The Monday after submitting my application for Permanent Residency in Japan, I started checking the mailbox.
Yeah, I knew it was a bit soon. The woman at the Immigration Office with the mismatched eyes said it’d take months, and I believed her. Still, I couldn’t resist the pull; every evening checking for a postcard from Immigration, walking past my dear friend Kato-san dying of lymphoma and the weird kid who shot me with the pellet gun. Ah, Japanese neighbors, you are my new countrymen. But of course the mailbox was always empty and somehow I was always disappointed. Such is the pitfall of my perpetual optimism.
And then one day out of the blue, I got a phone call. It was almost three months from the day I submitted my application.
“Seeroi-san?” said a man on the other end.
“Yeh, who dis?” I replied. Only I said it in Japanese, so it sounded way better. I should mention I’ve gotten a total of about eight phone calls since moving to this country, and understood maybe one.
And the man said, “Yeah something immigration something application something visa blah blah.” That’s what fifteen years of studying Japanese will get you.
“I see,” I said. “Is this about my permanent residency?”
“I can’t tell you,” he said. “Just come to the office with your passport and an eight-thousand-yen revenue stamp.”
“Weird, but okay,” I said, and hung up. Can’t tell me? You called to tell me you can’t tell me? Nobody in this nation makes any sense.
Getting Permanent Residency in Japan
I had a fleeting fear that someone would be hiding in the bushes outside the Immigration Office waiting to jack me for my passport and 80 bucks, but I went anyway. Inside, the lady with the mismatched eyes told me to sit and wait and then proceeded to shuffle papers for half an hour. You’d think since they called me they could just hand over the card, but apparently not. And who gets a phone call anyway? The internet said I’d get a postcard in my mailbox, and the internet’s never wrong. Maybe the whole thing was an elaborate sting operation to lure me into the office and arrest me for some past crime they’d uncovered.
I was about half-way through my long list of crimes committed when I heard, “Seeroi-san? Here you go.” I stood up and suddenly there it was, shining on the counter, a radiant ID illuminated by a shaft of light. The picture of my boyish yet ruggedly handsome face, the phrase “No work restrictions,” and next to “Date of Expiration,” just a string of asterisks, all laminated beautifully to last forever. Actually, I thought the asterisks looked a bit tacky, but maybe I could put it in a nice case or something.
I looked up at the lady, and gazed lovingly into her mismatched eyes. “Thank you,” I stammered with tears of joy welling up, and she stared back like she’d just handed me a sausage on a stick. Just exactly the way the old man running the wooden shack under the sakura trees mindlessly handed out sticks of ground-up cow and pig with zero emotion, like, Here’s your visa, enjoy the festival.
Whatever. On the street, in the train, I couldn’t stop looking at it. It felt like the most significant accomplishment of my life; at least one that took ten years to get. Now I could live and work in Japan forever. I dreamed a dream, and it actually came true. Time to start playing the lottery.
And then a strange thing happened.
The Old Lady in the Bar
After the Immigration Office I went straight to this dingy bar I know, and a lady friend joined me for two pints each with a wine chaser and a session of staring at my new ID. Okay, nothing too strange there. But then in the corner was this old woman looking at least a hundred-and-fifty sitting on a barstool drinking a small beer. And at a certain point, she just slid off and pitched onto the floor with a soft thud.
How many Japanese people does it take to change a light bulb? Well, how many you got? Because in typical Japanese fashion either nobody does anything, or everyone goes nuts and does everything all at once. And so both of those things happened. At first, everybody just looked the other way, like, Oh, I don’t notice the old lady taking a nap on the bar floor.
But when it seemed like they just couldn’t ignore the situation any longer, suddenly a dozen Japanese folks gathered over her and brought out an armchair and propped her up in it. She was white as a sheet and her lifeless frame kept sliding out of the chair, but everybody was drunk and kept trying to straighten her and hold up her head, like She’s all right, she’s fine. But every time they let go, her noggin just dropped to the side and she slumped over. So they kept doing it—she’s okay, she’s okay—holding her up, trying to balance her head like an egg.
And I was like, Uhh, she’s pretty far from okay. You know, I’m not a doctor or anything, but I’m pretty sure that lady’s dead. Only I didn’t say it, because I’m Japanese and all. Eventually somebody got the bright idea to call an ambulance. And so naturally then everyone had to pull out a cell phone and all start dialing the exact same number at the same time, until eventually one arrived and carried her frail body out on a stretcher. And that was sad, because she still had a pretty full beer.
Living the Rest of Your Life in Japan
What with the permanent residency in Japan and the dead old lady and all, somehow my perspective started to shift a bit. Like, now that I’d worked so hard for the right to live and die here, well, maybe I didn’t want to all that much. It was strange, but I felt slightly—what?—done with the place.
Here’s the thing: everyone wants to move somewhere better than whatever wretched hole they’re in now, reinvent themselves, have a life that’s better or at least different from the miserable one they were dealt.
I didn’t really think about it when I started this journey fifteen years ago, but maybe that’s what I was doing, trying to craft a new existence with more—well—more something, anything. I went to a place utterly new, with neon towns and strangely-dressed folks who looked wholly different. Hell, even the writing was amazing. The citizens bowed and ate tiny pieces of fish with sticks and rode trains. How cool was that?
