Arudou Debito, a naturalized Japanese citizen who was born in the USA, is working on a new book in English and Japanese that will be a kind of “guidebook for those who want to establish firmer roots in Japanese society.
The book will talk about how to get to Japan on a stable visa, how to land a secure job, how to set up one’s own company, how to deal with problems in Japan, how to plan for the future, and how to contribute to Japan’s emerging civil society.”
The new book, still in the planning stages, will be — according to the author and his co-author, a Japanese lawyer — a nuts-and-bolts book with specific legal advice.
The authors are looking for input from interested parties, overseas and in Japan, regarding the kinds of topics you would like to see covered in the book.
Send suggestions to: debito@debito.org
[…] Japundit highlights a book by U.S.-born Japanese Arudou Debito about how he went back to Japan and re-established himself as a citizen of that country. Luisetta Mudie […]
i would like to see a chapter on How To Be More-Than-Ever Super-Kawaii!
I wanna read about how to avoid the coppers in Japan and not get locked up for a month!
I’d like to know about inheritance taxes.
Marie,
A recent American Chamber of Commerce in Japan Journal has a long article on inheritance taxes in Japan and the US, and what happens with bi-national marriages. Check it out.
While I question some of his more recent tactics in confronting store owners, I think overall he’s a pretty cool guy. I respect that he stayed in japan and wanted to make things better for him and his family instead of leaving and being forever bitter
Oh, Pat! Thanks! I will definitely check it out.
His website notes update here:
“I mentioned before that I’m writing a reference book with a lawyer friend, on how immigrants can make a better life in Japan.
I have just finished the first draft of a chapter, one on troubleshooting. What to do if you have a certain problem. I am adapting and updating my whattodoif.html page for the purposes of this book, and here’s how I have the information organized in this chapter alone:
WHAT TO DO IF…
————————————
…you are asked for your passport and/or “Gaijin Card”. (see page ##)
…you are stopped by the Japanese police for an ID check. (see page ##)
…you are taken into custody by the Japanese police. (see page ##)
…you overstay your visa. (see Chapter 1 page ##)
…you are refused service at a business open to the general public. (see page ##)
…you are refused service at a hotel. (see page ##)
…you are refused an apartment, or have a problem with your landlord. (see page ##)
…you want to protest something you see as discriminatory. (see page ##)
…you need legal advice, or a lawyer. (see page ##)
…you want to take somebody to court. (see page ##)
…you are having a labor dispute in the workplace. (see page ##)
…you are swindled in a business deal. (see page ##)
…you want to get a divorce. (see page ##)
…you want to get Permanent Residency (eijuuken). (see Chapter 1 page ##)
…you want to become a Japanese citizen. (see Chapter 1 page ##)
…you want to run for office. (see Chapter 7 page ##)
…you want to build a house. (see Chapter 3 page ##)
…you want to start a business. (see Chapter 3 page ##)
…you go bankrupt. (see Chapter 3 page ##)
…you want to do some awareness raising. (see Chapter 7 page ##)
*The point of this note is to ask you: Is there anything you feel I’ve left out above and that you’d really like to see included in the book? I’m talking problems, in FAQ style. “I want to know more about pensions” is a topic for a different chapter, and we’ll get to that.
What I’m asking for is a……….
…..”This keeps happening to me, so what can I do about it?”……..sort of thing, which I can include as quick-and-dirty reference in this chapter.
Any ideas? Something I’m missing out above?
I’ll be contacting some people individually as specialists to correct sections of information I’ve already written up. (You’ll be credited for the information, of course!) So please help out if you can!
Thanks very much as always, everybody. We have quite a body of information out there, and it’s high time to put the institutional memory to into print.”
website
The writer of that book has since created a revamped Table of Contents for Chapter Four, the WHAT TO DO IF… section for answering problems and concerns non-Japanese people in Japan or communities may have.
This is a last call for Draft One of Chapter Four. If you think there is anything missing (or better yet, if you feel you can contribute some information, with full attribution), please let him know….
