Japan begins distributing cash handouts for virus relief

So would be later than mid June in big cities

From from what I've heard, this is how it works. Each household will be sent a letter from their local city hall. Whoever is registered at City Hall as being the head of household is responsible for applying for each household member and the money will go to the account of the head of household.

Wouldn't it be easier if you could take your residency card to the City Hall money window and pick up your cash?

There is one caveat to the way they will hand out the money. City Hall will require your bank information, if you happen to owe them back taxes or health insurance or whatever they will then able to seize it from your account without your consent.

Yes - Very sensible in a queue with hundreds of others. Japanese don't have a residency card also, and most haven't applied for a physical My Number Card, leaving that, at best, wide open to abuse.

Wouldn't it be easier if you could take your residency card to the City Hall money window and pick up your cash?

They said they aren't doing that so that they stay within social distancing guidelines.

this may be an unpopular opinion but how about giving people some relief goods too? it's probably the most likely thing that they'll buy anyway. It'll save them from going out and lessen the risks of more people contracting and spreading the virus

Do some JT readers not understand that my comment about picking up cash at the window was being facetious and just wishful thinking for the sake of ease? Do I think they would ever really do that? Noooo

And if you are not a Japanese citizen or a permanent resident, you're not getting this money. So my comment about residency cards was relevant.

@sensei - Anybody here - as a 'resident' is entitled to the 100,000 yen, so if you have just arrived here on your first working visa and a have a Alien Residence Card you will receive the money on receipt of application. Your comment about residency cards is not relevant as Japanese do not have to have one.

@citizenSmith , i don't think it good as you think they should let people visit city hall and show their residents card before the money should be handed to each and everyone , don't forget Japan is now practicing social distance , Don't you think people will be overcrowded if that method is implemented, i think there are a lot of us who need the money more than others , especially those who lost their jobs , but our health matters most and the japan health care system!! We as a residents or citizens have to play a big impact to help Japan society !! I think receiving it through post is much better than visiting the city hall because it will reduce person to person contact to avoid been contacted with the virus !!

May God bless Japan ! We will win as a nation sooner !

As a foreigner we will receive this money as long as we have a valid 3 months or longer resident visa. It says nothing about how long one has actually stayed in Japan, prior to the cash application date. I would expect a bit of trouble if someone just got here and was issued a visa within a few days of getting the cash, not only for the system update lag but also for the amount of scrutiny this will generate and all the paper work each cityhall will have to keep.

How about using the My Number system to deposit it into your bank account, or would that be too easy?

"We hope (the financial institutions) will make sure all citizens receive the handout," said an official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

We hope you, officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, will do your job and make sure the financial institutions pay all citizens the handout.

if you happen to owe them back taxes or health insurance or whatever they will then able to seize it from your account without your consent.

They have the legal authority to look you up and require banks to allow them to take money from your account for back taxes. The reason sometimes they don’t do so is because of interest on the outstanding amount.

They don’t have to wait for your bank information through the handout application to take money from your account.

Yokohama Kohoku-ku is right on ball with this. Minato, Shibuya, and Setagaya wards will just let interest accrue and collect a higher sum later.

@sensei258

Why would anyone here take a straightforward statement as being facetious? I'm sure you realize that we don't know your personality traits, can't see your facial expressions, and can't hear the tone of your voice.

To everyone posting here, we are an email international community, and not all native English speakers. Just say what you mean.

How about using the My Number system to deposit it into your bank account, or would that be too easy?

If you have a My Number you can apply online and the funds are deposited directly to you bank account.

sensei258

”So my comment on my number cards was valid”

LOL! Dude, sorry to tell you this, but it wasn’t. Every resident here has a number.

Regardless of whether you physically made a plastic card is irrelevant. Its already become your tax number too.

sensei258

“City Hall will require your bank information, if you happen to owe them back taxes or health insurance or whatever they will then able to seize it from your account without your consent.”

I hadn’t thought of that. But even without your bank information, the City Hall knows your tax status if your name is on the resident register. Since the purpose of this cash handouts is to cushion people from ill effects of the viral outbreak, cash handouts and back taxes should not cancel each other out.

