Your salary, rent and utilities all want a Japanese bank account, but banks screen new arrivals unevenly — some enforce a six-month-residence preference, others open accounts on day one. The winning order is usually Japan Post Bank or an online bank first, a megabank later, with your residence card, registered address and a Japanese phone number as the non-negotiable inputs.
Key facts
- Must-have documents
- Residence card + registered address + phone
- Friendliest early options
- Japan Post Bank (yūcho), online banks
- Megabanks
- Often easier after 6 months
- Employer requirement
- Some specify the salary bank
- Hanko (seal)
- Sometimes required — ¥1,000+ to make
The order that works
Day one to month six, the practical sequence is — Japan Post Bank (yūcho), present everywhere with light screening; or an online bank with a multilingual app if your phone and address are already set. After six months of residence, megabanks open with less friction, useful for mortgages and some employers’ payroll preferences. Everything depends on three inputs from your first week: the residence card, the registered address behind it, and a Japanese phone number.
What screening is really checking
Banks screen for money-laundering risk, not nationality — but the proxies they use (residence length, employment proof, reachable phone) fall hardest on new arrivals. The counterplay is completeness: bring the employment contract or student ID, know your address in writing, answer the phone. A payslip history after your first month turns most rejections into approvals on the second attempt.
Running the account without tripping alarms
Two habits prevent the classic freezes: announce large foreign transfers before they arrive, and keep your registered address current — mail returned from an old address is how accounts get suspended. When you eventually send money home, the bank’s own international transfer is rarely the cheapest route — but the account is still the anchor every remittance service verifies against.
Common mistakes & warnings
- Never lend, rent or sell your bank account or cash card — accounts recruited from foreigners are a documented money-laundering channel, and the criminal liability lands on the account holder. Offers to "buy your account when you leave Japan" are crime, not convenience.
- Tell the bank before any big incoming transfer from abroad — unexplained international deposits are the classic trigger for account freezes while compliance reviews run.
- Close or empty accounts before leaving Japan permanently — dormant accounts complicate later remittances and can be frozen under anti-abuse rules.
Frequently asked questions
What is the six-month rule?
Under FX law, some banks treat residents of less than six months as non-residents, limiting them to restricted accounts. Japan Post Bank and several online banks apply lighter screening, which is why the recommended order starts there.
Which bank should my salary go to?
Ask your employer first — some companies specify or prefer a bank for payroll. Otherwise choose for ATM coverage near home and work, English/multilingual app support, and low transfer fees; you can hold a second account for savings.
Do I need a hanko seal?
Increasingly no — signatures work at most banks and online banks skip it entirely. Traditional branches may still want one; a basic seal costs about ¥1,000 and takes a day to make.
Official sources
This page provides general information only and is not legal advice. Immigration rules change; always confirm details with the official sources listed above before making decisions.