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If someone asks you to transfer money before you see the room or before the important matters explanation, do not pay. In Japan you view, apply, are screened, get the explanation from a licensed specialist, then sign and pay the deposit, key money and agency fee (MLIT guidebook). The five types: bait listings, fake landlords on social media, pay-first, sublets and unlicensed brokers. Before paying, check the licence number in MLIT's search, that the payee matches the other party to the contract, that application money comes back, and that the agency fee is within the cap (one month's rent plus tax in total). If you already paid, call the receiving bank and the police (#9110). Checked October 2026.

Japan's typhoon and heavy-rain Alert Levels 1 to 5 for foreign residents. Level 4 (Evacuation Instruction) means everyone in the danger area leaves; do not wait for Level 5. JMA put level numbers into its warning names on 29 May 2026. Tables for wind and rain numbers, the forecast circle, the three conditions for staying home, and apps in 11 to 15 languages. Checked against official pages in October 2026.

In Japan, contact lenses are highly controlled medical devices, and zero-power coloured lenses have been too since November 2009. The eye exam for contacts is covered by health insurance: about 1,030 to 1,480 yen at 30% at a new clinic, lenses extra. Shops, online included, must check you have seen a doctor, and "no prescription needed" selling is called improper. Plus the two-month import limit, symptoms that mean see a doctor now, and why glasses are not insured except treatment glasses for children under 9.

Japan has no central halal certification body, so you check food yourself. On packaged food, read 原材料名: pork appears as 豚肉, ポーク or 豚脂, alcohol as 酒精, 洋酒 or みりん. Only 9 allergens must be labelled; pork and gelatin are among the 20 recommended ones, so they can be present even when the allergen note is silent. Restaurants and in-store food carry no label, so ask with JNTO's bilingual sheet. For school lunch, religion or allergy, talk to the class teacher.

You renew your passport at your own country's embassy or consulate. A new passport does not change your residence card, which has no passport number, so there is nothing to tell Immigration unless your name, date of birth, sex or nationality changed (then within 14 days, no fee). Keep the old passport: carrying both covers any re-entry permit stamp. Lost it in Japan? File a report at a police box, then go to your embassy, and replace a lost residence card within 14 days.

In a rented flat in Japan, the landlord must repair equipment that breaks from age, such as the AC or water heater (Civil Code Art. 606). You pay if you broke it or lost your key. Tell the management company first; for a leak, close the stop valve. If they won't fix it, you may repair it and claim the cost (Arts. 607-2, 608), and since April 2020 rent is reduced for what you can't use (Art. 611).

A Japanese address runs largest first in six parts: 7-digit postal code, prefecture, city, town and chome, ban and go (or banchi), building and room. 1-chome 15-ban 1-go is written 1-15-1. For mail, a correct postal code lets you drop the prefecture and city. In English, reverse the order and end with the postal code and JAPAN. On bank and post office forms, copy the address on your residence card, and report a move within 14 days.

In a Japanese apartment block sound travels next door and up and down, and the government tells foreign residents to take care especially from late at night to early morning. Japan's model lease bans high-volume TV, stereos and piano playing; adding a live-in person needs notice and subletting needs written consent. One complaint does not end a lease: termination comes after a warning with a deadline, if the problem is not fixed and the lease becomes hard to continue. Ignoring an official's order to stop and staying extremely loud is a minor offence (detention or a 1,000 to under 10,000 yen fine). Where to go: management company, city pollution complaints desk (free), #9110, 188.

A missed delivery notice (fuzaihyo) means a parcel came while you were out. Find the number first: 6 or 11-13 digits for Japan Post, 12 for Yamato, an office and tracking number for Sagawa. Request redelivery by phone, online or LINE; in English call Japan Post on 0570-046-111 or Yamato on 0120-67-9625 (daily 8:00-21:00), or use Sagawa's multilingual chat. Items are held 7 days (Japan Post, Yamato) or 8 (Sagawa). A residence card sent by post and the My Number letter come by registered mail.

Foreigners in Japan pay the NHK fee on the same rules as everyone: if you set up a TV-type device or start NHK ONE, the Broadcasting Act requires a contract. Owning a smartphone alone does not. It costs 1,100 yen a month, or 1,950 yen with BS. Students living alone can be fully exempt with income of 1.87 million yen or less or a pension deferral, from the month they apply. Leaving Japan? Cancel on 0120-222000 from the month before.

Where foreigners in Japan can get help when their mental health suffers. Call Yorisoi Hotline on 0120-279-338 and press 2: daily 10:00 to 22:00, 10 languages, free. TELL takes English calls. Psychiatric clinics take health insurance (you pay 30%), and jiritsu shien iryo cuts ongoing outpatient care to 10% with a monthly cap. Plus university counselling and when to call 119, checked against MHLW, Tokyo and Osaka pages.

Japanese health insurance covers the dentist for foreign residents too: you pay 30%. Under the fee schedule from June 2026, the first-visit fee is 2,750 yen, about 830 yen at 30%, and a repeat visit is 180 yen, with tests and treatment added. Implants are self-pay as a rule and whitening is not covered. How to find a dentist on Navii, book by phone, use the 13-language dental questionnaire, and the one-month rule.

After a traffic accident in Japan, every driver must stop, help the injured, prevent danger and report to the police (Road Traffic Act Article 72) — cyclists too. Not reporting can mean up to three months or a 50,000 yen fine, and no traffic accident certificate (1,000 yen). Jibaiseki pays only for injuries to others, up to 1.2 million yen. Health insurance still works, with a third-party notification. Bicycle insurance is mandatory in 34 prefectures. Plus free help, including Houterasu's multilingual line.

A flu shot is not a treatment, so health insurance in Japan does not cover it and each clinic sets the price. The routine shot is only for 65 and over (and some 60-64): 1,500 yen in Nagoya, free in Shinagawa in FY2026. Some cities pay for children: 2,000 yen off in Shinagawa, free to high school in Chiyoda. Under 13 needs two doses, ideally by mid-December. If you catch it: school exclusion for 5 days after onset and 2 after the fever, language-school attendance, and paid leave or sickness allowance at work.