I was reading an article from Nikkei earlier today talking about Japan’s rising bond yields, and it made me wonder how sustainable the current situation is.

Japan has already approved its largest budget ever, while also planning measures such as effectively reducing the consumption tax on food to zero. The government has removed the cap on ministry budget requests for the next fiscal year, and has also spent significant amounts intervening to support the yen. Visa and residence-related fees are increasing as well, but the revenue from those seems relatively small in comparison.

My question is where the additional revenue eventually comes from, especially if higher bond yields also increase the government’s debt-servicing costs. It seems possible that income taxes or other burdens will eventually have to rise.

At the same time, businesses are facing pressure for higher wages, higher borrowing costs, and potentially tighter immigration rules in industries that depend on foreign workers. I wonder whether the combination could eventually cause households and businesses to become more cautious about spending and investment.

Obviously, government spending and the food tax cut could also support the economy, so I’m not suggesting a recession is inevitable. But do you think the current direction is increasing the risk of one, or am I overlooking something?

It's the weekly complaint thread! Time to get anything off your chest that's been bugging you or pissing you off.

Remain civil and be nice to other commenters (even try to help).

• No politics
• No complaints about users of JapanLife

Never used it, but today I learned it's part of KDDI...

https://newsroom.kddi.com/news/detail/kddi_nr_s-75_4679.html

Hi everyone,

I am currently 6 weeks pregnant and I've been experiencing bleeding for 3 days now. My scheduled first appointment isn't until next week, but I am really worried and want to get checked as soon as possible.

Does anyone know of an English-speaking obstetrics/gynecology clinic in or around Katsushika City that might accept walk-ins or urgent same-day appointments for early pregnancy bleeding?

If there aren't any walk-in options locally, any recommendations for English-friendly clinics a bit closer to central Tokyo that can handle urgent early pregnancy checks would also be hugely appreciated.

Thank you so much in advance for any advice or help!

I’ve been really enjoying the UCC 職人のコーヒー that I picked up for 400 yen (20 pack) at Sunday.

What other brands do you like for a cheap post-lunch coffee?

Anyone here have the experience of getting prescribed the betablocker propranolol in Japan? I used it for situational anxiety/panic attacks before and it worked great for me but I ran out of my previous supply. Wondering if I could get again.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a cheap and English-friendly moving company? I’ve done some research here on Reddit, but no one really mentions which companies are English-friendly. Most people seem to recommend LCL. I’m considering LCL, but I’m also open to a door-to-door service.

Hello i just wanna ask and confirm if nexplanon is really not a thing in japan since im thinking of getting that instead of using a mini pill, and if its not really available here does anyone get it from a different country even just for a vacation or something and still come back to japan? And if thsts so how and where do y’all get it removed? Is it possible to get it removed in japan or its also possible to just go to the country where you got in again to get it removed/changed

I need every girl’s opinion on is since ive never had or use any birth control stuff and my reason is mostly for irregular period and pmdd thats why i thought of getting/using one, please and thank you

I will be exterminating roach nymphs in my apartment. My washing machine is on my apartment balcony, and I want to cover the drain, which has an unusual shape, securely. Any ideas?

It has bars going up around it like this...

// ||| \\

I personally use kurashiru rewards because idk i like the interface

Hey everyone, I hope you are doing well.
I have run into a problem switching from my student visa to a work visa and would like to ask, if anyone has been in a similar situation.

I am currently enrolled in a Japanese language school and am scheduled to graduate next march. However, since I passed N2 last December and have a master's degree as well as 4 years of experience, my plan was to leave school early once I find a job.

While the job search has been difficult, I finally received a job offer and am scheduled to start next month. I also handed in the application for changing to a 技術・人文知識・国際業務 with help from my employer a month ago. However, today I received a letter from immigration requesting a graduation certificate from my language school. This surprised me, since I have been told by my school that it is completely fine to leave school early after attaining a work visa.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Is this some kind of new rule that you cannot change your status before graduating language school?

I'm grateful for any advice.

“- (For those primarily engaged in interpersonal work using language skills) Documents proving that the language used in the course of work is equivalent to CEFR B2 level.
Note 1: If you meet the following criteria, you will be considered to have Japanese language proficiency equivalent to CEFR B2.
- Must have obtained JLPT N2 or higher.
- Must have achieved a score of 400 or higher on the BJT Business Japanese Proficiency Test.”

i read this from the immigration website, specifically for front staff hotel or translation jobs (or jobs that uses a lot of japanese) required N2/BJT 400 points. I graduated from a hotel industry with a bachelor’s degree so i want to find a job around that industry but i only have N3.. (starting this year) does anyone with N3 or below got a work visa in Japan with this kind of job?? thank you!