But somewhere along the line, it all became supremely normal, even banal. Sitting cross-legged on tatami, drinking matcha tea in an old teahouse used to feel so Japanese; now it’s something I take tourists to do, just like my Japanese hosts took me years ago. If I really wanted tea, I’d buy it in a plastic bottle from a vending machine. Going to the 100-yen shop used to feel like a grand adventure. Now it just feels like I need to buy something that costs a hundred yen.
What’s Great About Japan?
Ask anybody what’s great about Japan. Go ahead, I’ll wait. And I bet they say the same thing. It’s safe. It’s clean. The people are polite. Well, at least the first two are largely true. But safe and clean, is that enough? That’s what my toilet bowl cleanser says.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I like Japan. I mean, safe and clean—you could do a darn sight worse. Plus, the food’s good, it’s pretty cheap, and it’s typically quiet, at least when the dogs aren’t barking and the horrible black sound trucks aren’t blaring imperial marches from World War II. But forgive me for saying this—it’s, um, kinda boring. The next Eddie Murphy or Dave Chappelle probably isn’t going to be penning one-liners in kanji. Japan’s a nation with a bit of a stick up its ass.
Seeroi, You Ungrateful Sonofabitch
So okay, I know that sounds bad. And trust me, I am enormously grateful for permanent residency in Japan. It’s fabulous, really. But I’m also trying to paint an honest picture, if not of Japan, then at least of my experience as an immigrant. Japan’s a fine place, and I’m happy enough here. But in no way is it perfect. I expect Japan’s got as many plusses and minuses as any developed nation. I gotta concede that a lot of the attraction was the novelty, the ability to start anew in a foreign land, to have another shot at life. Now all that’s done, well, turns out I’m still that dude who wants to move somewhere new and exciting. Maybe some place completely different, filled with amazing architecture, beautiful nature, strange people, unusual customs, and exotic foods. Somewhere like—I dunno—America.
Good thing you didn’t go all in for citizenship then.
For ”some place completely different, filled with amazing architecture, beautiful nature, strange people, unusual customs, and exotic foods” I’d have to suggest Finland. Fun language to learn also, if you feel ready for a new challenge in that area.
Honestly, I have a really good impression of Finland. I don’t know how seriously I’m looking for a new country to move to, but if I ever decide to do a global search for a new home, Finland would be on the top of my list.
I’m sure you’ll like their dark and dry sense of humour too!
But you might find yourself longing for Japan from time to time during those winter months…
Anyways, it’s good to have you back!
Thanks, good to be back.
Yeah, I’m not really down with long winters, although I do like Nordic skiing. Eh, it could work.
Well, Finland is reasonably popular in Japan because of the Moomins. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moomins
Might just be easier to go the Moomin park outside Tokyo.
Hi Ken,
What do you think of cheating as a subject in Japan? I recently watched this video (link below) and it says over 80% of women here cheat. How true is that? Maybe you would like to dedicate a post to this? Thank you and have a good day. Oh, and congratulations on your Permanent Residency. Probably a good idea not to go for citizenship, the population is declining and surely you wouldn’t want to pay increasing taxes as the number of young people supporting the elderly continue shrinking.
I think it’s a subject akin to walking into a minefield. And the more I think about it, the more I love it. Yeah, I’ll take that on next. Good suggestion.
And here you go. Thanks again.
https://japaneseruleof7.com/cheating-in-japan/
Congrats on permanent residency!
Maybe try Europe next (just need to know five languages for traveling an area the size of Texas)?
No better way to spend the next 25+ years 😀
I’ve always admired people who could live in a variety of different countries, moving around the world every few years.
After Japan, I’m not sure how much moving I have left in me. It takes so long to get set up and settled, not to mention the monetary and emotional expense. But you never know—if my job goes south here, maybe I’ll be looking for a position in France.
Very true, it is quite exhausting in a variety of ways to be moving around frequently.
Maybe getting permanent residency is just like after a marathon where you think “Why did I ever do that” but sure enough after a couple of weeks you’re back in your running shoes.
Maybe now that this worry is gone you find some new perspectives and goals like a Japanese Rule of 7 YouTube Channel or get a cat or something 😀
Seriously though, I think what you’re doing with this blog has a positive impact on a lot of people’s lives so wherever you end up I’ll be rooting for you!
“Seriously though, I think what you’re doing with this blog has a positive impact on a lot of people’s lives…”
Seriously, this. I check this blog every day, haha. Went to Hamamatsu in 2009 and loved every second – also love Ken’s writing style and voice. I’m in wherever the road takes you, as long as there’s internet.
Dude, thank you so much. That’s really encouraging.
Agree!
How does he manage to say so much with so few words? Poignancy leaking out the wazoo.
What’s good about Japan? It’s confusing! The surface experience contradicts the deep experience.
I frickin love living in Australia. I thought it was full of arseholes until I travelled abroad and realised that our particular brand of arseholery is just the flipside of honesty.
I’d invite Ken to Australia, but I don’t think it’s enough of a puzzle for him. Though if you want human connection, it’s a great place to be.
