From finding a residence status that suits your circumstances to signing up a sponsor, getting a visa to stay in Japan for the long term can be a challenge.
Lifelines is playing catch-up this week, with some feedback from previous columns and a reader hoping for a little bit ...
There are aspects of everyday life that renters take for granted, such as access to utilities. Of course, renters pay ...
The latest round of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) was held yesterday — congratulations to the test takers! A couple of readers wrote to us about the exam after last week’s Community Page published an article by Jun Hongo titled “Is the JLPT ...
With the yearend rush fast approaching, Dave has a very timely question about Japanese New Year cards: “I’m not a Christmas card kind of guy and last year was no exception. However, at New Year’s I got a bunch of postcards from friends and ...
A reader from overseas, KM, contacted Lifelines after reading a recent article about Rikuzentakata. The city, located in Iwate Prefecture, gained international attention after it was nearly wiped out by the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011. Amya ...
In 2000 we moved into an apartment in Tokyo run by the semi-public housing corporation UR. It was new and had a natural-gas heating system. Unlike other gas systems we’d used in the past, however, this one heated water that was then circulated to ...
One reader wrote to Lifelines with a question regarding pensions: I’m a part-time English university instructor, now working at two Tokyo universities. In nine years, I will be 70 and, as it stands today, should anticipate being forced to retire. I will still have ...
A reader from Australia, JF, contacted Lifelines with a question about using her MasterCard debit card here. She is coming to Japan soon and was concerned about a notice she had seen on MasterCard Japan’s website, indicating that certain types of cards issued overseas ...
Lifelines was recently contacted by Jack Marquardt, who served with the United States Army’s 720th Military Police Battalion in Tokyo from 1946-48. Jack, who still calls Tokyo home, is trying to locate a statue of significance to the battalion and its veterans. He shared ...
Annulling a divorce in Japan achieved through forgery can mean court mediation and possibly litigation, making it much more difficult than getting a divorce fraudulently in the first place.
Several years ago, we went to a bank in Tokyo that was advertising housing loans with easy terms. Though we weren’t shopping for a loan at the time we wanted to see what was needed in order to apply for one. The bank’s approval ...
Softbank requires that you have at least two years remaining on your visa if you wish to pay for a new iPhone handset in monthly installments rather than fork out for the whole lot up front.
Preparing to leave Japan can be an overwhelming and time-consuming process, especially if you try to do it in less than two months, as my husband and I did. But regardless how much (or little) time you have to get ready, we learned a ...
The government has yet to confirm the timing of the approved consumption tax increase from 5 to 8 percent. It’s slated to take place next April but there is still fear that the economy is too frail to withstand the effect the added tax ...
