OK, so it is not a whole lot of money (about $125 as of now) but hey, it is still something. The Japanese Government has sent out “Supplementary Income Payment Announcement”s. I am posting a picture of what I got which came from the Mitaka City Hall so your version will vary. It looks like anyone between the ages of 18 and 65 who are “alien registration card holders who are registered as of February 1st” can file a claim for 12,000 yen while card holders who are younger or older can claim 20,000 yen. The amount is automatically deposited to your bank account within a month and they ask you to attach a photocopy of your documents proving your status (alien registration card or passport for example) as well as something to give information about your bank, for example a photocopy of your cash card. The window for submissions opened on the first of April and it will stay open until October so there is definitely a decent amount of time to prepare. I already filed mine though since the process is pretty simple assuming you can decode the form. Unfortunately the whole application form is in Japanese so you might need some help (Thank you Momoe :)).
On an unrelated note, can you see the little Poki character in the forms? It is by Studio Ghibli and it was given to Mitaka City as its mascot (Ghibli Museum is in Mitaka after all…). I don’t think I have ever seen a mascot character on a government form before. These tend to be really serious affairs in the US and even though the Japanese government is just as strict with respect to the bureaucratic process they do keep things more… lively… I like it ;)
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