In our August 23 column (www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20110823at.html), we looked at whether foreign residents should carry their alien registration card on them when re-entering Japan. The official answer from the Immigration Bureau is that their officials will ask to see your ARC, or "gaijin card," in addition to your passport upon arrival. In practice this isn't always the case, but we suggested that it is still advisable to carry your ARC with you.
Stephanie disagrees, and thinks it's possibly unwise to take your ARC with you when leaving Japan: "I am an American and permanent resident of Japan. Over the past 25 years, I have left and returned to Japan maybe 50 times. I have never, even once, been asked to show my alien registration card on re-entry.
"Long ago, when I first got a re-entry permit, I remember being told that I should not take my alien registration card with me overseas because it was not necessary for re-entry and I might lose it, which would be very serious, of course."