You have to be a resident for 3 months to qualify

Fun fact: You can transfer to a new address and choose the date you “moved”. It’s super easy. I’m sure these benefit programs will be abused.

Wouldn't it be easier if you could take your residency card to the City Hall money window and pick up your cash?

Standing for perhaps days crowded in with 100s of 1000s of other people in ungodly long lines easier than a bank deposit? No.

I would rather the money went to the most venerable in the community, pensioners, etc etc without a steady income. Hard-up families. In all honestly, to just give this handout to all ‘n’ sundry is unjustified and frankly illogical.

But the handouts of 100,000 yen per person may begin later in big cities because of the amount of paperwork, including processing the applications.

This is by far the most important information in this story. It's a simple 100,000 to everyone, but it's going to take most places a long time to distribute it.

This means that targeted assistance, like the original plan to help only households whose income has fallen, would take even longer. I believe the government would be actually incapable of doing that in any reasonable timeframe. Targeting the money may be a good idea in theory, but the practicalities just don't work.

The targeted assistance that businesses are supposed to be getting is also proving to be slow. Only about 1% of applicants have got any money so far. Please remember that before you castigate any business who has remained open.

Time and time again in Japan they just give handouts and it just doesn't work as a stimulus program. Yes, if you have been seriously affected by the downturn you will probably spent it, otherwise it just goes into the bank.

What needs to happen is time limited electronic debit cards (if Japan wasn't so obsessed with cash) or (worst case scenario) vouchers with a 3-6 month expiry. This then forces the use of the stimulus payments into the economy, instead of being stuffed into the family safe/mattress.

Can anyone explain the reasoning of needing to have the physical MyNumber card in order to do the process online?

Why isn’t just providing your number enough? (which everyone has on the paper version of MyNumber).

Wouldn't it be far better to open up the economy following safety protocols as much as possible and have money coming into the government rather than the government going even more trillions into debt that our children and grandchildren will have to pay off?

@fishtacos......

stop spreading misinformation you know nothing about.

In America, anyone who has a social security card or an American citizen can get the money.... OR, anyone who has a tax identification number , in other words, a person who is working there and has paid taxes...... no illegals.....

otherwise it just goes into the bank.

I’m not currently struggling financially but I will not put it in the bank. I plan to buy 100,000 yen worth of lottery tickets.

........and forget about bank transfers over the internet

More Japan bashing BS. I regularly make transfers via the Internet from my Japanese bank account.

"Upgrading the system to create the registration forms and sending them out will take time," an official of the Hokkaido capital said.

That is ridiculous! Is he saying that they need to install software so they can create a form? This needs to be explained clearly! Other countries didn't have to "upgrade systems" in order to process emergency support payments in timely manners. Somebody needs to get on Zoom and talk to German officials to see how it is done.

This is Japanese bureaucracy at its finest.

whatever they will then able to seize it from your account without your consent.

They don't need your bank account information to seize your money. They can get an order and just garnish your salary payments from your employer. I know this for a former co-worker who didn't pay his city tax for a few years, finally caught up to him.

From my experience back in 2009 the process appears to be the same here, you get a letter from your city office, fill out your bank information, usually you need to submit a identify verification document, and IIRC it wasn't too long until the 2009 stimulus appeared.

I wonder how a Japanese living in the US would feel, knowing he or she is getting nothing from the US government,

Japanese people living legally in the United States also get the US stimulus 1200 USD, so I think they would think it is fair.

Wouldn't it be far better to open up the economy following safety protocols as much as possible and have money coming into the government rather than the government going even more trillions into debt that our children and grandchildren will have to pay off?

You’re right in a way, but I think it’s kind of the wrong way to think about things.

It shouldn’t be about the economy - it should be about people’s health first and foremost.

If it’s necessary for the government to make monthly payments of 100,000 to everyone for the next 6 months, then they should.

