r/japan

I’m calculating my points for Japan PR under the Highly Skilled Professional (80+ points) system, and I have a question about the annual salary points.

Are the salary points based on my latest tax record (e.g. residence tax/income tax certificate), or on my current annual salary as stated in my company's salary verification/employment certificate?

If it's based on my current salary, I can apply now. If it's based on my tax record, I'd probably have to wait until next year for my higher salary to be reflected.

Has anyone been in a similar situation or knows how Immigration calculates this? Thanks in advance!

China on Friday warned against a Japan-India agreement earlier this week to deepen cooperation on economic security, saying such collaboration "should not target any third party" or harm its interests.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press conference that cooperation between countries should be conducive to "safeguarding peace and stability in the region," and not be used "as an excuse to (create) exclusive small groupings and stoke division and confrontation."

His remarks came a day after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi agreed during their meeting in New Delhi to boost cooperation in semiconductors, critical minerals and artificial intelligence as Tokyo faces economic security challenges posed by China.

The two countries expressed "grave concerns over the use of economic coercion and nonmarket policies and practices, including arbitrary export restrictions," amid China's export controls targeting Japan, and stressed the importance of building "a resilient and reliable supply chain among like-minded partners."

Guo said it is the "common responsibility of all countries" to keep the global supply chains safe and stable, urging them to "play a constructive role" in the process by upholding a spirit of openness and cooperation.

The spokesman also took a swipe Thursday at Takaichi's policy of advancing a "free and open" Indo-Pacific, claiming it "sows division and rivalry." The "sugarcoated" scheme "goes against the regional countries' shared aspirations for peace, development and cooperation" and "will never win genuine recognition," he said.

Japan regards India as a key partner in promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific, where China has been increasing its military and economic influence.

In Tokyo, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi countered Beijing's argument, calling the free and open Indo-Pacific "an inclusive and open vision" that is "clearly not intended to fuel conflict or confrontation." The minister added that he believes it will gain the warm support and understanding from regional countries.

The Takaichi-Modi summit came after Sino-Japanese ties sharply deteriorated over her parliamentary remarks last November on Taiwan, which angered Beijing.

The Japanese leader suggested that an attack by China on the self-ruled democratic island, which Beijing claims as its own, could prompt a response by the Japan Self-Defense Forces in support of the United States.

There's been a lot of discussion lately about how Japan is changing fast, from izakayas struggling to stay open to shifting consumer habits driven by convenience stores and online shopping. One thing that doesn't get talked about enough is the slow decline of shotengai, the covered neighborhood shopping arcades that used to be the heart of local commercial life across Japanese cities and towns.

Many of these streets date back to the postwar era and have real character to them: familyrun tofu shops, oldschool kissaten, hardware stores that have been in the same family for three generations. But foot traffic has dropped significantly over the decades, and in smaller cities especially, entire shotengai blocks now sit halfempty or fully shuttered.

Some local governments are trying to revitalize them, occasionally with creative popup markets or artist residencies, but it feels like a losing battle in many cases.

What's interesting is that foreign visitors sometimes discover these places and love them precisely because they feel authentic and unhurried compared to the more touristheavy areas. Yet that appreciation rarely translates into the kind of sustained local patronage that would keep them alive.

Has anyone here spent time in a shotengai that left a strong impression? Are there examples of successful revitalization efforts worth pointing to? Curious what people think about whether these spaces can realistically survive longterm.

In Japan's packed trains, a backpack worn on your back can unintentionally bump into others and cause inconvenience, but even the now-common practice of carrying it on your chest has proved far from a perfect solution.
Criticism of carrying backpacks in front has been spreading on social media, with posts such as "Huge backpacks carried in front on crowded trains are really in the way" and "Carrying it on your chest doesn't change the problem of hitting others."
According to an annual survey on train and station etiquette conducted by the Japan Private Railway Association, which is made up of private railway companies across the country, only 13.3% of respondents in fiscal 2010 cited "how people hold or place their baggage" as bothersome, ranking it 11th. By fiscal 2018, however, the figure had peaked at 37.3%, making it the top complaint. Among those, 66.2% said backpacks or shoulder bags worn on the back or shoulders were the most annoying. Why have so many people come to see backpacks as a nuisance?

Professor Daisuke Tanaka at Waseda University's School of Culture, Media and Society, who studies mobility and railway manners from the pre-World War II era to the present, notes that until the 1990s many office workers used slim leather briefcases. Their belongings were typically light items such as paper documents and newspapers.

