Hi, Im really curious why are there businesses that are illegally using popular anime characters to make merchandise to sell for profit and does not infringement with copyright issue.

You can find merchandise like this in the form of stickers, tshirt designs, mugs, etc being sold on online marketplace like eBay, Shopee. They are mainly counterfeits from China.

1. Is it possible to start a kodogaisha and rent an office space in the name of said company instead of an individual?

2. For a business manager visa application, does the rental contract for the required office space have to be in the name of the person applying to the visa? Will the contract be accepted by the Japanese immigration bureau in such case, or rather the contract MUST be signed directly by the person applying instead of the company?

TIA.

Hi,

When I use the word keiretsu, I use it loosely since I'm sure these major corporations or companies may not exactly be defined as a "keiretsu", but you pretty much get what I'm saying.

I was wondering how much influence and power, as well as if they are as prominent and prevalent today as they were back then, these keiretsus have.

I ask because I am a foreign (US) business retailing consumer goods and often buy Japanese products, but my USA distributor does not have access to certain Japanese products. I have been looking for legitimate suppliers in japan for a long time and have contacted nearly 100 businesses in Japan including JETRO, but it feels impossible to find distributors in Japan as a foreign company. While I understand the cultural importance of face to face interactions for business, I often never received a reply back or was told they could not help me (all correspondence was done in email but in Japanese).

One thing I noticed during my research and just looking for information and talking with some others in the same industry was that nearly all these retailers in Japan that have access to these products are usually part of a chain and get distribution from within their own closed keiretsu network. It feels like every shop I looked into is affiliated or owned by another company which is owned/affiliated with another bigger company, getting inventory from one of the trading companies that happen to be owned or is a subsidiary of one of the "big six" in Japan.

I contacted one manufacturer with hopes of just seeing if I could order directly or get pointed in the direction of who I can get product from because i had been sourcing inventory from multiple different retailers at retail price (or consumer price) just to fulfill my supply needs. I was looking to buy at least 5million yen+ of product for every release, and this particular manufacturer not only told me they couldn't help me, but could not point me towards any of their suppliers. I don't believe it was an issue of money or proving my legitimacy, but every single company was just not open to any sort of discussion saying they could not help me, or would not respond back.

I was not ordering a product that is just sold out everywhere as I could order as much as each retailer was willing to ship.

Long story short, are there not that many independent small businesses in Japan? The stores all seem to be getting inventory from their own closed supply chain network. Here, a retailer in my industry often has multiple distributors (we have about 4-5 major ones that we can order products from) leaving us with options. In Japan, asfaik, these retailers all had one, and was a subsidiary or affiliated with one of the major trading companies in Japan.

Am I crazy or dumb for thinking that maybe it's because these keiretsus have no interest in helping someone outside their network? Like why would I receive the same access to products and wholesale prices that the retailers affiliated with them do?

I talked to manufacturers, retailers, and even resellers and all seemed very guarded about info for distribution, and would not provide any information about specific suppliers. And just no information on the about the industry supply chain in general for the public. But in the US, manufacturers and producers publicly list their official suppliers and distributors for the product.

Would anyone be able to shed some light on this?

This is an IC card exclusively available to foreign tourists which functions identically to the normal PASMO (and Suica, ICOCA, etc.) except requires no ¥500 deposit and expires permanently after 28 days.

Update on the official website: https://www.pasmo.co.jp/visitors/en/

To Visitors Wishing to Purchase PASMO PASSPORT

PASMO PASSPORT is being discontinued as of August 2024.
Note, however, that some sales locations may stop offering the pass before August.
Please contact the seller for further details.

No idea what's behind this decision, and frankly (as an IC card collector & enthusiast & dedicated news-follower) it's pretty surprising??? Does it herald the grand return of normal PASMO? Will temporary visitors be directed to just get Welcome Suica instead? Guess we'll have to wait to hear more information...

Hey all,

In short, as the title says I need to decide on a practical and affordable aircon unit for my secondary room.

I might move two another place or outside Japan after two years due to my work nature and recently I was checking on some used aircon and including the installation, it comes near 50k where as used one comes with installation around 60k. This seems little expensive as I will again have to pay around 30k when I move to another place for re-installation or sell it at 10 to 15k as used if I move out of Japan.

I found some portable Aircon in Amazon for about 40k to 50k, but the con is noisy and may be less effective than a split aircon, but would go easy on pocket and can easily move or resell at higher cost.

Whats your opinion?

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240403/p2a/00m/0bu/005000c?dicbo=v2-VB0UGfw

I am in Japan and want to buy a Steam Deck OLED, found a lot or them in ebay, mercari, etc. But im moving from city to city and will feel more safe seeing the item closely. No clue how to search for this.

Thank you!

Hey r/japan.

Recently moved to Osaka and was wondering about games that take place in the Kansai region. Pokemon GSC is inspired by the area, and the Yakuza games have Sotenbori, and obvious stand in for Dotonbori.

Looking for any other examples. Thanks!

Evacuate to higher ground if possible Ensure your friends and family know about the warning for Okinawa has been changed to advisory and to stay in place do not return to coastal areas

There used to be a canadian softdrink called Orbitz that in recent years has reached cultstatus despite only being produced between 1996 and 1996 both its taste and lava lamp like look has made it into one of the most wellknown softdrinks to become cult.

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So my question is if there is a japanese food or drink that no longer is produced that can be described as having a cult following?

For my oc, as my english in these types of things is quite bad.

I know Pinterest may be the best (or not) but as I said, I'm bad in names

I’m born and raised in America and I have a dual citizenship. I recently gave birth to my son and I need to register his “koseki” within 3 months of his birth date- then I can apply for his passport. I’m having a dilemma because on one of the check boxes, it says I need a copy of my “green card” - I don’t have a green card since I have dual citizenship. Does anybody have any experience with this situation? Not sure if this detail matters but I would be registering my son’s Koseki at the NY Japanese Embassy. Thank you so much in advance!

I'm curious because I recently switched to DoCoMo for the first time. I have been reading about how the U.S. National Security Agency and Britain's Government Communications Headquarters hacked into Gemalto's systems to steal encryption keys.

A more recent article talks about how the Five Eyes as well as military spies (US military mostly) constantly hack into SIM cards of people all around the world. This doesn't surprise me, but I wanted to ask if anyone else has researched deeply into this?