Hey, throw another shrimp on the barbie and I’m there. Yeah, I know you don’t say that. Embrace your stereotypes. Don’t make me get my gun and bible.
I love the Australians I’ve met in Japan. They’re a good bunch, what with all the kangaroos, koalas, and Foster’s beer. I probably wouldn’t move there forever, but I’d be willing to give a weekend a go.
Seeroi, when it comes to settling in a new country as a foreigner, Japan is about as S-rank as it gets. You could move to and settle waaay easier almost anywhere else (maybe not Saudi Arabia or North Korea, but you get the point). For example here in Europe, if you are a EU citizen, you can just go anywhere. Me, as a Hungarian, I can just cram my stuff into my car, drive to Germany, Portugal or Poland or whatever, rent a flat, find a job and get settled mostly without any restriction. Of course there is bureaucracy everywhere to an extent, but this is not Japan. There is no staring, no “look, a gaijin”, nothing like that. With so many ethnicities around, you won’t stand out here at all. Also, a lot of foreigners can go without learning the local languages since lots of locals speak English. None perfect, but enough to scrape by in everyday life. Granted, people are generally not as nice here (especially compared to Japan), and if you are not outlandishly flamboyant or make a scene, people will most likely just ignore you, which is not necessarily a bad thing if you are looking to fit in. Of course you also lose the benefits, because literally anywhere is less safe and more dirty than Japan, it’s an exchange.
That is exactly what I experienced in Japan!
After a few years I got 1) bored 2)stressed with the working culture 3)fed up with the all the people and rudeness as I was living in Tokyo 4)constantly sick, because all the stress and lack of vitamins/minerals! seriously. and I eat and cook very clean! It all went away after moving do Ireland.
btw, you can still live in another country, just be sure to apply for a reentry permit at the immigration office (it is valid for 5 years), and if you decide you wanna live in Japan after all, just be back within 5 years. cheers!
That’s excellent advice. I’m not saying I’m ready to move anywhere yet, and I may well stay here forever. But it’s good to have the option.
I had a chance at permanent residency once. I looked around at the other professional gaijin I knew who after many years of being told and shown by Japanese how special they were had actually come to believe it. And then I left the country.
“So okay, I know that sounds bad. And trust me, I am enormously grateful for permanent residency in Japan…. Now all that’s done, well, turns out I’m still that dude who wants to move somewhere new and exciting… Somewhere like—I dunno—America. ”
Bluto: What? Move? Did you say “move”? Nothing is moving until we decide it is! Was it moving when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
Otter: Germans?
Boon: Forget it. He’s rolling.
Bluto: And Ken ain’t moving now. ‘Cause when the goin’ gets tough . . . the tough get stayin’! Who’s with me?
Brilliant. Love it.
I could have done it. I was eligible 4 years ago. I was married to a Japanese woman (still am), and had a daughter (still do). We moved to Canada 3 years ago because we didn’t want our daughter to suffer through Japan’s education system as a haafu, study only for tests, and never learn how to think critically. I had a conversation with a 14 year old girl I taught about the education system, and she agreed with my assessment. But if I had been single, I would have applied for permanent residency. I would have stayed in Japan the rest of my life.
“We didn’t want our daughter to suffer through Japan’s education system as a haafu, study only for tests, and never learn how to think critically. I had a conversation with a 14 year old girl I taught about the education system, and she agreed with my assessment.”
This!
I must say, I’ve heard that a lot, and it seems the responsible thing to do. The educational system in this country is absolutely bonkers.
Then there’s the issue of better pay (maybe not so much if you teach English), better working conditions, better living conditions (if you come from Tokyo), better welfare (if you go to Europe) ….
I struggle to come up with reasons to stay in Japan 🙂
…. maybe … Onsen? 😀
It helps to like Japanese food.
Japan’s a fine place, and you could do worse. It is, literally, the white rice of nations. The question is, could you do better? I try hard not to ask that, every day.
Hello Jay Dee,
what about homeschooling in Japan? Is this allowed there?
Cheers and all the best in Canada, which also has many many beautiful sides to it I think.
Of course you can home school your child in Japan. But I would never take that option because it means at least one parent has to stay home to teach or supervise the learning; and it robs kids of any kind of social life/interaction with other kids etc etc. But yes, it is definitely an option for those who choose.
What does being a haaf have to do with the problems with Japan’s school systems?
My haaf daughter did great at a Japanese elementary school in Japan when she was enrolled just for six weeks this summer. She blended in so well that everyone at school seemed to have forgotten that she’s a haaf girl from America.
She wasn’t treated any differently.
And, congratulations on your permanent residency, Ken!
Thanks so much, Chika. It really means a lot to me.
I’m glad to hear your daughter did well in elementary school. Does she speak and read Japanese? Although Japan seems to revel in pointing out individual differences—whatever those may be—it’s still a big nation with a lot of variability. I’ve seen kids treated badly (including being called “half”), and other times when no one seemed to notice. Just like in the U.S., certain regions seem better at accepting people of color. I’m curious to know what prefecture you were in.