From the 2000s onward, however, several factors led to the rapid spread of backpacks as a "strong option" for commuting: the adoption of the "Cool Biz" campaign made casual clothing and bags commonplace; the proliferation of smartphones meant one hand held a train strap while the other operated the phone; and heavy items such as laptops became standard amid the rise of remote work.

As complaints grew about people wearing backpacks on their backs, carrying them in the front spread. Yet, according to a fiscal 2025 survey by the Japan Private Railway Association, 27.7% of respondents still saw carrying a backpack on the back as inconsiderate, while 17.6% said the same about carrying it in front.

In response, manufacturers have developed backpacks designed to take up less space on crowded trains. Tokyo-based bag maker Ace Co. released the slim, rectangular "Gadgetable" business backpack in 2018. Public relations representative Izumi Morikawa said, "The first version of the Gadgetable had a gusset about 10 centimeters thick. We eliminated as much excess as possible while keeping the necessary functions." Inventory planned to last three months sold out in one, and about 30,000 units were sold in the first fiscal year.
But that did not solve every issue. Professor Tanaka offers another perspective: "It's an interesting phenomenon, but the next thing could be new peer pressure that 'backpacks must be thin.' And what about the responsibility of the railway operators who allow train cars to be so packed that backpacks bump into others? There's an aspect of shifting the problem of overcrowding -- which operators should address -- onto passengers as a matter of personal responsibility."
In a joint etiquette campaign in 2018, railway operators in west Japan's Kansai region urged passengers to carry their backpacks in front, but in the 2023 campaign they changed the message to "carry backpacks by hand."
However, regardless of bag thickness, it remains difficult for elderly passengers, those with disabilities, or people with children to always comply.

Asked how passengers should handle backpacks, the Japan Private Railway Association responded, "We provide various announcements and guidance depending on the degree of crowding and the environment on board. As an association, we ask passengers to be considerate of others around them."
Professor Tanaka concluded, "Given that the fundamental solution of eliminating crowding on trains itself is such a difficult goal to achieve, the only way forward may be for those with and without backpacks to show mutual consideration and respond flexibly."
As long as rush-hour trains remain packed, this problem may never truly be solved.

Following up on this news story from 8 days ago:

The head of a Tokyo public elementary school that was severely damaged in a fire last month said Thursday that a teacher had placed her own electric heater and air circulator in the storage room where the fire is thought to have originated.

The teacher had routinely dried items there after using the washing machine in the home economics room, and was drying articles of her own clothing at the time of the fire, Principal Masahiro Takakusaki said.

The fire broke out in the fourth-floor storage room of Takinogawa Daisan Elementary School on June 19. At the time, the teacher and 24 fifth-graders of the municipally run school in Tokyo's Kita Ward were in the adjacent music room.

To escape the fire, the teacher and students climbed through the windows and onto a narrow ledge only 76 centimeters wide. Among the eleven people who were injured, one pupil and the teacher sustained broken bones after falling to the rooftop of a lower-level floor.

The police said fiber fragments were found on the heater and that power was being supplied to the device at the time of the fire.

The teacher, who is in her 40s, has told police that she was drying laundry using the air circulator. The police are looking into the case as an accidental fire.

Takakusaki said it was "improper to keep or wash private belongings" in the workplace.

The building was damaged so extensively that the municipal government is arranging for pupils from third grade up to attend other schools in the area beginning early this month.

If the building is ultimately torn down, it would take about five years to rebuild it, according to the municipal government.

Watched several videos and got really upset these kinda ppl exist on earth.

Can you fight back without getting into legal trouble? How can we protect ourselves while giving these losers some lesson?

Five kittens born to a Pallas's cat at Kobe Animal Kingdom are growing healthily and are scheduled to go on public display in late July.

According to the zoo in Kobe's Chuo Ward, six babies were born on May 12, of which one was stillborn. Azu, the mother feline, has since been busy raising the remaining five kittens -- four males and one female.

The newborns gained their eyesight by around the end of May, and it has been confirmed that their baby teeth have begun to grow. As they reach weaning age, they are fed minced chicken and horse meat.

Pallas's cats, also known as , inhabit deserts in southern Siberia through central Asia. Manul means "small wild cat" in Mongolian.

A kitten that had weighed the heaviest at its first measurement at 178 grams has grown to some 500 grams, similar to its four siblings now. Recently, they can be seen playing together.

I have overstayed my student visa in Japan by about 4 months. I want to return to My Country.
Should I go to Immigration before my flight, or can I go directly to the airport? What usually happens in this situation?
I’d appreciate advice from anyone with personal experience. Thank you.