Hah. Yes, the tax office probably is going to try.

Yeah, good luck with that.

Yes, they need a yochien teaching license. There are three types, one for grads of four-year unis, one for grads of two-year junior colleges or distance-ed programs, and one for people with graduate...

You have nothing similar in the US and it is a national shame.

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/112892/hell-american-day-care

In Japan, most hoikuen caregivers need to have hoikushi certification. To get this, you usually spend two years in college and pass the certification exam. The exam is really comprehensive. It covers...

The differences are that yochien only take kids from age 3 or so, and they run for about four hours a day (some have extended care to cover the other four hours of the work day). Hoikuen take kids...

Too bad it's not possible to phone Japan from overseas and say, "Hey, I left, can you cancel my NHI?" And it would be so great if the country had, like, offices overseas staffed with Japanese public...

This is basically the response to all immigration inquiries for white people from the US, Canada, Europe, or Aus/NZ. As long as you look like you are trying to follow the rules in good faith, you are...

Tax office does not care. They do not even ask what kind of visa you have.

Quit your job, go to the tax office and file a kaigyou todoke. Then go to immigration within two weeks. Tell them you've...

The payment is 420 000 yen now (for a v-birth of a child older than 22 weeks).

There is a system in place where insurance (shakai or national health) pays directly to the hospital, but not all...

Are you new here?

Grass is always greener? Picnics aren't so fun with young kids--you spend the whole time trying to make sure your kid isn't eating bird ____ or spilling juice on his playmates. Parenting is fun and...

Are you confusing the rules for establishing a corporation (kabushi kaisha) with qualifying for a business investor visa?

To establish a KK, you don't need any employees, foreign or Japanese, and...

They are jumping! There is lots going on, but problem last I heard was regulations on size of nurseries, required outdoor play space, etc, which made it hard to find an affordable site in Tokyo to...

I know you're just responding to another commenter, so don't take this as a direct criticism, but I think that expressing sentiments along the lines of "Oh, mothers would love to stay home full time...

Will you take a gaijin married to a Japanese, working FT in a professional job, with a background in labor economics, with a kid in public hoikuen and another on the way (another kid, not another...

That's good to know. So, print out your juminhyo and take it to the embassy.

I don't know how it works for the US, but this was the deal for Canadians (before gaijin cards turned into zairyu cards).

Register your marriage at the ward office.

Ignore the box on the form...

I am a freelancer in Japan, so here's my two cents.

The only companies here that might compare with what you have in Sweden are agencies (translation agencies, staff dispatching agencies, etc)....

Meh, sometimes they are enforceable. If the business owner can prove they suffered damages, or if they can prove you used confidential information acquired in the course of your employment with them...

In some cases non-compete clauses are legit and enforceable, especially when designed to protect confidential business information. Usually the max period that restrictions can be applied after...

If you live in Tokyo, no one will give a sh*t. Unless you try to get the Japanese administrative world to treat you the same way as a they'd treat a heterosexual married couple with kids (i.e. you...

It sounds like you are too clueless to realize that leasing is the answer, but in case you do have common sense and the ability to find someone to help you with the Japanese, then leasing a used kei...

DO NOT TALK TO YOUR MP ABOUT IT! He really does not want to know.

He really really does not want to know that the local gaijin are doing anything illegal. He will not care about the car itself,...

Driving a car without shaken is six points on your license and imprisonment of six months or less or a fine of 300 000 yen or less.

Driving a car without insurance is six points on your license...