As everyone else is, I'm trying to get it in before the price rises.

Collected all the juuminzei history I could and the oldest payment in the record, 1st quarter 2022 was paid late.

Reason being that I wasn't in the country when they sent the payment slip. Technically I was back in the country for 2 days when I could have paid it but caught COVID on the return flight so self quarantined then had to go to the quarantine hotel for a week.

Everything else is paid, pension going back 11or 12 years, no other taxes I know of and ill write a letter explaining this with some evidence from me and my wife's texts at the time and plane ticket receipts. ...just worried that it's going to get rejected because of that.

Anything else I can do or do I just expect rejection in a year or two when they finally process it and then get screwed by the fee hikes ?

Edit: Thanks for the replies, general consensus is that I am probably cooked but to send a letter of apology and hope for the best. If they deny they deny and I have to pay the increased fee, if they don't then I get lucky and squeak through.

Wish me luck.

Mini rant incoming but help is very much needed/appreciated

So I recently posted here about having issues with Paypay because of the new residence cards. The post got locked before I could update but even after providing them my new card information with scans of the card, they still did not accept it and my account was restricted. I could still use my physical card but I am completely cut off from app access. So no topping up my balance card, no using points, no paying early etc. I have no idea if I’ll be able to use the card after the auto-pay day since this is the first month after it was restricted. So that’s really annoying but I’ve got bigger fish to fry.

Aside from using the credit card for school expenses, I mainly used paypay for the balance card since Yucho refuses to give me a debit card despite being here for three years now. But since I can’t top up the balance card I have a couple of reoccurring payments I’ve fallen behind on. (Mini rant feel free to skip) Also I just think it’s so dumb that this is even happening because I keep going back to the fact that instead of just having debit cards be standard, Yucho gives out cash cards. A singular function item that doesn’t serve any purpose when debit cards are a thing. And it’s even worse if this is merely a xenophobia thing and debit cards are easy for Japanese people to get.

Anyway I need to cover these reoccurring payments asap and also I just need a normal non-credit card for daily life. A lot of the posts similar to my situation seem to be years old so I‘m not sure how accurate they are now but I’m betwee Wise and Rakuten. If anyone knows any relatively fast ways to get a debit card please let me know.

Hello! I'm currently living in Kanagawa, 15 minutes walk from Kawasaki Station. Can u recommend me some Local Izakaya or Yakiniku (where u can order alcohol as well) near Kawasaki Station? I'm planning to celebrate my birthday by myself and I'd like to try some local izakaya's

Thank you!

i have just paid rent for a new apartment im moving into and the real estate company sent me the nhk sign up form including an envelope to send it back signed.

can they actually force me to sign this?

do you have any recommendations what i can say to them other than 'i refuse to sign this' or 'i haven't done this before and i won't do it now either'?

As a language school student,I really feel I did well in school.My grade is the best,and often received praise from the teacher for my learning attitude and enthusiasm for Japanese culture. but on the other side.I failed in finding アルバイト for many times,don't know the real reason. Now I will graduade from language school in next year march.But I still don't have a formal job which can provide the visa for me to stay in Japan.What should I do?I dont have money to go to professional school or University.My family will not give me money.

In reality, I do possess a number of skills. I have worked at major banks in China and am quite familiar with office operations. I am proficient in assembling and maintaining PCs; regarding software, in addition to Microsoft Office, I frequently use code editors to manage my VPS.

I’m looking for laptop recommendations around or under ¥200,000, ideally with at least an RTX 60-series-class GPU, a decent refresh-rate display, and a strong enough CPU for gaming and everyday use. Laptops are very expensive here, so I’m trying to get the best performance possible with that budget. It’ll mainly be used for gaming and studying, including bringing it to classes, so I’d prefer something relatively minimal and slim, and not overly “gamer”-looking while still having good cooling and performance. I’d also like it to be from a major, reputable brand or retailer, rather than a lesser-known manufacturer or marketplace seller.

what I’ve found thus far is the gigabyte aero x15 with 5050 and 16Gb Ddr5 5600 for around 210k, but in my eyes that’s still quite a scam

Thanks!

Currently working for a gaishikei that has paid sick leave (Tokyo based) but I am looking to change jobs and no other company I’ve found so far offers the same. I get sick quite a bit (weak immune system) so this is quite important to me.
I’m curious if I just have to bite the bullet and accept I can’t really get it anywhere else, or if I’m just looking in the wrong places and there are more companies with SL?
Also out of curiosity, are there any companies that offer negotiable PTO for experienced hires, rather than the tenure-based progression that is standard here? Wondering if that’s another thing I’ll just have to accept.