Japan to grant long-stay visas for wealthy visitors

Was this program rolled out? How did it go?

September 13, 2014 02:00 JST
TOKYO -- Japan will open its doors wider to wealthy travelers from all over the world starting next April, allowing them to stay for up to one year on a special long-term visa.
The government has decided to ease the rules on visas as part of its push for international tourism. Currently, most business travelers and tourists are allowed to enter the country without a visa and stay for a maximum of 90 days.
Under a plan being drawn up, foreign visitors will be given a special permit -- renewable once -- for an extended stay of up to six months, provided they hail from one of the 66 countries and regions that have reciprocal visa exemption arrangements with Japan. In addition, they must be at least 60 years of age, provide a bank certificate showing a balance of 30 million yen ($277,000) or more for a married couple and prove that they have health coverage.

I'd go , but the wife says not on her dime , LOL.

1. Individual at the age of 18 years or older and has savings equivalent to more than 30 million Japanese yen owned by you and your spouse
2. Accompanying spouse of the individual who is mentioned in 1 above (he or she must have the same place of residence and travel together in Japan.)

(Note) Dependent children cannot be allowed to accompany.
(Note) If your spouse wishes not to accompany you but stay separately under this scheme, you and your spouse must own savings equivalent to more than 60 million Japanese yen. The accompanying spouse (referred to in 2 above) is not required to enter Japan with the individual (referred to in 1 above), but he or she cannot enter Japan before the individual. For more details on the requirements of "accompanying spouse," please contact the Immigration Bureau, Ministry of Justice.

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Uncle Frank said:

I'd go , but the wife says not on her dime , LOL.

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You don't have to spend it, you just have to have it. Once you get there you can couch surf for 6 months, starting with thomas perhaps.

I'd go searching for all my old friends in Fukuoka , find they have all died of old age and commit hara kari in my deep depression . I better stay home , LOL.

Uncle Frank said:

I'd go searching for all my old friends in Fukuoka , find they have all died of old age and commit hara kari in my deep depression . I better stay home , LOL.

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When were you in Fuk? Was there June 66 - Jan 69 stationed at Saitozaki copying code USAFSS. Gone back many times but drastic changes. I liked Mojiko and still find it a much quieter, less hectic paced town. None of the old bars exist but the new ones are friendly and welcoming. Last time back 2018 and hope to get back again soon. hen na gaijin in Springfield, IL.

Laoto said:

When were you in Fuk? Was there June 66 - Jan 69 stationed at Saitozaki copying code USAFSS. Gone back many times but drastic changes. I liked Mojiko and still find it a much quieter, less hectic paced town. None of the old bars exist but the new ones are friendly and welcoming. Last time back 2018 and hope to get back again soon. hen na gaijin in Springfield, IL.

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And yes ,at 78, lots of American and Japanese friends have passed away. We are all on borrowed time. God Bless

Looks like I got there when you left , LOL. I arrived Jan. 1970 and left Feb. 72. I worked out at the HFDF station most of my time there. When I arrived , the base was way overcrowded , so they gave me $80 to live off base. I hung out at an underground bar called the Pitt Inn and ended up working there as a bouncer. My last year there I hooked up with a steady girlfriend and near the end of my 2nd year , put in to marry her. About a week later , they sent me to Adak , LOL. I couldn't give up guns & hunting in Maine , so the plan was my girl would come to Maine to live. When I got out in 73 , my girlfriend chickened out on leaving Japan , so loosing my security clearance my last year in was a waste. When I got to Adak , they didn't know what to do with me , so I ended up spending my last year in as the base chaplain's yeoman. I did keep my rate as CTR3 till I got out. Like a lot of guys , I spent a few months at the bars in Saitozaki learning some Japanese. I ran into an older Airforce SGT. who told me if I really wanted to enjoy my time in Japan , learn the language and mix with the natives as much as possible and I took his advice. The Japanese girlfriend I hooked up with didn't speak a word of English and I was glad I took the time to learn Japanese. I heard the base is now a big amusement park and the HFDF station seems to be gone in sat pictures. I never had the time or money to travel back to Japan from here in Maine. I'm 71 now and still have very fond memories of my time in Hakata/Fukuoka. The HFDF station had Air Force , Marines , Army , Canadians as well as Navy all crammed into small separate rooms.