Lets work out what we need to implement to allow people to start mixing safely again. That might be giving some kind of benefit to people who test negative; or having companies teleworking on some kind of rotation to keep the numbers using public transport down; or requiring all places that want to open to the public to implement systems that keep 2 meters between people.

The priority should be to find the best ways to keep people safe, and then work around that with regards what can reopen, and how it can operate.

Not all of us need this money, but it is still set aside for all of us. So, what do you do with the money to appease the karma gods?

Does anyone have any (acurate) information on whether kids are elligible for this, or only adults? I've heard people say yes and no.

Also, does anyone have any details on the Up To 1M potentially available to freelancers? The eligibility criteria, how to apply, how much is actually available, etc?

If Japan can do this in a jiffy why can't 'Make America Great Again' America? It shows gross incompetence on the US gov't once again.

When will the application form for this reach us?

When will the application form for this reach us?

Depends on your city, smaller cities faster to distribute, larger cities might take longer. Someone in Ome Tokyo might get it faster then someone in Shinjuku Tokyo, or someone in inaka town might get it faster than any city in Tokyo.

Badge213Today 12:26 pm JST

Depends on your city, smaller cities faster to distribute, larger cities might take longer. Someone in Ome Tokyo might get it faster then someone in Shinjuku Tokyo, or someone in inaka town might get it faster than any city in Tokyo.

Thank you Badge, I have not gotten any concise dates on english news site, just most leaning that it will be sent in mail in May. I am in Shinagawa. Appreciate it

starpunk: In the US the 1,200 bucks are being forked out right now and first payments were made late April, while in Japan most people might not see anything till the latter half of this month or even June, so your rant doesn’t make any sense.

Everything in Japan takes time except for a museum visit...

Nator

Kidz are eligible!

All residents.

The money we get will be going to bills and the last bit of a loan. Maybe some of you don’t need it, but it’s going to be of a great help to us and many other families in need.

@Nator

NHK suggests that any child who was born prior to the 28th of April is eligible.

The 1m for freelancers and 2m for SMEs is an online application form. It’s still in it’s early days and I haven’t done it but what you need to be able to evidence is a 50% or greater drop in revenue for any one month in 2020. So even if revenue was ok for most months, if you saw a drop of 50%+ for (for example) April 2020 compared to April 2019 then you would be eligible. But 1-2m is the maximum amount they will pay and I don’t know how they decide the sliding scale.

PLS ADVICE ME on how to do this ???.

PLS ADVICE ME on how to do this ???.

Wait until the city office to send you the application.

If nothing comes in the post during GW then I suggest calling your city office and even a visit if no joy is found on the phone..

Many foreigners don’t have enough Japanese to explain enough on the phone so a visit with proof of residence should be the alternative-wear a mask though..,

Why cant this just be a simple DIRECT DEPOSIT Into the citizens bank accounts???

It's just unbelievable how complicated it has to be.

Nothing is simple in this country except the export of almost anything...

they do the same thing and copy the U.S. with damn near everything. come to think of it, these days, not sure who is copying who anymore. as the young consumer is so influenced by japanese pop culture and thinking. its not a true universal system. but a manipulated and fake one.

@IronBeard Thanks.

My revenue has dropped about 10% in March and 20% in April, but it seems likely to drop 90%-100% for May!

Getting 100k for each of my kids will help with things like rent and food for one month, but not a lot longer.

I guess I won't be able to apply for the freelancer thing until May finishes, so hopefully things will be a bit more clear by that point.

Why cant this just be a simple DIRECT DEPOSIT Into the citizens bank accounts???

That's what they are doing, but the city office can't direct deposit if they don't have your verify your banking information, then we'll have post saying "deposited into the wrong account", "went to my old address" etc. Even America can't get it right.

Even America can't get it right.

"Even"? I'm not sure how you'd be holding them up as a standard.

Keep It Simple Stbd.

No need for paper work, Application, Fax, or Hankos PLEAAAAAASE.

Direct Deposit into peoples bank accounts is the most simple and least painful.

The elderly are especially vulnerable when they have to rely on and trust others others to fill out the applications, they will be ripped off, GUARANTEED.