My daughter’s Japanese is perfect. She sounds just like the kids in Japan. She can read and write Japanese as well. In fact, she aced her test on 100 kanji words at her Saturday school today.
We were in a small neighborhood in Chiba. It’s where I grew up. Pretty much everyone is Japanese, except for Sophia and her parents from Philippines, and a man from Canada and another Caucasian man.
In your opinion, is small town better accepting non Japanese or a big city like Tokyo? And I wouldn’t use the phrase “people of color” when referring to non Japanese or half Japanese living in Japan because technically, Japanese themselves are people of color.
It keeps saying that I’m entering the captcha code incorrectly. Hopefully it will take it this time.
To answer your question, my daughter can read and write Japanese and she does it at an advance level.
She just went back to her Saturday Japanese school in America after one month of summer break and she aced on a 100 kanji- words test.
We were in a small town in Chiba. It’s where I grew up and my parents still live in the same house in the same neighborhood.
Everyone in the neighborhood was Japanese when I grew up there. I think everyone in the town was too. However, now they have a few non- Japanese in the neighborhood.
I saw a new neighbor from Philippines, just a block away from my parents house. They have a girl named Sophia, same age as my daughter.
Despite her name, her friends at school didn’t know that she is a Filipino. When I asked her if she speaks Tagalog and she said yes, the girls were like “What??
You are a filipino?”
And, I know there is a hafu boy at the same school. I saw his caucasian dad picking him up.
And, there is an indian family near the school. Their daughter, Sharon was playing with a bunch of friends at a rec center when we were there one day.
Sharon was having a good time with her friends and she was kind to my daghter just like everyone else was.
However, my husband kept saying no one makes an eye contact with him when we were in the neighborhood taking for a walk.
I would make a joke like they are scared because he’s a big gaijin. So, kids are better accepting haaf or gaijin better than adults? I don’t know.
But I do know that some hafu are having a tough time in Japan. I have seen a documentary on the subject. Is it called Hafu project?
Congratulations, Ken! It sounds like you’re feeling just a little bit empty after your victory, but at least you don’t have that dread anymore, right?
As for me, I just moved to Japan like a month and a half ago and already life feels normal. I’m okay with this. I actually prefer a boring existence, but I’m weird like that. Sometimes I feel like I’m an old man in a young man’s body, heh.
Congratulations on your move. Yeah, Japan’s a pretty chill place to live. Sometimes it feels a bit like a retirement community, what with all the old people around.
You really nailed my feeling. Although there’s a bit of emptiness, I’m tremendously relieved. That dread of somehow being forced out of the nation really started to build up over the years, as I acquired more and more of a stake here. Thank God that’s resolved.
Yay ! congrats, i am happy to hear you got pr for Japan. i heard it is difficult to get. i always cheers for you. it’s great. am I being positive? 🙂
Thank you so much. Yes, and I appreciate the positivity!
Congratulations on permanent residency! The thing with the old lady sure was strange.
Should I expect an americanruleof7 blog next, and how America is full of trucks, guns, fastfood, trucks, and posts on how you when and got a truck driving license? Nah, I think not. Cheers!
Hey, ya never know.
I will say this: with U.S. culture as material, I wouldn’t be hurting for things to write about.
I did 7 years . Married a japanese woman had 3 kids. Im Canadian, never killed a fly worked full time but damn japan refused to give me permanent residency. Reason? Come to the office they said. I bought my tickets back to wonderland Canada and left. Living there is very unstable, pension sucks, work for women tend to be bad as they look down on women and kids i almost killed mine with the tremendous amount of homework. I must to admit that if i were to be single things would be different so much fun beyond your imagination but that’s what happens to most new generation japapanese they dream and when they get to 30 and wake up all they have done is travel, drink and f** then is too late cuz is hard to gey married or get a good retirement. Im glad i left as a parent i saw no future in my kids studying so hard to end up as a slave of a company, a boss or the culture. From the souvenirs you are basically forced to bring every time you go anywhere to the forcing to drink and waste your weekends with the boss not with family. Thank you Japan for refusing me so i had an excuse to say to my wife i had had it there.
Can you give us a hint why you were denied PR? You weren’t masturbating on the train or anything? Personally, I got over the idea of PR early on in my stint for some of the reasons you mentioned. Ideally you want to be on the outside looking in. I’ve seen too many people with their spirits broken working within Japan. When you are working in one of those dodgy language school and your Japanese friends with real jobs tell you that they envy you because your life is so easy says a lot. Here I was thinking this job is the worst.
I really like this blog a lot: the insights about Japan and life in general, and the humour.
One wish: It would be nice if one could sort the posts chronologically.
Gaaa! A perfectly reasonable request. I hate that. Yeah, good idea, let me look into it.
Please do that! I am sure there is a widget somewhere for adding a list of your previous posts ordered chronologically. Speaking of suggestions, add a search button too! And maybe a contact form if anyone wants to email you!
Oh seen the chronological list, great! Wanted to find the post you did on the Kindle for Japanese, time for me to get one. Do you have a promo code? 🙂
Here’s that post on the Amazon Kindle for Japanese: https://japaneseruleof7.com/amazon-kindle-japanese/
I don’t have a promo code, but right now Amazon US is holding a pretty excellent sale, so if you’re in the States check out this link:
https://amzn.to/2MyuwCv
Still working on that chronological listing too…lots o’ stuff to do…
Whenever you do get that Kindle, you’re gonna love it.
