Riding under the influence C.F. in Hiroshima wants to know about the revised law on riding bicycles that went into effect in June 2008. He has heard that police can arrest anyone if they have had a few drinks and are caught riding a ...
Tax and residency status Reader H.K. is wondering whether the granting of permanent residency will result in tax problems. "What are the tax implications if I have to work overseas — will I be taxed on my income outside of Japan?" We checked with the Tax ...
It's good to be able to report some positive experiences regarding finding accommodation in Japan. Here are a couple of letters we received. Just a commute away Mike Turner reads The Japan Times online in Oak Harbor, Wash. A 30-year navy man, he spent ...
The letter published in April about Easter in Japan — or rather the lack of it — provoked quite a response. The general consensus appears to be that Easter is too hard to pin down on the calendar for commercialization. Here are a couple ...
New to Tokyo, T.B. is trying to make friends and wants to know if there are any clubs that he can join to meet new people and get involved with the international community. There are, but it very much depends on what kind of place ...
Rail on the cheap In Japan for only a limited time, J.K. is desperate to travel and see as much as possible. But there's a problem. "Cash is pretty limited. Are there any money-saving ways of traveling by train in Japan?" The deal most familiar to ...
Easter absence Brenda and family wonder why Easter has been ignored by Japanese commercial interests. "All those chocolate eggs and cards with bunnies! I would have thought Japan would have lapped up the possibilities for making money, as it has with Christmas and Valentine's Day." Yes, ...
Reader S.B. seeks advice on how to deal with arrangements following the death of a foreign relative in Japan. This process can be very complicated for family and friends, especially if they are non-Japanese. You will need two documents: The first is the death certificate, ...
'Contemplating neko-cide' writes, "There is a cat next door that in meowing all night causes me to lose sleep, which then hurts my performance at work." The cat is not in CN's building, but the one next-door, with a balcony alongside his bedroom window. "You ...
With 2009 so far looking bleak, here are some queries from around the world that take us into the past with the hope of finding positive solutions for the present. T o start, two letters concerning war memorabilia. The first is from R.B. in Minnesota, ...
