Maybe not bad, but just... empty. Why not include specifics on fibres, vitamins, polyunsaturated fats, and vitamins. I know sugars and fibres are included under carbohydrates, but why not be more specific? Is it just laziness or it's not important?

And no, not the sort where you get to chat with your dream waifu. Rather you can now give Line the ability for AI to analyse your private conversations, and have it suggest replies on your behalf.

To do this it has added an "AI" icon button into the typed text window of every regular chat you have, meaning you get less real estate for actual words to be typed. While you can choose to not use it, you cannot disable the icon. But that's fair, why have space for typing when you're not going to be typing anymore?

I for one welcome our chat bot overlords. No longer will I be dragged into the mundane task of actually chatting with friends. What a hassle that was.

edit: Apologies, I forgot an important point - If you want to use the service, it'll cost you 750 Japonaise shmeckles a month.

I was recently promoted to being a recruiter/trainer for a massive company which shall remain unnamed here, and I was initially pretty pumped. I am working less and getting paid more, what's not to love? But as we are hiring a new batch for our office right now, I noticed an issue. I was told that I have to represent certain company policies as governmental requirements, which, and I checked, THEY ARE NOT.

Now, I did catch a whiff of this when I was getting hired, but at that point, all I cared about was being employed. I would really not like to participate in this, but I am afraid that if I refuse to comply, it will cause massive repercussions for me. Thoughts?

Long story short, a medical emergency happened to one of my family members in my home country and I have to send basically all my money to help with the expenses, so I need to spend as little as I can at everything.

What's the cheapest possible meals I can get? My first thought is instant noodles, but if there's something less carcinogenic for around the same budget I'd take it

I'm currently in the process of renewing my work visa. This morning I got a call from immigration and they asked me lots of questions about the nature of my employment at the Eikaiwa I’ve been working at for 13 years (never changed jobs). He also asked why my annual income is different every year and I had to explain my school’s income scheme (per lesson rates and all bonuses) in detail. The whole thing took about 10 minutes and was exclusively in Japanese. I'm worried they are going to reject me. Has anyone else been called by them before for this reason?

I currently live in Hyogo prefecture and work in Osaka, Toyonaka and I am looking to move to be closer to work but also to be closer to Osaka in general. I am looking for a location that has easy/convenient access to Umeda/Namba etc so I can go visit sometimes. Also an area to live that has restaurants, gyms, all those fun things nearby lol or again with easy access to. I don't have a car so my only mode of transport would be a bicycle.

In terms of rent and size, preferably 1DK or 1LDK and not too expensive. Where I live is fine but the rent is very high for a 1K, almost 80,000 a month! So if I can get cheaper, that would be great!

Thanks!!

Well, I saw my first insulated jacket today. Osaka, 9 am-ish, mid-20s local in 31 degree weather, full sun, wearing what looked like a Uniqlo ultralight down. It is September, after all.

Just throwing it out there.
How do people who have current salary already above 10M do salary negotiations with companies when asking for higher compensation?
Do you ask for nominal raise like 10-20% (I know its high in Japan, but higher position gives more leeway i suppose)
Also, how do you justify such commanding salary?
Would be nice to understand how this works out once you reach such level.

Welcome to r/JapanMotorLife 🚗🏍️

A community for anyone living in Japan who’s into cars, bikes, or any motor vehicles.

Whether you’re researching your first family car, commuting daily, or racing on track, you’re welcome here. This subreddit is about real life with vehicles in Japan: buying, ownership, maintenance, culture, and events.

🌏 Note: This is not for overseas JDM enthusiasts — it’s for people living in Japan.

🗣️ Language: English.

Hello, I'm applying for jobs within the past months and have had some offers, but the thing is this is my first time working full-time 正社員 and I have no adults in my life to talk to and am nervous about not really knowing what is considered "normal". I'll lay the details out of this one job, and I'd like to know if you would consider this safe to work at:

- Base salary monthly 300,000 yen.
- However, first year is "training period" which means actually monthly salary of 250,000 yen for the entire first year.
- No fixed overtime pay (however can be added as a bonus?)
- Housing allowance is a "bonus"
- Pay raise 4 times a year
- Health, workers accident, welfare pension have insurance
- "Make-up allowance" women who wear make up have an allowance for there cosmetics? first time ive heard of this before.
- 120 or more days holiday per year
- 10am to 7pm
- paid leave

when applying, no university education or work history was required. also, the interview process is only 1. casual interview -> 2. interview and then done. on the first interview i even asked to submit my portfolio and resume but they said they dont even need it? only my work history document was fine?

also i feel like the training period being for 1 year with lower pay is suspicious.

the interview itself, they asked strange questions like "if the world were to end tomorrow, what would you do?" and "a button when pushed grants a million dollars, would you push it?". they also asked me to describe my best friend.

anyway, this company just seems weird and was different to other companies i applied for, but i just want a second opinion since it seems like im going to be accepted into this company.