Yes
Warm congratulations on your permanent residency, Ken.
I hope you cracked open a hot can of Boss coffee to celebrate in traditional style . It’s what Tommy Lee Jones would do, if he ever had a can of coffee in his life, that is. The grass is always greener on the other side of the planet so kudos for making a positive choice and commitment. If I had to make an actual decision to apply for permanent residency here in the UK, where I’m actually a citizen, I would probably have a nervous breakdown worrying over the pros and cons. Well done!
Since moving back to Germany almost two years have passed.
I very much understand your sentiment of “Japan’s just normal”. I felt (feel) the same way.
Being in Germany I sometimes missed aspects of Japan (some people, some places, a kind of atmosphere, a kind of human interaction). Sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint what exactly.
But truth be said, my life and that of my family is un-disputably better. We have more of the enjoyable things of life and less of what sucks about it. So my “homesickness” to Japan has been limited. Same goes for my wife (Japanese, remember).
I’ll come to Tokyo for a business trip in a few weeks. I wonder how it will “feel”. First time I pretty much felt nothing … just happiness to meet old friends and happiness to see some rice fields.
Tokyo? Meh.
You know, the first time I went to Tokyo, it was like I’d died and gone to Disney World. It was amazing, like the most astonishing place I’d ever been. The most recent time I went there (last year), it was just what you described: lots of meh. As in lots of crowded sidewalks, crowded trains, crowded restaurants, salarymen and tourists everywhere. But it was good to see old friends. Now, that’s what I like best about Tokyo, the few friends who remain there. But the city—you can have that.
Have you seen the gigapixel spherical photo or whatever it’s called taken from the Tokyo Tower? (Google if not) It’s a massive photo and you can zoom in wherever you want. Hotel windows, any street, cars, combinis. When I first came across it I was so excited. ‘Oh my god! This is cool! I’m going to spend hours! ‘ Then you play around with it for a few minutes and it’s nothing but people going to work, kids going to school. Strained over-polite interactions taking place. A gazillion air conditioners. ( I now live in Australia, where surely we have shitloads of air conditioners too, but somehow in Japan the back of an air conditioner is visible every time you open your eyes)
I think it was around 2012 when I saw the gigaphoto and thought, ‘What am I doing here.’
People ask me where they should go and eat when they visit Japan…and I tell them they’re talking to the wrong guy. I eat at conbeni, Yoshinoya, and Matsuya when I’m not with the in-laws…they’re better off looking at Lonely Planet or Tablelog if they want to see THAT part of Japan.
Congratulations!
Thanks, I appreciate it. The accomplishment of a lifetime. Now, what’s next?
I lived in Japan for a few years and recently (as in, last week) just went back to visit and see if perhaps I had made the wrong decision in moving away (back to America), and if perhaps I wanted to return to Japan permanently.
I came to the same conclusion you did. It was a great visit, and I can never pass up the comparatively cheap sake, but the novelty had all worn off and by the end I was ready to get back to a place a little less, well, boring.
Congratulations, Ken. Glad to see you made your dreams come true.
I was 8 years into my Japan stint when I contemplated sticking around an additional 2 years in order to get my PR, but then I was faced with the question of whether I really wanted it and for what purpose. Before moving to Japan it had always been my dream to live there, but now I was wondering what precisely I’d get out of staying further.
I’d captured most of the value that living in Japan confers, and I was past the point of diminishing returns. Already in my 30s, I’d seen most of what’s there to see and did almost everything I’d wanted to do. I’d gotten a pretty good picture of what was attainable and what would have to stay relegated to daydreaming. Part of the excitement of starting a new life in a different place is the great unknown that lies ahead of you and the hope it gives you. It’s not so much the place that changes as the years go by, it’s the fact that you eventually find out the limitations of your existence there; you find out where the all the glass ceilings are. In a way, with that great unknown gone, what was previously valued as shiny and exciting gradually loses its luster and novelty value and becomes suffocating and oppressing instead.
Essentially, I realized I had passed the inflection point where I was putting in more than I was getting back. I started to realize how it feels to be Japanese in Japan. I had become a prisoner of the very thing that was at one point a welcome escape from the drudgery of my hometown overseas. Ironic but not completely unnatural.
With a fiancé and (a kid in the pipeline), I realized that raising a family in Japan is a completely different ball game from drinking in Shibuya and Roppongi several nights a week as an unencumbered bachelor. Only the environment remains the same but it’s an entirely different existence, a much harder one to swallow given the societal constraints in Japan. I couldn’t justify putting my future child through the Japanese education-workforce gauntlet.
And while the alternative of staying an eternal bachelor in Tokyo has some (surface) appeal, I’d seen most of my foreign friends over the years turn into old cynical drifters, aimlessly looking for their next high in some nightlife area, hoping that finally they’re going to find something or someone to fill their personal void, only to make it a pattern and repeat it week after week, year after year. Many of them had nothing to show for their efforts other than financial problems, a lack of financial security and the odd alcohol or sex addiction.
