Niloc2806 comments

@wallace - not discrimination againat foreigners - against non-residents - resident statuw is easily shown - I carry enough cards to prove resident status if challenged - JP driving license / health insurance card / my number card / residence card.... The number of tourists from overseas is becoming a significant problem in many parts of the country these days, so anything to maximise revenue from them without it costing more to those of us who live here is a good idea.

Noting that the reference is only to "internal documents" - it may take a few more study groups before they conclue that postal runners carrying documents with original seals (in triplicate) can be replaced by wireless telegraphic means .... ;-)

@Halwick

Might one propose Gentlefolk? 

Hardly anybody these days act in a "gentlefolk" manner. Besides, it sounds patronizing

Patronising, really? I think not. I guess it must just be in the ear of the beholder - by the way , it is spelt with an s where I do hail from and I find the use of a z quite insulting ;- ) - removes tongue from cheek ( although as always it is the listener who construes meaning and often knowest not what the speaker doth truly mean - hence really has no right of complaint - to illustrate I could call you a potato - which could have a good or bad meaning - but only I knoweth the true answer to that.... ).

Might one propose Gentlefolk? A perfectly all emcompassing word that has been present in the English language since Shakespeare and possibly earlier..... as for the support chicken, "may I offer you fries or coleslaw with that?"

@Hunter James  "I’d like to ask what financial benefits did you receive in Japan as a foreign national? Where did you get these?"

Its a fairly long list: Kodomo Teate ( child allowance ) via Ward Office / Childbirth subsidy via Ward Office / subsidised childcare via Ward office / child health insurance balance (tops up normal health insurance making it free for kids ) - via Ward Office / free glasses for daughter - via Ward Office / Aso's money from last time / access to government owned UR housing ( lower rent and better build quality than found in the private sector for a similar or even higher price ) / Flat 35 ( government subsidised ) mortgage for "qualified buildings" at lower than market rates - do I need to go on.... I pay my taxes ( national, prefectural and city ), my health insurance, my pension... its quid pro quo as far as I am concerned.

"You are probably correct about this because holding one of these visas indicates that at least one member in the household is a Japanese national."

Nope - I am a permanent resident as is my wife and my children. None of us are Japanese nationals/citizens.

@Strangerland "What makes you think the government has people's bank account information?"

All the banks have been told to collect your "my number". Lots of excuses for this reporting requirement like terrorism and anti-money laundering however its notable that the tax office wants to know your asset base and any unexplained increases and the easy access to this data is enabled ... Its a fairly recent activity however people (Japanese and foreigners alike) are gradually receiving letters from their banks asking them, where they don't already have it, to report their MyNumber they want to keep operating their account.

@Hunter James - it occurs to me that with the exception of permanent residents / special permanent residents or spouses of Japanese nationals, the minimum income/assett/guarantee requirements for a visa are probably above the defined "poverty line" .... so exclusion on technical income grounds would be autiomatic.

@YeahRight who determines need? These days, since the advent of MyNumber they have a tool to look at your income (tax details show all dependents and other "allowed" deductions for circumstances ) / city tax/ if you are someone qualified for free health insurance / the level of your assets ( since the banks etc. now have to collect your "my number" and are steadily doing so ) - so they can make a pretty good ( and automated ) estimate of your "wealth" level. These days they even record your FOREX transactions and what you state it to be for so they can start to estimate your offshore asset base. Of course there will be a few who slip through the net in either direction ( especially those who only take cash and keep it under the mattress and get all the free services anyway... or salted away cash overseas before the controls became as automated ). But anyway there are tools available to make a decent estimate.

@Hunter James - as a foreign national and tax resident I never had any problem claiming any benefit that a Japanese citizen in the same circumstances would be entitled to ( nor able to avoid any payment that a citizen would be required to pay in ) . That part of the system does not discriminate. Really the only technical difference is the right to vote.

Well... if coupled with a policy of not allowing people out of the house except for 1 person per day to purchase essentials then two rotating washable masks would suffice.... but you need to have that policy of enforced isolation in place .... maybe that is what is coming.....

As to the effectiveness of mass use of masks in attenuating at least the rate of transmission the data seems to support it - https://www.maskssavelives.org/

OSSANAMERICA - apparently all countries have the same problem. With everything on lockdown the first problem is getting landing permission ( or actually takeoff permission ) for any flight....