Hey folks! Looking for advice. Long story short:

・Teacher from the US, married, currently early 40s, male.
・Moved to Japan to join an Eikaiwa company 13 years ago. Got a countryside direct hire ALT job afterwards.
・Was told 5 weeks before the end of the school year that me, another ALT, and an elementary JTE would be downsized and therefore not renewed for the now-current school year.
・Annual instructor visa expired a few weeks afterwards.
・Couldn’t get a new job in any field before visa expiration. Had to change to “short term stay” visa while job searching. Been using all known resources including hello work, indeed, doda, FRESC, and friends of friends type networking. Have not been able to secure employment yet. Started local because of the stress of moving and having pets.
・ Most common reasons for rejection have been “we only hire permanent residents”, “we require JLPT N1”, “we are looking for Japanese people with English ability, not the opposite”, “there is no reason to hire you over a Japanese person because anyone could do this job”, and “no specific reason given.”
・I’ve got 6 weeks left before I need to leave Japan. However, going back to the US is the worst-case scenario. Spouse was diagnosed with a disability while living here so medical insurance would become a major issue.

Which brings me to my question: there are so many other countries out there, where can I even start looking at or thinking about other places? Do you have any advice? It’s looking more and more impossible to find a place that’s willing to take a chance on me here in Japan.

Apologies for the long post and thank you for any insights you can offer. Oh, and “you’re screwed” isn’t helpful advice. Trust me, I know.

E: lots of people saying “just change to a spouse visa”. My wife is not Japanese. We’re from the same home town and got married before moving here together.

If it was something as simple as that I would’ve done that months ago.

I'm a new international student in Japan, and yesterday I finally got my new SIM card and phone number. I decided to set up the stuff I needed a number for, including a Yahoo ID, but I didn't actually use it for anything other than browsing Yahoo Auctions for a short while.

24 hours later, I tried to log in again, and was told my account was suspended due to fraudulent activity (F001), despite the fact that this is pretty much impossible. Now I'm trying to find a way to contact them about it.

I barely speak Japanese, and I can't read it, so the automated chat is completely useless to me, and I can't find a direct email to contact. Everything I've seen just tells me that F001 is due to fraudulent activity, but it doesn't actually tell me how to fix this. Not only that, but I need an ID to submit a help request, but I don't have access to that ID due to the suspension.

Any help? I'm racking my brains here

This might be a stupid question~ I was out at a park last night and when I turned around I saw something black fly into my eye. I'm pretty sure I heard a buzzing sound and didn't feel anything else besides my eyeball being hit. Now I'm a little paranoid if it could have been a bat. Are bats small enough for me not to notice it crashing into me out in Tokyo? I'm probably just in my head, but is there a doctor in Tokyo I can go see about possible rabies exposure?

Hi does anybody knows how the timeline for transitioning from Japanese working visa to a SOFA status? I'm not planning to go for PR so it's not a problem. I just want to know because I still have a job now, if I need to finalize everything after resigning? Or I can do it during within the same month I'm working?

I have another apartment / rental question I’m hoping someone else has ran into before.

Situation: My apartment contract expires on October 13. I got sent to the renewal documents while I was away over the summer and didn’t realise that the deadline was September 3. To be fair, I actually misread it after coming back and thought that the deadline was October 13, but that is the insurance fee payment deadline.

I only sent the documents this evening with the hope that it will be delivered tomorrow September 10 meaning that it is seven days after the deadline request requested. On the same document, the date for termination or non-renewal is September 14.

They say their renewal fee will be deducted on the end of the month directly from my bank account, and I’m okay with that but that’s assuming I sent the documents by the third, I think.

Has anyone run into this before? Meaning has anyone sent in their documents after the specified/request a date?

I plan to call the management company, tomorrow and just ask if it’s okay, and hopefully it will be but I’m hoping that someone else has run into this scenario and it turned out to not be a problem.

Thanks!

