The Immigration Bureau's Online "e-Notification" Service

Under Japan's recently revised immigration laws, foreign residents of the country are explicitly instructed to inform the Ministry of Justice Immigration Bureau of any changes to information they've registered with the bureau. For example, when you change jobs or get a divorce, you're now required to notify the immigration bureau and can face penalties for failing to do so.

To ease the burden of these notifications, the Immigration Bureau has established an online notification service that allows foreign residents to log in and submit many (but not all, as we'll see) of the legally required notifications without making a time-consuming and, for some, costly visit to the nearest regional or branch office.

What is a "Special Permanent Resident", Anyway?

"Special Permanent Resident." It's a term that plagues Japanese immigration legalese, and I've only ever had a vague inkling of what it means. It identifies a group of people that, for some reason or other, has been granted special permission to be in Japan indefinitely without needing to notify the immigration bureau of working situation or marital status, but whose members are still not recognized as actual citizens in Japan.

I'd heard stories of how, especially in the late 80's and early 90's, the MOJ wrote out some special immigration laws to encourage ethnically Japanese Brazilians and other South Americans to come to Japan as laborers. And I knew that there were a lot of ethnic Koreans in Japan whose families had lived here for generations but had been and sometimes still are marginalized to certain communities and severely discriminated against. They had been encouraged to come into the country and stay here for the long haul, but not as citizens.

All these people were the ones the government was talking about when it used the term "Special Permanent Resident," right?

Organic Peanut Butter in Japan

I love peanut butter. And I'm sad that it is not as widely appreciated here in Japan. I mean, yeah, I'd probably think "PB&J sandwiches" or "peanut butter on celery" sounded gross if I had the same archetype for "peanut butter" that most Japanese people do: sickly sweet, peanut-themed sugar spread sold next to bread whiter than an anemic ghost. In the presence of abominations like that, it's no wonder there's no adult demand for nut butters in this country.

Japanese Speech Content in Kitakyushu City

Kitakyushu City is holding a Japanese speech contest in June this year. Applications are still open until April 14, 2013. (Your written speech and application must arrive at the specified address by that date to qualify.)

Any non-native speaker of Japanese who is at least 15 years old and who hasn't previously won the annual competition is eligible to participate. The speeches can be on any topic and up to six minutes in length.

Full details are available at the Kitakyushu City official homepage.

Don't Change to the Zairyu Card Yet?

Back in May, we covered the new Zairyu Card (在留カード) being issued to foreigners in Japan. This card replaces the old Alien Registration Card (外国人登録証明書).

The change is optional for the validity of your card, your period of stay (在留期間), or until July 8, 2015, whichever comes first. Up until that time limit, you can continue using your old Alien Registration Card as an equivalent to the Zairyu Card.

But, there are a few complications that might incline you to hang on to the old ARC as long as possible:

Moving: Inevitable Trouble

This post continues my chronicle of moving to a new apartment in Japan. Last post I signed a formal application, made the down payment, and now I'm waiting for the application to be reviewed by the property owner.

Week 3, Sunday:
I hit my first road bump. The building owner calls me directly. My application has been flagged because I am not Japanese, and they want some extra assurances. Specifically he asks about my guarantor, who lives in another prefecture. I'm told that he lives too far away. Considering my circumstances, a guarantor living in the same prefecture as me would be preferable. Isn't there someone nearby whom I can ask?

I explain that I have provided the only contact whom I feel comfortable asking to be financially responsible for me. I don't know anyone else well enough to ask such a favor of them, and particularly not within my current prefecture. From the owner's uncomfortable silence, it is clear that this answer is unsatisfactory.

Moving: Signing and Making the Down Payment

This post continues my chronicle of moving to a new apartment in Japan. Last post I found some apartments I liked, and now I'm ready to sign on one of them.

Week 2, Friday:
I decide on one apartment and email "Mr. T" (my agent) to make sure it is still available. He responds that it is and again encourages me to hurry up and sign on it before anyone else does!! I tell him I'll be in sometime soon.

Summer, Automobiles, and AccessJ

Summer has come to Japan, along with its terrible, evil compatriot: the humidity of coastal East Asia. Summer also happens to be the season in which I bought my first car in Japan, and with my shaken almost due, I'll be referencing our own AccessJ User Shaken Guide to help me get the job done.

More Pronoun Shenanigans

A long time ago, there was a post here on my thoughts about pronoun usage in Japanese language learners. It covered only a couple pronouns, and though there were some more I wanted to write about, the article was already long so I stopped.

Here are some other pronouns that you'll hear when you're in Japan, but that you should probably avoid using yourself:

Changes to the Alien Registration/Gaijin Card

You may already have heard that the Gaijin Card system is being overhauled.

What does this mean for you?

Why do Gaijin Smell so Bad?

Japanese people think gaijin smell awful. Some say it's a buttery smell.

Well, that's pretty accurate. Right now I stink. But there are good reasons for this.

Listen up Japan: take this into consideration before you harshly judge us whiteys:

1. Summer is far too long, too hot and there is no air-con in this (or any other) school.

2. Japanese deodorant doesn't work! It's more like scented water. I'm forced to have the stuff imported.

3. Japanese washing-machines use cold water. What's the point in that?

4. You stink too, so shut up!

The 5 Most Common (English Teaching) Gaijin Stereotypes in Japan

Japan has very few foreign residents compared to many Western countries. There are quite a few Korean, Chinese and Filipino citizens, but a lot of them pass undetected even by the Japanese. In fact, if you look even slightly Asian expect to be treated like you were born and raised here (but the truth will out!). If, however, you look like the rest of us expect a mixture of over- and under-estimation by the people you meet.

I'll write a separate post for the language barrier and embarrassing convenience store moments. For now, let's start with the types of people who you can expect to meet teaching in Japan.

Beware: sense of humour is required: