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Japanese PhD Student Faces US Deportation Over Minor Infractions (www.tokyoweekender.com)

submitted 12 hours ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

I'm not sure how easy for Japan's Immigration to have seen those medical records.

But from sources ( https://www.bn.emb-japan.go.jp/consular/criteria/_of/_visa/_issuance.htm and https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4235/en ) it seems like the following applies:

Article 5. Any alien who falls within any one of the following items shall be denied permission for landing in Japan :
(2) Any person who is mentally defective as prescribed by the Law Concerning Mental Health and Welfare For the Mental Disabled

And from that law,

Article 5 The term "person with a mental disorder or disability" as used in this Act means an individual with schizophrenia, acute addiction to, or dependency on, a psychoactive substance, intellectual disability, psychopathy or any other form of psychiatric disorder

(Dealing with different English translations of the Japanese originals likely explains the slight discrepancies in wording here.)

Finally, Google's AI overview confirms,

Depression, also known as major depressive disorder, is a psychiatric disorder characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, loss of interest, and a range of other symptoms that can significantly affect daily functioning. It's a complex condition influenced by genetic, biological, environmental, and psychological factors.

Also, there's a forum thread over at https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0%20174499 which states,

Their main concern is that you aren't going to move to Japan and be hospitalised immediately (or drop dead).

But perhaps since a hospitalisation occurred in this case, that's why it was treated so strictly.

There's also https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0%20173504 which says,

If you work in Japan you’ll need to undergo a quite complete medical exam before starting your work (results are provided to your employer) and then do an other exam organized by your company or school on a yearly basis.

So while I'm still unsure about the exact mechanism of enforcement, it seems that Japan Immigration is supposed to know or be informed about these kinds of situations specifically because their laws require it to establish and maintain visa eligibility.

In other words, the tale that protist shared is at least plausible and I believe likely to be completely truthful.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 50 minutes ago* (last edited 45 minutes ago)

“> Article 5. Any alien who falls within any one of the following items shall be denied permission for landing in Japan :
(2) Any person who is mentally defective as prescribed by the Law Concerning Mental Health and Welfare For the Mental Disabled”

This is landing permission. This is you entering the country before the actual visa (residence card) is issued.

Was your friend currently employed when they lost their visa? Even if they were in hospital, if they were employed and on sick leave there is no way this story holds true.

Edit: if they lost their job, their employer is obligated to inform immigration within 10 days of this happening and if they do not find employment within three months, then they could be depleted

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Everything is being centralized to the My Number (MyNa) system (national ID card, basically). Starting this year, insurance cards are no longer issued but the MyNa card is used. They plan to do driving licenses and the zairyuu card for foreigners as well. As an aside, foreigners' cards expire with their residency which can be a paperwork nightmare for some things, especially with immigration having lately been very slow running over the SoR expiry.

Now, does consolidating that mean that they will have easier access or access at all? That I'm not sure of. I wonder indeed how the government would have known.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 29 minutes ago

Yeah you can already get the drivers license integrated. They're incentivising it by making the renewal fee higher if you want the actual license card. I'm not sure which I will choose next time I renew (or if it will even be an option then).

The one thing I like about the my number card is you can have your alias printed as a memo on the front. Basically, if you can prove you use a katakana name, you can have it added. Mine doesn't include my middle names, which is very useful when needing ID for making a credit card etc.