Comments on: In Good Health http://accjjournal.com/in-good-health/ The American Chamber of Commerce Japan Fri, 06 Apr 2012 10:39:08 +0000 hourly 1 By: uberVU - social comments http://accjjournal.com/in-good-health/comment-page-1/#comment-12 uberVU - social comments Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:31:11 +0000 http://accjjournal.com/?p=215#comment-12 <strong>Social comments and analytics for this post...</strong> This post was mentioned on Twitter by TweetMeetJapan: More on the #Japan Visa Renewal vs proof of National Health Insurance: ACCJ Journal | In Good Health http://ow.ly/VVHc via @GoodPeopleJapan... Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by TweetMeetJapan: More on the #Japan Visa Renewal vs proof of National Health Insurance: ACCJ Journal | In Good Health http://ow.ly/VVHc via @GoodPeopleJapan…

]]> By: Tweets that mention ACCJ Journal | In Good Health -- Topsy.com http://accjjournal.com/in-good-health/comment-page-1/#comment-9 Tweets that mention ACCJ Journal | In Good Health -- Topsy.com Wed, 13 Jan 2010 09:43:36 +0000 http://accjjournal.com/?p=215#comment-9 [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by JasonBall_GoodPeople, rumortweet_bot. rumortweet_bot said: More on the Visa Renewal vs proof of National Health Insurance: ACCJ Journal | In Good Health http://ow.ly/VQdp #japan [...] [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by JasonBall_GoodPeople, rumortweet_bot. rumortweet_bot said: More on the Visa Renewal vs proof of National Health Insurance: ACCJ Journal | In Good Health http://ow.ly/VQdp #japan [...]

]]> By: keizai http://accjjournal.com/in-good-health/comment-page-1/#comment-6 keizai Mon, 04 Jan 2010 05:15:34 +0000 http://accjjournal.com/?p=215#comment-6 Not discussed in this article but a fallout from this new policy is that major banks - BoTM-UFJ, Mizuho, etc. -- now ask to see proof of Japanese health insurance in order to qualify anyone for a home loan. I found this out recently while applying. Having previously qualified for a home loan at the bank, and having paid it in full early, I expected no difficulty. Sure enough the process took less than 30 minutes. But at the last moment they asked to see proof of health insurance. I showed my coverage from a well-known European firm writing health insurance for Japan-based U.S. and European citizens. That was the show-stopper as they refused to go further. Visits to other banks produced the same reply. They said they had recently received government "guidance" that loans could only be issued to those with Japanese health insurance, either kaisha hoken or kokumin hoken. I assume this newly constructed "trap" is designed to catch the large numbers of Japanese citizen who are not in the health system, but it will also hit foreign citizen buyers of real estate and homes. Has anyone in banking, real estate or related fields run into this issue? Work-arounds? Not discussed in this article but a fallout from this new policy is that major banks – BoTM-UFJ, Mizuho, etc. — now ask to see proof of Japanese health insurance in order to qualify anyone for a home loan. I found this out recently while applying. Having previously qualified for a home loan at the bank, and having paid it in full early, I expected no difficulty. Sure enough the process took less than 30 minutes. But at the last moment they asked to see proof of health insurance. I showed my coverage from a well-known European firm writing health insurance for Japan-based U.S. and European citizens. That was the show-stopper as they refused to go further. Visits to other banks produced the same reply. They said they had recently received government “guidance” that loans could only be issued to those with Japanese health insurance, either kaisha hoken or kokumin hoken.

I assume this newly constructed “trap” is designed to catch the large numbers of Japanese citizen who are not in the health system, but it will also hit foreign citizen buyers of real estate and homes. Has anyone in banking, real estate or related fields run into this issue? Work-arounds?

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