Re: [tlug] ||||| Linux-Cafe....where?|||||||

[Joe Larabell <larabell@???>]

> P.s. Anyone else ever find it hard to get a bank account in Tokyo!!!

I have never had any problems to date. I have two accounts with one of the
predecessors of Mizuho -- Dai-ichi Kangyo. Back in the late 90s, they had
the reputation of being the most gaijin-friendly and their ATMs were the
only ones at the time that could speak English. Each time I just brought
my gaijin card and inkan and they were falling all over themselves to get
me setup. I have an account with Tokyo-Mitsubishi but haven't really used
it for years.

I recently opened an account with Mitsui-Sumitomo via their web page (just
because I could). I put all the relevant information into the form, they
sent me a pre-printed application to sign, and next thing I knew I had a
passbook in the mail. I've never even visited my "branch".

As for Citibank, they have no minimum deposit limit but if you have a
balance of less than \300,000 yen (I think) in any one month there is a
service charge (this is a fairly standard practice in the US).

I don't recall having to show any proof of employment. You *do* have to
live in Japan in order to open a bank account here (I believe that's a
legal requirement rather than a bank regulation). I assume you have a
gaijin card. Without that you might as well forget about opening an
account anywhere. And many banks require an inkan but some let you get
away with only a signature (like Mitsui-Sumitomo did for me).

You could also try the post office. The main one near Tokyo station should
have English-speaking folks to help you open the account. You don't need
an inkan for the post office but I suspect you still need a gaijin card
with an address to prove you live in Japan.

There may be a requirement for a minimum time remaining on your visa too.
There is for most keitai phone contracts (3 months). I don't know about
bank accounts. If you run into trouble again, you might try asking why
before grabbing for the ball pens -- you could be bumping up against one
of those wierd Japanese banking regulations.

(BTW, at Citibank you can't open an account for a minor, you can't open an
account in joint with someone else (that seems to be true for all Japanese
banks) and you can't open more than one account).

--
Joe Larabell -- Synopsys VCS Support      US: larabell@example.com
http://wwwin.synopsys.com/~larabell/   Japan: larabell@?jp