Below is the new chapter table of contents outline.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE FOLLOWING ITEMS:
POLICING:
(For visa overstay, lost “Gaijin Cards”, and other Immigration issues, see Ch 1. pg ##)
…if you are asked for a passport or ID (”Gaijin Card”) check by police (page ##)
…if you are asked for a passport or Gaijin Card check by anyone else (page ##)
…if you are arrested or taken into custody by the police (page ##)
…if you are involved in a traffic accident (page ##)
…if you are a victim of a crime (page ##)
DISCRIMINATION:
(What we mean by “discrimination”, page ##)
…if you are refused entry to a business (page ##)
…if you are refused entry to a hotel (page ##)
…if you are refused an apartment (page ##)
…if you are threatened with eviction from an apartment (page ##)
…if you want to protest something you feel is discriminatory (page ##)
GOING TO COURT:
(Types of courts in Japan, page ##)
…if you want legal advice or to find a lawyer (page ##)
…if you want to go to court (page ##)
…if you want to go to small-claims court (for fraud, broken business contracts, etc.) (page ##)
WORKPLACE DISPUTES:
(For labor laws, legal working conditions, and other workplace issues that are not specifically problems, see Ch 1 pg ##)
…if you want government support for labor dispute negotiations (page ##)
…if you want to join or form a labor union (page ##)
…if you want to find another job (page ##)
FAMILY MATTERS:
(For family issues that are not specifically problems, such as how to get married, enroll your children in school, etc., see Ch. 00 pg ##)
…if you want to register your Japanese children with non-Japanese names (page ##)
…if you have a problem (such as ijime bullying) in your children’s schools (page ##)
…if you want to change your children’s schools (page ##)
…if you suffer from Domestic Violence (page ##)
…if you want to get a divorce (page ##)
…if you are having child custody or child support problems (page ##)
LIFESTYLE:
(These are frequently asked questions about overcoming obstacles and improving your lifestyle in Japan. Basic information, such as how to open a bank account, in Ch 00 pg##)
…if you want to study Japanese (page ##)
…if you want a credit card (page ##)
…if you want insurance (auto, life, property) (page ##)
…if you want a driver license (page ##)
…if you want to buy a car (page ##)
…if you want Permanent Residency (eijuuken) (page ##)
…if you want to buy a house or apartment (page ##)
…if you want to sell your house or apartment (page ##)
…if you want to start your own business (see Ch 3 pg##)
…if you need counseling or psychiatric help (page ##)
…if you want to take Japanese citizenship (kika) (page ##)
…if you want to run for public office (see Ch 7 pg ##)
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE, RETIREMENT, AND DEATH:
(Many topics, such as pensions and investments, are also covered in Ch 6 pg##)
…how to write your Will (yuigon) (page ##)
…how to deal with Japanese rules regarding family inheritance (page ##)
…how to conduct a funeral (osoushiki) in a culturally-sensitive manner (page ##)
…how to work with Japanese cremation rules (page ##)
…if you want to repatriate a body for ceremonies overseas (page ##)
…if you want to maintain a funeral plot in Japan.
An interesting side not here, noted at another Internet site in Japan:
JAPANESE AMBASSADOR TO CANADA speaks about CHILD ABDUCTIONS TO JAPAN
In an important interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Company, CBC,
on March 31, 2006, 3 people talked about the issue of how Japan
has become a safe haven for child abductions after international
marriages break up.
Interview excerpt, a quote from Jeremy Morley, a lawyer in New York
City specializing in international family law:
-
[Morley]: Children are not returned from Japan, period, and it is a
situation that happens a lot with children of international marriages with
kids who are over in Japan, they do not get returned. Usually, the
parent who has kept a child is Japanese, and under the Japanese legal
system they have a family registration system whereby every Japanese family
has their own registration with a local ward office. And the name of
registration system is the koseki system. So every Japanese person has
their koseki, and a child is listed on the appropriate koseki. Once a
child is listed on the family register, the child belongs to that
family. Foreigners don’t have a family register and so there is no way for
them to actually have a child registered as belonging to them in Japan.
There is an international treaty called the Hague Convention on the
civil aspects of international child abduction, and Japan is the only G7
country that is not a party to the Hague Convention. I think it’
s horrible. It is an international outrage and it is an enormous
problem that is not being addressed by the international community.
….
[The interview opens with the plaintiff, Murray Wood, talking about his
case, where he won custody of his children from Canadian courts, but
was refused custody by Japanese courts essentially because of “who dares
wins”: The judges simply refused to uproot the children (currently
residing in Saitama where he is denied any access, let alone custody).
Regardless of the international arrest warrant out on ex-wife Ayako Wood.]
You can see Japan’s Ambassador to Canada Sadaaki Numata views here:
[Numata]: “That is precisely, precisely, what I am disputing. And to
cause suspicions, like saying Japan is a haven for abducted children and
so forth, I don’t think it’s just, it’s not the way I go about this
business of diplomacy. And, and, and we are considering the question of
whether or not to become a party to the convention, but there are a
number of factors that need to be taken into account. Its impact on the
Japanese Family Law system, and also what I might call the sociological
impact on the question of to what extent it would serve, it would be in
the interest of the Japanese people. And we are in the process of
studying all of these issues carefully.”
…
See the interview in transcript with links to the original audio file
[Thanks to the Children’s Rights Network of Japan for info]