That is not to denigrate my Japan experience – I’m very glad I did it and I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. But it was only one phase of my life and life has a lot more to offer and the new unknowns to discover 🙂 (and sorry for the wall of text.)
Congratulations Ken!
I lost it at
“And the man said, “Yeah something immigration something application something visa blah blah.” That’s what fifteen years of studying Japanese will get you.”
I tell ya, languages with a Latin alphabet where you pronounce the letter as you write it are the way to the future. Forget those weird looking signs, forget English with all its exceptions, Croatian is the language you truly wanna learn. Okay, we have seven different cases, one of it which you only hear but don’t write, and funny letters to pronounce like ć, đ, nj, and ž, but hey at least we have the main part of the coastline of the beautiful Adriatic sea with the current sending all the garbage to the Italian coast.
What I am saying is, there are always good and bad sides to each country of the world. What counts is the inner attitude to the negative things and adversity.
Cheers to your PR with a nice glass of red wine! And some very very dark chocolate.
“I started to realize how it feels to be Japanese in Japan. ” -> I am at this stage now.
Congratulations on getting your Permanent Residency. I’m moving to Japan soon and hope to have a good experience like you are having.
Thanks much. Yeah, it’s a super big deal for me.
Congratulations yourself on moving here. You’ll have a great experience. Then if you stay long enough, you’ll have every experience.
When did you apply? I applied on November 5, 2018. The staff member told me it would take about 4 months, but I’ve now been waiting 7 months. And I’m not in Tokyo, but I applied in a smaller city. I assume that they’re not going to give it to me at this point. My work permit / ARC is up for renewal at the end of August. The Canadian guy above, “Lord” never said why they rejected his application for permanent residency. It would have been nice to know what they rejected him for, just to get an idea of why they reject applicants.
I applied after that, sometime in December if memory serves, and it took just about 3 months. 7 months? Jeez, that doesn’t sound good. Have you asked at the Immigration Office?
Ken,
Thanks. Yeah, I also think that this is strange. My foreign colleague applied for permanent residency 10 years ago, and he said it only took him about two months to get it. I’m in a city north of Tokyo, and they have a small immigration office. So there is not the volume of applicants that you would expect in a larger immigration office like in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Therefore, I’m a little worried that there is indeed a problem and that I did not receive permanent residency. I wonder why the staff are not getting back to me, though? 7 months seems unduly long compared to what I’ve heard from other gaijin who have applied for permanent residency, even in big cities like Nagoya and Tokyo. No, I’ve not contacted immigration. I’ll just wait it out. I actually have to renew my ARC by the end of August this summer, so I’ll have to go in there, probably in early July, to renew my ARC. If I have not heard back from them by then, I’ll find out in July when I go in there. Thanks for the info about your experience with it.
Does anyone think there could be a skin colour bias? I knew an African guy in my old neighbourhood who was divorced with a child and waiting for his wife to sign the paperwork for him to remain in the country with a bi-cultural family related visa. She was giving him some grief supposedly and the immigration people were calling him up and asking him when he would be leaving. Not sure if the wife put them up to it or but he claims it was the colour of his skin. Obviously I don’t know all the intimate details of my African acquaintances personal life and he could be crying racism as opposed to whatever but I would like to ask Lord what colour he is. A French friend told me it was dead easy as a French person to get a business visa by a immigration official because he was told, “There are fewer French people in Japan”. Like there is a quota that needs to be reached. I can’t help but wonder the role that nationality and skin colour plays with Japan’s visa system?
That kinda stuff can really get in your head. Is it true? Maybe, yeah, who knows. Probably. There might well be a nation-based quota or limit. But discrimination based upon the color of your skin? In Japan? Heh, I think we know this country better than that.
in my case it took almost 11 months for it to get accepted: applied in early October and got it in August of the following year. Mind you, it was Tokyo, so I was expecting a long process. Hope it goes through!
11 months? Holy balls, not sure I could’ve handled the stress. Anyway, glad it came out right for you in the end. Guess it pays to keep the faith.
Marco,
Yeah, that’s my thinking regarding Tokyo, also. The Tokyo office deals with a massive number of applicants, so I would expect the waits to be longer in Tokyo. But not where I am. I applied November 5, and it’s now June 5. 7 months exactly.
Yeah it was quite stressful, it’s a completely opaque process and I kept on wondering whether I made some silly procedural mistake that would have invalidated the whole thing.
Trying to be optimistic, maybe all applications from separate regions are processed in a single center, so that you might encounter delays even if you submitted your application somewhere rural
I kind of assumed that all applications were processed in a central location. I can’t imagine the Japanese government ceding control of the nation’s borders to every individual Tom, Dick, and Takeshi. It wouldn’t surprise me if everything ended up in a massive pile on one poor guy’s desk in Tokyo.
My guess is that they also contact your home country for a police background check. You know, just to make sure you don’t have some crazy criminal record. That’s just my own thinking, but you know, it’s what I’d do if it were my country. And if so, depending on how responsive your home nation is, things might take quite a while. Again, just guess. Keep the faith.
How much did it cost you? And did they look into pension payments at all?
