Tips when Selling a Car in Japan

I'm in the market for a new set of wheels--to replace my old ones. As I mentioned in my previous post, I've met a lot of people as I've visited a dozen new and used car dealerships to ask about buying something new, and about selling the one I have now. Much of the information differs from what (admittedly little) I knew about buying and selling cars in the US. In today's post, I'll continue to share more of my findings:

Tips when Buying a Car in Japan

I'm in the market for a new set of wheels, and have been to visit just about every new and used dealer in my immediate area, plus a few more across town (and out of town). A lot of the people I've met have been very cool and have shared their tips with me about buying and selling cars in Japan. Much of the information differs from what (admittedly little) I knew about the process in the US. In today's post, I'll share some of my findings:

Shinsei Bank: More Free Convenience Store ATMs

More good news for lovers of Shinsei Bank, one of the few personal banking options in Japan that provides services in English and believes in 24-hour ATM access:

Shinsei bank card holders will now not only be able to deposit and withdraw cash at all Shinsei, Yucho Bank, and 7-11 ATMs across the country, but also at Lawson, Family Mart, and Daily Yamazaki ATMs. (As well as associated ATMs in a few other regional convenience store chains). In other words, Shinsei's already fairly convenient network of ATMs just got even better.

Your Visa Status After Divorce in Japan

"What happens to your visa status after you get a divorce?" I've heard a variety of opinions on this subject from forums like Gaijinpot. Some people claim that divorce, for those staying and/or working in Japan on a spousal visa, means renunciation of your status of residence (在留資格). Others assert that you are still eligible to stay in the country until the printed date (在留期間) on which that last-issued spousal status of residence expires.

To complicate the issue, until recently there was no clear legal impetus for a divorced foreign national to report the divorce to immigration. Some people seemed to just fly under the radar for as long as possible.

Recent updates to the immigration laws have made this issue much clearer:

In short, if you get a divorce, you'll need to apply for a change in status of residence as soon as possible if you intend to remain in Japan.

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.

Juki Card and e-Tax

As you may have noticed, LP has been hard at work on articles about the Juki Card (AKA the Basic Resident Registry Card) system that has just been opened up to foreigners.

As we have mentioned before, in addition to containing your registered alias (tsushomei 通称名), the Juki Card can be used as an electronic identifications for official government transactions over the internet. Perhaps the most important of these transactions is the system for electronic tax filing, better known as e-Tax.

Parking Space Registration in Japan

Normally I enjoy writing out DIY instructions for stuff like this in Japan. Unfortunately, parking space registration involves a large amount of dreadfully boring paperwork. Written out in duplicate.

Years ago, Dom wrote us a nice article about getting your residential parking space approved by your local Japanese police department. This is a necessary step in purchasing a car or changing the address on your 車検証 (shakenshou), an automobile registration document that basically functions as the equivalent of a car title in Japan.

Residency Card and Visa Expiration Woes in Japan

Recently I had to renew my landing permission at Japanese immigration. I was a little worried about the process because of my impending expiration dates and some upcoming plans to travel abroad. However, things worked out OK, and I ended up learning a lot from a nice lady at the immigration window. Here's the story:

Juki Card Application and Expiration Date

Just a mini-update about the juki card (住基カード), a government-issued identification card that was made available to foreign residents earlier this month.

As a reminder, the juki card is one of the few government ID cards available to foreign residents which can contain your 通称名 (tsuushoumei), or registered alias. If you're like me and have a long name, you may find that it's the only card you can get with a tsuushoumei on it.

Drivers Education Refresher Class in Japan

Last week I lauded my local driver licensing center for their efficient processing of renewal applications. In a sea of a couple hundred other individuals, I got my whole application finished--including an eye exam and photograph--in under thirty minutes.

Because I was a first-time renewal (初回更新者, shokai shoshinsha), I was also slated to take a 120 minute drivers' education refresher course as part of my renewal process.

Renewing Your Japanese Drivers License: A Cautionary Tale

A couple months ago, I received a friendly postcard in the mail from my local traffic safety association. Turns out it had been a whopping three years since I made it through the ridiculously nitpicky Japanese driving test, and that meant it was time to renew my license.

You can see a picture of what one of those postcards looks like here.

As I looked online to find out more about what this process would entail, I discovered that the Internet has a pretty good collection of stories on this subject already. My favorites come from TokyoWriter and Yuttaring. And last year Dan quietly added a detailed guide to help you through your own renewal here on AccessJ.

So, if you're curious about what a renewal in Japan entails, you have a lot of options to look at. But just as an addendum to the inexorable electronic record, here's my own story:

Taxes in Japan: What Do They Mean?

I've long wanted to know more specifics about taxation laws in Japan, especially those regarding my income tax. Every year the accounts receivable office downstairs has waved its magic wand and produced a slip of paper and a surprise refund check for whatever excess had been withheld from my last 12 monthly paychecks. Every year they explain to me in patient, simple sentences which number means what on my 源泉徴収 (gensen choushuu). But no matter how many times I hear it, the numbers still seem arbitrary and I don't get a good sense of exactly how much I'm being taxed or how that amount breaks down.

