address/bank account in Japan while leaving abroad ?

[Jean-Christophe Helary]

I have a translator friend who just left Japan and who wants to keep his account to avoid the hassle of transfer fees for payments he'd get from Japanese companies.

Problem is, online banking in the bank where he has his account requires an address here. I'd be fine with helping him with that but I'd like to check if there is any legal fine print somewhere that says it should be avoided...

Thank you in advance for your chie !

Jean-Christophe Helary
---------------------------------
fun: mac4translators.blogspot.com
work: www.doublet.jp (ja/en > fr)
tweets: @brandelune

[Alan Siegrist]

Jean-Christophe Helary writes:

> I have a translator friend who just left Japan and who wants to keep his
> account to avoid the hassle of transfer fees for payments he'd get from
> Japanese companies.
>
> Problem is, online banking in the bank where he has his account requires
> an address here. I'd be fine with helping him with that but I'd like to
> check if there is any legal fine print somewhere that says it should be
> avoided...

As long as the translator friend is honest and you can trust him/her, there
should not be a problem.

But if they go bad and start using the account for some illegal purpose such
as tax evasion or money laundering, or if they go bankrupt and try to use
the account to hide funds from creditors, you would be left with your
address on the bank account and could be charged as an accomplice.

You would at least have a lot of explaining to do to the "Marusa no Onna."

Regards,

Alan Siegrist
Carmel, CA, USA

[Minoru Mochizuki]

I believe most banks here and abroad require a domestic address in opening
an account but they don't mind leaving the account open regardless of
whether the new address is local or abroad. I have maintained Japanese bank
accounts when I lived in U.S. and I am currently maintaining a New York bank
account although I am back in Japan. The only thing you have to do when you
move is to report to the bank your new address and they don't care where the
new address is, so long as it is on the earth.

Minoru Mochizuki

[roy.b...@gmail.com]

To open an account in Japan I believe you have to have a Foreigner
Registration Card to prove your address. But once the account is
open,
it stays open forever unless you close it. I personally kept a
Shinsei
bank account and used their online banking for two years while I was
living out of Japan (I'm back now), but this is technically against
their policies. I also ran into a big problem when they introduced a
mandatory code-card system for logging into the online banking, which
was mailed to my former address and returned to sender, which then
led
them to freeze my ATM card as well as preventing me from logging into
the web site. I managed to finagle them over the phone to reactivate
my ATM card, but it was simply impossible to get the card needed for
online banking until I was back in Japan and had a new mailing
address
registered with the bank for them to send the card to as they can not
hand them over at bank branches.
Therefore, what I would recommend is finding a friend who is willing
to lend their postal address to use as your maildrop for bank
material, in case you need to get a new card or something. Remember
that to register a mailing address with a bank you have to show that
this is your registered address on your foreigner registration card,
but registering the address on that card actually requires no proof
whatsoever, so you can very easily register your friend's address
without needing a rental contract or utility bill or any of the
proofs
of address commonly used in America. Also don't forget that you
actually CAN get an alien registration card as a tourist, which will
look the same as one carried by residents, except for the 在留資格 being
blank. However, I do not know if this will allow you to open a bank
account. It is worth a try though.