Right? Yeah, there’s the problem—nobody knows what they look at.
I had some pretty significant periods of unemployment during the previous ten years, during which time I didn’t contribute to the Japanese Pension system. I’d probably paid about 70 percent of the time. Apparently, that didn’t count against me. Now, did they actually check it? Again, no way to know. I assume they check what they can. But Japan has some pretty strict attitudes towards privacy, so maybe that’s off limits?
Waking up nights going back and forth with those kinds of questions is exactly why the process is so stressful.
In terms of cost, it was just 8,000 yen, which feels like a pretty good deal, all things considering.
Ken,
Yesterday, July 2, I checked my mailbox after coming home from work, and there was a post card from Tokyo Immigration. On the back, it asks me to come to their office by July 11, 2019, and there are three charges: (1) 4,000円, (2) 8,000円 and (3) 900円. The 8,000円 one is circled. Does this mean that my application for permanent residency has been accepted, and I can go in and pay for the new I.D. card and finalize the application process? I assume that it does. However, I won’t be able to go to the immigration office and confirm until my next day off. So I applied on November 5, 2018 and received the immigration post card from Tokyo Immigration office on July 2, 2019. So that is about 8 months for me.
Fan-damn-tastic. Yeah, 8,000 sounds like the right number. Congratulations!
Ken, Thanks. By the way, do you know what the process is for returning at the airport, can I now go through the citizens line at customs when I return to Japan?
No, there are actually 3 lines at the airport. One for Japanese nationals. Can’t use that. One for the unwashed hordes of foreigners. Don’t want that either. But there’s a third line for residence card holders. It think it used to be for permanent residents only, but now most airports don’t seem to make a distinction about what kind of ARC you have. (So PR isn’t actually much of an advantage there, sadly.) Look for signs in Japanese saying something like 在留. I can’t remember the actual wording, but there’s usually only about one or two white dudes standing there, and that’s the nice, short line you want.
Ken, Thanks for the info. Appreciate it.
Ken,
Yes, it was indeed for permanent residency. I decided to go into their office today. It looks just like the old ARC card.
Congratulations on your permanent residency! Apart from the fact that you can now work at any job you would like, no longer restricted by categorical work visas, you can now get an almost-zero interest housing loan or mortgage, or so I heard. So consider buying a house next!
You know, I keep wanting to buy a house, and it keeps seeming like a bad idea. Just thinking out loud for a minute here…
Property values in Japan generally decrease, rather than increase, although that’s partly offset by the amount you’d pay for rent anyway. I’m also not sure I could afford a house or condo that’d be much better than a decent apartment. Then there’s the issue of not being able to move easily. Given the amount of stability inherent in Japanese jobs, the whole thing’s not very reassuring.
I’m also slightly concerned that a disproportionate amount of the property purchased in Japan is bought by foreign people. Japanese folks frequently prefer to rent. As a general rule, whenever I see Japanese people doing one thing and foreigners doing another, there’s always something amiss.
Still, it has it’s attractions, I’ll give you that.
Yeah basically agree with you on all counts about buying a place in Japan. With changing demographics, it’s hard to see property as a good investment even in the large urban areas…and with houses basically going to zero after 10 years. When you buy a place in Japan, you’re essentially buying it for the price of tearing down the place, putting up a new one, and the land.
Throw in the fact that you said that you might want to move around…selling your house could be difficult and at the least, you’d probably end up taking some kind of loss.
I ended up buying a place because I could see myself retiring there or at least having it as a second home…and the outright cost was just ridiculously low. If you feel that you’re fairly settled in, and the cost is the same or less than renting…maybe a good idea…otherwise, renting would be just fine.
I’m genuinely curious as to how well this has worked out for you financially. As opposed to, say, just leasing a home while you’re on vacation, or even retiring and living in a rental home or apartment. Is the cost really the same or lower than renting, once you factor in mortgage payments, insurance, taxes, repairs, and whatever else comes with owning a property?
Hmmm, I probably should buckle down and do the math, but over a time frame of a retirement of like 20 years (hopefully many more) I would estimate I come out way on top. There are no mortgage payments since I bought it outright at a ridiculous level (at least compared to super elevated SF Bay Area standards), property tax is also laughable (compared to aforementioned SF Bay Area), repairs and improvements are at my discretion (currently I’m just doing bare minimum maintenance and repairs since I’m not actively living there now…just stay with in-laws and friends when we do visit). Just from my purchase price vs renting a similar type house for the area…my breakeven is 2.5 years.
The really big appeal to me though was that it’s in an area I really love, in a great location, big lot with plenty of possibilities for any kind of building or expansions I want to make in retirement.
My case is hard to generalize, but I would say that if there’s a place that you could see yourself being in for longer than 10 years, that you could purchase at a good level (so probably outside of the big cities)…it makes more financial sense to buy. Even if you move, you would still be fine to sell at a loss since you would come up on top versus a rental.