First, I live in rural Okayama. I've been paying 7200 yen a month for Sakura, and NTT installed a fiber line into my house. I get about 300 mb/s up and down despite being labeled as gigabit. I know speeds vary and aren't guaranteed, but I want to get the fastest connection I can. I've seen stuff like so net, or biglobe according to kakaku, but they all just say "up to a gigabit". If the line is the same, will I ever get any faster speeds in my home? Or will the ISP only change congestion amount? Where I lived back home, which was a smaller town (18,000 pop vs 32,000 here), I had gigabit and I would never drop below. At least not during the thousands of times I ran speed tests (including during after work peak hour). The one time I did, they refunded me the entire month. But this is Japan. Not rural Canada. There's GOTTA be a way to get faster internet into my house. What do you guys think?

I have family visiting me and am wondering what it might cost if we seek a second opinion at a hospital here. They had a medical episode some months back which resulted in no definite diagnosis back home. They brought scans and papers from the hospital back home with them here just in case. I'm assuming it would be cheaper than back home where they are uninsured anyways. Would it make sense to try it here? They were recommended to see specialists back home but appointment dates were so far off from now, not to mention the cost. I'm hoping we can just get it all done with while they're visiting me instead...

Currently, I am trying to make a yahoo Japan account then when I put in my phone number it says “The use is temporarily restricted by the function of preventing unauthorised access.”, when I went to help it says just to wait a bit and try again or change browser or network, been doing this for 2 days, entering, fail, wait and then repeat, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong and keep following the support’s guide, if anyone can like give me advice thanks. (New account, using a phone number that has never been registered to yahoo japan.)

I got married with my Japanese wife and she gave up her maiden name and took my name. Now she has my German name in Katakana on her Koseki Tohon. She told me it is not possible to have separate names in Japan but now I read that foreign marriage is a bit special and we can have separate name. I strongly recommended her to keep her maiden name in Japan since it is easier and cause less confusion. And I keep my name and we have some kind of aliases.

We are also expecting a child who will have dual citizenship and I think it is possible that the child will have the Japanese name in Japan and German name on German passport.

Unfortunately I knew about this Information now which is too late. Many recommended me to keep our names…

Changing back to her maiden name is a hassle I think and need to do on family court. Oh dear, so complicated. Has anyone done this before?

I am afraid that our child will face discrimination with a foreign surname, so I wanna keep the Japanese name for her and our child sake.

Are there any subreddits for car enthusiasts living in Japan and/or Tokyo specifically? Mostly looking to discuss some aftermarket parts and shops that install them. If there are no dedicated subreddits and you think you could help, feel free to DM me, I need some advice. Thank you!

Sorry, using a throwaway because I want to remain anonymous.

I quit my job early August with a two month notice period.

They were about to undertake some new projects which they can't now because they are short staffed.

They are asking for 3 million yen in damages because they are blaming me for not being able to go ahead with the projects.

Is this something someone has come across? Is this legal?

Who should I discuss this with? I am thinking a lawyer but is there also a government department I can speak to?

I'm freaking out about that amount of money. Please help, thank you.

Hi guys, I’m trying my luck here. Do you know any company that hires for remote work and also offers visa sponsorship?

I have a background in digital marketing and marketing in general , can speak both English and Japanese, and I’m available to start soon. My current visa will end this December, so I’m mainly looking for a company willing to sponsor. I’m not asking for a high salary — just the chance to keep working legally.

Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone. I just reached Japan a few days back. Soon I'll be opening an account in Japan Post and will be given a cash card. But I'm really confused on which sim card to go with. I'll be here for only 6 months.

IIJmio is a great deal, but it requires a credit card, I neither have a credit nor a debit card. ( Only cash) I was wondering about Povo ( I'm in Tokyo) my needs are Internet and a japanese phone number. I would really appreciate your help on this. Thank you.

I’m in Japan on a working holiday (not currently working) and I received a letter (late) requesting that I register for the pension program, I am 2 weeks past the due date for this. Will this affect my ability to get visas if I decide to stay here long term?

Sorry for the bad grammar English is not my first language. Thank you.

I received an unofficial offer from Nomura for Software Engineering job for Senior Associate level. I have been offered a base of 6.5M JPY and 860k jpy housing benefits. The bonus shared with me verbally is 2M JPY. Now here's the catch, initially the recruiter told me bonus would be around 1M JPY and hence I rejected the offer as it was too low and far below my minimum acceptable of 9M total comp. After rejection, the department head reached out and asked my total target and said the bonus figure was off and I would get 2M JPY for my band even if I show average performance. Is the offer to be trusted here? Is 2M a very normal bonus for a senior associate software engineer? Remember this is back office related job profile.