The reason why a Japanese bank rejects your request to open a savings account.

“Resident” or a “Non-resident” is a decisive line of whether a Japanese bank will allow the foreigner to open a savings account or not.

“Resident” or a “Non-resident” (unique terms described in the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act) is a unique label of foreigners to distinguish if they satisfy the requirements of foreigner’s bank account creation in Japan, regulated in the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act. This is the grounds that Japanese bank judges if a foreigner is eligible to open a bank account in Japan.

The primary background that this regulation ( the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act) has been enacted is to cut off fraudulent funds flow by taking advantage of Japanese banks such as money laundering. For that reason, foreigner’s social position and duration of stay in Japan are the primary conditions to accept foreitner’s eligibility of opening a baking account.

The following is the excerpt from the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act about the definition of “Resident” and a “Non-resident”

Interpretation and Operation of Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act

Foreigners are principally presumed not to have an address and a house in Japan, and are treated as aNon-resident. But, those who correspond to the following conditions are presumed to have an address and a house in Japan, and are treated as a Resident

• Work for a company located in Japan
• Have already spent 6 months after the entering day in Japan

Regardless of the above conditions, the following person is treated as a Non-Resident

• A person who come to Japn for official affairs on behalf of an international institution or a foreign government
• Diplomat, staff and a servant of a foreign consulate

Interpretation and Operation of Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act by the ministry of foreign affairs

The definition of “Resident”

• a person who are assigned in a branch office located in Japan with in-house transfer by the headquater, located in your country.
  (Even if the duration of stay in Japan is less than 6 months, if working for a company located in Japan, he/she is regarded as a “Resident”)
• a person who start working for a Japanese company
  (Even if the duration of stay in Japan is less than 6 months, if working for a company located in Japan, he/she is regarded as a “Resident”)
• a person who has already lived in Japan for 6 months

The definition of “Non-Resident”

• a person don’t work for a company located in Japan (Even if not working, if total duration of stay in Japan becomes 6 months, the foreigner is accepted as “resident”)
• a person who has lived in Japan for less than 6 months

6 months is only the minimum term guaranteed by the law

Japanese banks are sensitively hesitant about the risk of facing a penalty from the suspicion of money laundering. Unless they can be sure whether or not, a foreigner opens a bank account for the fraudulent purpose except for a permanent resident, they don’t give the nod to foreigners to open a bank account. For some banks, the 6-month stay rule seems to be still insufficient.

Many Japanese banks set the unique condition of the duration of stay in Japan as 1 year for the risk hedge. If you have lived in Japan for less than 1 year, you have the possibility to only create the account with restriction to transfer money to your country, even if you can, fortunately, open a bank account.

On the other hand, those who have already lived in Japan for more than or equal to 1 year can easily open a bank account in Japan if they prepare necessary documents and certificates because they are subject to resident taxation. Being subject to resident taxation means the foreigner is recognized as a formal resident by a municipality.

If a foreigner has kind of endorsement from a municipality as a resident taxpayer, a bank will finally respond obediently to foreigner’s request of opening a bank account.

If you have lived in Japan for less than 6 months

Unless a foreigner works for a company in Japan,a foreigner who has lived in Japan for less than 6 months is categorized in “Non-Resident” , who faces a serious trouble to open a normal savings account.

Instead, some banks prepare a savings account for only “Non-Resident” foreigners, who are less than 6-month stayer. But this account has so many restrictions that prevent you from practical use. There is no one who wants to use this bank account after getting to know the following facts.

You don’t have any reasons to open a bank account for Non-Resident with unreasonable restriction which realistacly prevent you from using the account.

Especially, if you come to Japan for working holiday or something without any living supports, you may face difficulty to open a bank account.

4 solutions for those who has lived in Japan for less than 6 months to open a savings account in Japan

Yocho Ginko is only a bank having no restrictions on savings account for foreigners who have lived in Japan for less than 6 months.

As I made a call directly to Yucho Bank head office to check if foreigners who have lived in Japan for less than 6 months can open a savings account, I received the answer “Yes” and the corresponding account is normal savings account without any restrictions. The following transactions are available on Yucho ATM

What you can do with Yucho’s ATM

Conditions for a foreigner who has yet lived in Japan for 6 months to open a Yucho savings account

Yucho bank opens its door to foreigners to open a savings account regardless of the duration of stay in Japan. However, it doesn’t mean it accepts foreigner’s bank account creation indiscriminately without distinguishing between “Resident” and “Non-Resident”.

For a foreigner who has yet lived in Japan for 6 months, there is a condition to satisfy prior to opening a savings account in Yucho Bank.

The following screenshot is about the condition.

referred link (Yucho Bank)

The condition for “Non-Resident” to open a bank account (Trasnlation of the above screenshot)

The followings are the condition lists for opening Yucho Bank savings account.

• The first depositiong amount shall be 0 yen (You deposit no money as of the intial account creation procedure because you have screening. You can deposit your money with your cashcard after your saving account is opened)
• Submit Non-Resident” notification form
• Screening by Business Center of Postal Savings of Yucho Bank
• Submit resident certificate

What else you need to open Yucho’s savings account

• Resident card (visa status)
• Resident certificate
• Inkan (or your autograph)

Basic information of Yucho Bank

Pros and Cons of Yucho Ginko (Japan Post Bank)

An application form is prepared in a post office. There is probably an English application form but if you’re not really sure about it, you accompany your Japanese friend to a post office.

Types of visa and visa expriation

When checking visa status carefully against the definition of the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act, it is obvious that foreigners with temporary stay visa, tourist visa, which they can stay in Japan for only 3 months, can’t be accepted to open a bank account by any financial institutions in Japan.

When thinking that you live in Japan and use a savings account for a certain term, you need to have a visa status that allows you to stay in Japan for at least 1 year.

Likewise, even if you have a visa status that allows you to stay in Japan for 6 months, you already have to go back to your country when you become eligible to open a bank account after 6 months.

Yucho bank also concerns if the rest of the stay in Japan after opening a bank account is very short. I think it is very difficult for a foreigner with a 6-month visa to pass the screening of Yucho Bank.