I had been stationed at Misawa 61-63 and hate to say it but disliked Japan in the beginning but April 62 about 7 of us took off for Hirosaki to view Ohanami or the cherry blossom festival. I had me a little soft cover book "Japanese in 30 minutes" and believed I memorized the whole thing kore wa nan desu ka sore wa ikura desu ka and so on. and the minute you said a few words to a J they would come back Nihongo ga jouzu desu ne . Never failed and I'd tell them to yukkuri hanashite kudasai !! It was fun and getting away from Misawa and seeing /meeting the real or normal Japanese was so much more enticing. Misawa at that time was a dirt road nothing town with about 7-8 bars and a couple Japanese restaurants(but I didn't eat sushi nor know any dishes) and believe 2 tailor shops. The town was totally dependent on the base. so my 2nd hitch I got Saito /Brady AS. Took 4 U of Maryland conversation courses and had a J gal friend. Studied kanji on my own but still can't read a full newspaper. The gal I stayed with lived in Hakozaki very near the shrine but that area has changed lots but I did find the house which was renovated by her nephew and met up with Tetsuya - he's my age and had a stroke. He talk's ok but hasn't worked for years , still had tears in my eyes having met him. I was constantly going to Mojiko as the ships running supplies from Yokohama to Saigon would stop there and those Swedish, Danish and English ofc would pay dearly for a hour of bliss. The ACB and Shinobu bars were the main ones. Many of the working girls were of Korean descent and although born in Japan had it rough when it came to legal matters. I would interpret Eng to Japanese and vice versa and usually Mamasan would never charge me for my beer. Even slept in the apartment with the gals. Get up and around 9-10am start eating kimchi and drinking Asahi - the big bottles 600mm not those 12oz / 350mm of today. Did you ever imbibe at the Lindbergh Bar in Nakasu ? Old roommate and I used to frequent that bar 1966-67 and as of 2016 the mamasan was still living 90+ but not working - her daughter Kazuko (again my age) is the mama but different location different atmosphere and cost me 8000Y for 2 beers and o-tsumami. almost 80$. went back the night before leaving for Tokyo and had 1 beer and otsumami 6500Y - I wasn't getting took but they charge for drinks, eats, TIME ! told my buddies who regularly email - the old days are gone - if ya think you can go back - FORGET IT ! Just remember the good times and stay home. But, I've got the time and few bucks and will enjoy Japan till the day I die. Even have a Chinese girl friend in Tokyo (but easy enough to do - just have the yen !) take care and good talking with ya. Never been to Maine but imagine it's a lot better than Illinois as the Chicago snake pit runs the show.

I find as I get older and stay home most of the time , my mind really wanders back to the "good ol days" and I always wonder what happened to all my Japanese friends. One thing that worked out , I did marry a foreigner , LOL. My wife arrived from England when she was 9 years old. On Facebook , there are a couple CT pages and a couple of Adak pages , but I have never run into anyone I knew or remember. The DF station only had 4 guys on duty because of the small size of the room and they came and went , so I never really got to know any of them close. Almost every friend I had there was Japanese. I took the college Japanese courses also , but never really bothered to learn much kanji. My Japanese teacher worked at the Pitt Inn bar and he was a bit of a long haired hippy. His parents were kicking him out and he needed a place to live. Worked out great , he handled the lease and we got a nice big 2 room apartment with a good sized kitchen and bathroom with no hassles for me to deal with. We had no problem picking up girls who came to the bar. The mini skirts were in and the birth control pill was in common use and American music was real popular , so Japanese girls were "very" friendly , LOL. The girl I settled down with was from a tiny town 3 hours by train south of Fuk. Her dad was a CEO of some big Japanese company and had died of cancer. He left her with about one million US insurance money , so I lived like a king and traveled all over Kyushu with her when I had time off. I often wonder what my life would have been like if I married her and stayed in Japan. Well been great swapping stories with you. I pretty much live here on JREF , so feel free tp private message me if there's anything else you want to know.

one last note; we were having USAFSS reunions every other year and last one was 2019 in J'ville , Fl. but I didn't make it - had I gotten someone to drive along would have gone but from here to there was a ***** with all the plane transfers. But, 5 Japanese from Saitozaki came for that reunion ! I really wish I could have been there. Have a list of names somewhere and if I get back would like to go to city hall and meet them. They were doing a history of the base and hoping to get more info from our group for tourism but doubt they get too many tourists ? We started out just D dog flt but ended up with all flts as just not enough guys to make the reunion worthwhile. I like you had a few friends on base but most of my time was spent off base. Kinda ironic as the 2 guys who got the reunion going were the type that stayed on base during break and played cards , drank. I was gone, nickname was "zip" ! But Dave one of the guys lived just 40 miles from me and did marry a nice J gal. Met her at the club when they would bus girls from Fuk . I never attended and hardly ever went to the Airman's club. Saved my yen for Fuk or Mojiko. Last time in Saito was maybe 2015/16 but very dead city. Actually, lot of small towns/cities in Japan suffering the same as in the US. Young leave for the big city to find their fortunes. We have a sister city Ashikaga about 2 hrs N of tokyo. Went there and on the local electric train from transfering off the Shinkansen there were just 5 riders. I walked the streets and no one but me. Most stores closed or signs wanting tenants. This city supposedly has 50,000 residents but they sure weren't out. Just a convenient store next to the station had couple customers and the station had the old style benjo (hole in the floor). OK, that's it , yes, good talking to ya Frank ? I'm Tom Winter born and raised here in Springfield, Ill. and probably croak here but never know ?