I’m actually a pretty big fan of the “Life Where I’m From” videos, and he has a great set of videos about real estate in Japan. He’s Tokyo focused but extrapolates fairly easily to other parts of Japan, and I think he does a much better job of explaining things than I could ever hope to:
Hmmm, I put in a long post that I guess didn’t go in…the upshot is, if you’re staying in a place for like 10 years and can buy at a cheap level (I mean you can buy a Kyomachi in Kyoto for less than $100K…), taxes aren’t that bad, insurance isn’t that bad if you adjust your coverage…then buying is better. You probably won’t get a lot of appreciation if you plan to sell, but you probably will still come out on top versus renting…But from what I’ve read of your experiences…you probably don’t want to be tied down, so keep your flexibility and rent.
Hey Jonathan,
Thanks for the reply. Just found your other comment in the spam folder—not sure how or why it ended up there, sorry.
Yeah, for 100K, the math would definitely work. Just casually perusing the real estate sites, though, I can’t seem to find anything better than a miserable 1 room condo for that price. Guess I need to look harder.
Heh yup, gets a little harder if you’re looking to be anywhere super convenient to a big, urban area. My place is also near a train station, but not super convenient…so I might want to think what my costs would be if I have to own and operate a car (didn’t you do an article about car ownership?).
Ken,
Came across this article today about Japan titled,
“Who Would Possibly Do Something So Crazy? Pretty Much Everyone In Japan…”
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-06-11/who-would-possibly-do-something-so-crazy-pretty-much-everyone-japan
Great, now I feel even better about the country I’ve chosen to live in.
But to the article’s point, Japan is a pretty bizarre place, and not always in a good way.
Found this great article about the housing market there. I understand why you say the above.
https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/Asia/Japan/Price-History
What? I thought Japanese had their own “Contextual thinking”? Anyway, I don’t really think its the education system that causes Westerners to favor “critical thinking” over “contextual thinking” its the entire culture.
BTW Whats your opinion on “free-range parenting”? After reading Chomsky and Kaplan I think the education system is mainly a “signaling device” of intelligence, conscientiousness, and conformity: it does nothing to actual develop human capital outside of STEM or professional degrees to their job. People who attend high school yet drop out at the end of their final year and bachelors who drop out one course away from their degree don’t better than those who dropped out their first year meaning that school isn’t actually teaching people but the paper at the end signals you care about how others see you and will see things to completion which is what employers need. I’ve been reading lots of ebooks that I’ve pirated, so if you want to maybe we can talk.
Ken,
Thanks. I decided to go to the immigration office this morning. I paid 8,000 Yen for the stamp, and I received the permanent residence card. It looks exactly like my old ARC except, like you said, it has several ***** where a regular work visa expiration date would normally be. But I have to go back in July of 2026 to renew the card it seems. Anyway, it took 8 months for my application to be approved. I was worried when you said it only took you about 4 months. I used the Tokyo Immigration office, so maybe that’s why it took so long. Thanks again.
Yeah, it was a wee bit anticlimactic, but still awesome. You do need to renew the card, but the great thing is you’re no longer bound to one employer, so if you change jobs, retire, or simply want to work the gig economy, all that’s now that’s an option.
Don’t know why I got mine so quickly. My suspicion is the Japanese Immigration authorities have to contact your home country and get some sort of police and financial records, and that’s what takes the time. So if you’re not from the U.S., that could account for some of the difference. I’m also assuming everything gets funneled through a central office, i.e. Tokyo. But as we know, the whole thing’s a black box, so I may be way off in my thinking.
Either way, congratulations again. And welcome to Japan, this time for real.
Yeah, so it sounds like you also used the Tokyo Immigration office. I am also curious why it took you half the time to receive permanent residency compared to me. I’m Canadian. I’ve been here since September 2008. So that’s almost 11 years. I’m also a tenured professor with a PhD at a national university, so there are no questions about my employment history or skills. Maybe you’re right in that it depends on which country the applicant is from, because the Japanese officials do some kind of basic background check on the applicant which relies on how fast the applicant’s home country can provide the Japanese officials with the information that they want. Anyway, thanks.
I have owned 2 apartments in Japan. Had the first for only 7 years then moved and got another. We moved do my daughters could attend an international school (which turned out to a a disaster – story for another time.
We “lost” 1,000,000 on the sales price and about 2,000,000 in fees etc. Rent in same building would have been 13,440,000 and we paid 7,560,000 for repayments and monthly maintenance fees and taxes. So after 7 years we came out around 2,500,000 in front allowing for some minor repairs (that’s also not factoring in the tax deduction).
As long as you are ok buying used and willing to shop around it’s a pretty good market for medium/long term imo.
For the new one (purchased in late 2016 and we moved early 2017) we got it for 2,000,000 less than the value at the time as the couple selling were in the middle of a bad divorce and they wanted to sell ASAP. We actually had 2 apartments in Japan for 6 months so was good when we sold the first.
It’s currently valued about 3,000,000 more than we paid for it due to a lack of housing in the area, but will drop soon as new buildings are going up. More importantly we pay about 75,000 a month in repayments/mantainance fees and taxes, and the same apartment rents for 160,000.
That’s inspiring. If I ever get a job stable enough to last more than a few months, maybe I’ll buy a place. Or if I could retire someday and have the confidence that I wouldn’t die in ten years.
Clearly your next adventure is teaching English in China. 😛