The Japan Federation of Certified Public Tax Accountants' Association has provided some enlightenment on the subject with their wonderful, English language PDF, "Guide to Japanese Taxes 2012".

If you've ever wondered about your own taxes in Japan, I highly recommend checking it out.

Website for Annual Exchange Rates for US Taxes in Japan

The US tax return deadline is coming up for American expats in Japan. Hopefully you've already taken care of it, unlike me. :)

The IRS has a friendly message on its website reminding you to report all amounts on your tax return in USD, not yen. And they even have helpful links at the bottom of the page to the Federal Reserve Bank and Treasury Department websites. But those links just take you to the top of each respective site, which doesn't help me much: Every year as I search for the annual rates on the FRB website, I inevitably get lost in the pages and pages of other rates: daily, weekly, and monthly.

You'd think the IRS would link straight to the annual stuff, since that's probably what most people landing on the redirect page are looking for. But anyway, this year I'm setting myself straight and posting direct links for myself for next year. I hope it can be of use to some other lost souls:

Annual Foreign Exchange Rates from the Federal Reserve Bank
(in FRB lingo, this is Release G5.A)

U.S. Tax Information from the American Embassy in Tokyo, Japan
(includes a simple chart with annual JPY exchange rates for the last four years)

Moving: Once You Have the New Address...

This post continues my chronicle of moving to a new apartment in Japan. Yesterday I picked up the keys to my new place and moved in one first load of boxes only to realize the neighbors were staring at me. Now, with keys in hand, I'm about to complete an epic one-day journey around town that has been months in planning.

Week 4, Wednesday:
My schedule is packed today. My to-do list is as follows:

Time to Get Your Japanese License Renewed!

So, I got one of these in the mail:

You can click on it to enlarge.

It's a post card you'll receive a couple months before your driver's license expires in Japan, which is coincidentally aligned with your birthday. So if you thought it might be a congratulatory message from your prefectural traffic safety association, I'm sorry to break the bad news.

Moving: Water and Gas Utilities in Japan

This post continues my chronicle of moving to a new apartment in Japan. I just finished calling the electric company to make sure I have light in the new place (and am not still paying for light in the old place). Now I need to call about the water and gas.

Week 4, Monday:
Now that I've got one call done, I approach the next two with more confidence.


The call to the water company runs a course very similar to the electricity call; What's my name and account number? What's my old address? What day do I want the water turned off at the old place? (two weeks from now) What's my new address? And what day do I want the water running there? (today) They also confirm my bank account details.

Now all that's left is the gas.

The Japanese Guarantor

Japan is big in the world of social networking. I don't mean Facebook or LINE or whatever else is popular for showing your friends how many friends you have. I mean, in order to get things done in Japan (just like elsewhere), it helps a lot to "know a guy" or to have some connection.

Examples? In all the job interviews I've passed here, the interviewers at some point dropped the phrase, 何か縁があるようですね。 "Oh, you went to that university? We're invested in a research center there." "Oh, you play concert piano? We're affiliated with a conservatory." "Oh, you taught at that school? My daughter's a graduate." Who your family is, where you went to school, and who you work for are all a big deal, and being able to say, "I was referred to you by such-and-such," can open doors that may have otherwise stuck fast. (Interestingly, this is the same country in which references are often unasked for in job applications.)



But perhaps the biggest examples of this reference culture in Japan is the guarantor.

Moving: Calling the Electric Company in Japan

This post continues my chronicle of moving to a new apartment in Japan. I just finished cancelling my old contracts, and now I'm ready to move in--almost. Before I get the key, I need to make some important phone calls.

Week 4, Monday:
After a relaxing weekend, which may or may not have involved packing things into cardboard boxes, it's time to get back to work.

A gaping hole in my moving plans that I've been blissfully ignoring until now concerns my utilities. I've gotta tell the electricity, gas, and water companies that I need those services stopped at the old place and started at the new place.

Moving: Cancelling a Japanese Apartment Contract

This post continues my chronicle of moving to a new apartment in Japan. My new apartment contract is about to start, and I'm running out of time to cancel my old contracts. (That's a plural because my parking space and apartment were contracted separately and spaced a few hundred meters apart from each other.) Last post I cancelled my parking space, and this time I'll get on that old apartment contract.

Week 3, Friday:
When I found and contracted my old apartment, I was using a rental agency. Since these agencies don't usually own the properties that they are showing, they act as intermediaries and are listed as such on the rental contract. In Japanese they're referred to as the 仲介会社 (chuukai gaisha). They introduced you to the apartment, and they may have handled all the documents and details when you signed for it, but the contract is ultimately between you and the owner.

Sometimes the property owner requests that the 仲介会社 handles all the details in termination of a contract, too. But other owners may prefer to handle terminations themselves. That was the case for me.

Moving: Cancelling Rental Contracts in Japan

This post continues my chronicle of moving to a new apartment in Japan. Last post I signed on the new apartment. The contract will now be sent to my guarantor, and in the meantime I have a lot of other things to take care of:

Week 3, Thursday:
I'm ready to move into the new place, and deadlines are coming up for me to contact my current landlords to cancel the contracts on my old apartment and parking space. I'll take care of the parking space today.