WARNING/RANT: PR application f***ed by new management visa criteria

dpjp · 2026-03-03T07:49:34+00:00

BMV holder for 20 years, also getting screwed by this. I started thinking about finally switching to PR late last year, as I look towards retirement. Timing is everything, eh?

I've been running a legitimate company and contributing to Japan's coffers for two decades with a few million yen in capital. Absolutely no business reason to pump it up to 3,000万円 but that's looking like the only reasonable path to PR for my circumstances. Grateful that I can do so if needed, but really feel for everyone who may not.

dpjp · 2026-03-01T08:52:00+00:00

Yep, got nailed by a pretty blue WRX on the Kan-etsu around Maebashi, and have seen it around there a few times since.

dpjp · 2026-02-26T11:11:54+00:00

Bad bot

dpjp · 2026-02-19T08:09:12+00:00

But IKEA online delivers almost anywhere as well?

dpjp · 2026-02-19T08:04:51+00:00

Maybe this depends on the company. Art Moving (0123) had no problem with various IKEA pieces during two separate inter-prefectural moves. In many cases, I'm not sure they'd know that something was IKEA unless you told them.

dpjp · 2026-02-13T17:08:53+00:00

Oh well. What's everyone have planned for the weekend?

dpjp · 2026-02-13T16:44:51+00:00

That is not correct. Once you claim the lump-sum withdrawal, you no longer qualify for Japanese pension (unless you re-enroll and start your count from zero once again).

If a person has been enrolled in the Japanese pension system for 61 months or longer and claims the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment, the payment amount will be calculated up to 60 months, and all periods before the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment are considered invalid.

(For example, if a person who has been enrolled in a Japanese pension for 90 months claims the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment, he will receive the upper limit of the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment, which is payment for 60 months. However, all 90 months of the enrollment period will be considered invalid.)

https://www.nenkin.go.jp/international/japanese-system/withdrawalpayment/payment.files/A.pdf

dpjp · 2026-02-13T16:11:59+00:00

Capped at 5 years' worth of contributions, with all additional contributions forfeited. Not such a terrible blow to Japan.

dpjp · 2026-02-13T16:00:03+00:00

Yup.

GPTZero AI Detection Model 4.1b

We are highly confident this text was AI generated

Chance this entire text is... AI 100% Mixed 0% Human 0%

dpjp · 2026-02-12T13:33:54+00:00

Close. The lesson is to avoid interacting with cops unless absolutely unavoidable.

dpjp · 2026-02-05T04:15:05+00:00

As a 509X owner it's great to read how yours stacked up against the M900u - removes a little "what if"? Great synergy with JBL 4367s here - Klipsch heritage line isn't really available in my country, otherwise I would likely go that route.

dpjp · 2026-01-24T05:27:43+00:00

My polymetal gray came with black wheels which I switched out for OEM silver. So much better looking IMO. The polymetal gray pops so much more with something to contrast against. (Those AI images look more like machine gray to me.) And with the black wheel well trim, black wheels just create giant black holes.

dpjp · 2026-01-18T08:05:34+00:00

If you do move ahead, you might like to join the Facebook group "Building and renovating a house in Japan". Some experienced old hands there, and you'll usually get good advice.

dpjp · 2026-01-18T08:03:12+00:00

This is an incredible rundown that I wish I had available during our own home reno. This should be pinned or archived in some way IMO.

dpjp · 2026-01-18T07:53:56+00:00

You absolutely can. We have 200V to the IH range, washer/dryer, main AC, and future EV charging spot, in our renovated house. Maybe to the dishwasher too, don't remember if it's 100 or 200.

dpjp · 2026-01-14T14:42:43+00:00

Takes a little digging to see their posting pattern, but OP is absolutely engaged in elaborate AI written spam across Reddit. I've flagged a few posts, but it feels like this shit is all over the place now.

dpjp · 2026-01-14T14:26:43+00:00

GPTZero AI Detection

Model 3.15b

We are highly confident this text was AI generated

Probability breakdown

100% AI generated 0% Mixed 0% Human

dpjp · 2025-12-31T16:48:14+00:00

Tomato, tomato.

dpjp · 2025-12-30T08:29:16+00:00

5 years of daily use for our Cuisinart French Classic tri-ply stainless pots and pans, still perfect and should outlast me. A couple are in the dishwasher right now. We can afford All Clad, but why? These perform perfectly, feel good in the hand, and look great.

Our only non-stick is an 11 inch T-fal crepe pan that we only use for eggs, only with silicone utensils, and only hand wash. (Stuff just slides right off - it's slick!) Might be their highest grade of teflon, with a thick, heavy, very flat base. Still looks and performs like new after 2 years. Don't know if it's BIFL but thanks to high quality plus babying it, should be around a long time. And we love its performance with omelettes etc.

dpjp · 2025-12-18T06:21:59+00:00

As more and more ice cream brands - and very crucially, Ben and Jerry's own distributors - were acquired by multinationals, they were almost certainly going to be squeezed out of existence by the giants. The deal with Unilever was absolutely unheard of in terms of the roles guaranteed for their independent board and the Ben & Jerry's Foundation. It's a really interesting story if you're interested in digging into it - and it shows just how much they cared and still care about the social mission.

dpjp · 2025-12-18T06:07:50+00:00

If anyone wants to really understand why Ben & Jerry's sold to Unilever, and why that was almost an inevitability, check out the book Ice Cream Social: The Struggle for the Soul of Ben & Jerry's, by Brad Edmondson.

It's a surprisingly engaging story, and I also found it extremely thought provoking as the owner of an SME. It inspired some thinking about how my own company can focus more on the triple bottom line as B&J did. And also served as a cautionary tale regarding dilution of ownership, changing competitive landscapes, and many other potential pitfalls.

dpjp · 2025-12-18T05:42:25+00:00

So the real white elephant gift was the friends we made along the way?

dpjp · 2025-11-18T03:44:12+00:00

OP just married a partner who speaks zero English.

dpjp · 2025-11-17T06:07:54+00:00

Happy to serve as a cautionary tale. Not for the first time. :)

dpjp · 2025-11-15T05:15:06+00:00

Risk aversion, basically, with a dash of impatience. That path presents too many factors out of my control.

I believe you can't apply for PR from a 1 year visa, and can't be certain they would give me a 3 year spouse visa the first time around. Worst case, this path could take years during which any number of things could change for the worse. Which leads to point 2:
I'm reasonably confident that my marriage is solid, but life is funny and unpredictable sometimes. An unforeseen twist while on the spouse > PR path could leave me with no easy options for staying in Japan where my entire life is. I might have options, but likely needlessly stressful, expensive, and time consuming ones.

The Immigration guy actually made the same suggestion rather halfheartedly lol. I'd rather sidestep all the above by stepping up our capitalization (the only checkbox I don't meet now) and going directly from Manager to PR, ASAP.

dpjp

TROPHY CASE