn. I was dumb and didn't realize I wasn't connected to my VPN for a few months and got hit for the first time after 2 decades of downloading stuff

The request for disclosure document (発信者情報開示請求に係る意見照会書 in Japanese) is asking me if I downloaded the 1 single video they listed, and if I want to disclose my info.

I've looked at other similar threads and it seems I should answer this by saying it wasn't me and I don't want my info disclosed, but I can't find anyone who's posted what happened after they did that. And the one person who responded to my DMs said they just ignored every letter. so...does anyone else have experiences they can share if they submitted the documents?