[hardwaresofton]

And a world of difference in stability and perception. If you have $35k+ to dedicate to this (and note that it does not cost $35k, these are more like initial capital requirements), you should 100% go the investor route.

People underweight how amazing it is to be able to pay less than $50k for the equivalent of a golden visa to a top 5 GDP nation that is well regarded, safe, has some opportunity and is generally easy to live in.

[Klonoar]

Eh, I ran a business in Japan and have had that visa. I still tell most people who just want to dip their feet in that the digital nomad visa is totally fine and a good way to go.

That stability and perception only matters if you _truly_ want to live here, and quite a number of people spend ~3 months here [1] and realize that it's got issues past the honeymoon period (like anywhere else). There's also no reason you can't change your visa type if you find you actually like it after the DN trip.

[1] "here" because I'm back in Japan for a few weeks for friends at the moment, but you get the idea

[internet101010]

While this is purely anecdotal, the friends I have that ended up bailing earlier than planned got really annoyed by nonsensical things like ATMs having operating hours and having to use a fax machine to do something. They probably weren't the main problem but more straw that broke the camel's back.

[themaninthedark]

The ATM working hours can be annoying but honestly I understand the reasoning, it's to prevent drunk guys from being taken advantage of or threatened into making withdraws.

Other than those who have built up Japan as a magical place in their head and are inevitably disappointed that it fails to match, I think that the reason that people end up bailing out of any country is one where they are unable to adapt to a culture and it's nuances.

Most people would get annoyed when you have to take a document to city hall, get it stamped at one desk thane take it 5 desks over for the stamp there as well. Or you can try and understand why their workflow may be this way. Or just not care.

If you are the kind of person who gets annoyed, then you will end up leaving.

[shiroiushi]

>got really annoyed by nonsensical things like ATMs having operating hours and having to use a fax machine to do something.

The ATM operating hours are silly, but 1) you don't need cash that much here anyway, and 2) any decent bank has an ATM with reasonable hours. What are they doing trying to get cash at midnight?

Fax machines are a myth today. I've lived here for several years and have never used one for anything. How long ago was this, over a decade ago? Businesses still use them for some dumb reasons, but regular people don't. People don't even have landlines any more, and usually not even printers at home (you can print stuff at your local konbini).

[n_ary]

Not sure if you are aware, but you described Germany as well. ;)

[estebank]

Well, I do describe Japan as "Kawaii Germany".

[dpeckett]

Lord almighty, at-least the ATM machines here don't have opening hour restrictions.

Though ... https://www.ft.com/content/2778b6c4-4be7-4f38-acee-78f38feca...

[gwervc]

Yes, you run the company. IIRC the visa is about management not investment and the company is expected to be profitable for the visa to be renewed. That's quite a different bunch of requirements than just buying a visa and sleeping on it.

[afavour]

They’re just totally different scenarios. Someone looking at a digital nomad visa isn’t looking to stay somewhere in the long term.

[abound]

But the actual article is about someone trying to live in Japan, the Digital Nomad visa was just seemingly their best option.

[lmz]

They were trying out living in Japan. "I needed more time to judge whether I should take the leap to move there or not."

[csomar]

The golden visas usually have no strings attached. I am not sure about this particular visa but last time I checked Japan they demand that you have a certain amount of activity on the company to keep your residence.

[KennyBlanken]

> People underweight how amazing it is to be able to pay less than $50k for the equivalent of a golden visa to a top 5 GDP nation that is well regarded, safe, has some opportunity and is generally easy to live in.

The Japanese are incredibly racist and xenophobic. Numerous businesses outright place signs barring foreigners (particularly russians, chinese, etc)

Japanese citizens are almost always completely trusted by police over anyone, say, white or black. So Japanese who want to fuck with someone will bait them into a confrontation (or just outright lie) so they're arrested - and Japan has a nearly 100% conviction rate, with the worst prison conditions in the developed world.

[franciscop]

Some of those assertions are true, some half true, and some are twisting the truth so much that I'd like to note (been living here for 7+ years):

- The Japanese are incredibly racist and xenophobic

Half true, some Japanese are those, but not all and "incredibly" is stretching it a lot (also, it's not good to generalize a negative trait to a whole country, I wonder what that's called). There's also famously a lot of "positive racism" towards Westerners.

- Numerous businesses outright place signs barring foreigners

There's been a handful of places in a country with 120M people, and each and every one of those has made the news, exactly because of how rare they are!

- Japanese citizens are almost always completely trusted by police over anyone, say, white or black.

Sure, this is true.

- So Japanese who want to fuck with someone will bait them into a confrontation (or just outright lie) so they're arrested.

While I don't have any number against it, this feels like such an incredibly bizarre event that I'd like to ask for some sources since it sounds very unbelievable given my personal experiences.

- Japan has a nearly 100% conviction rate

Absolutely not true in that this statement is grossly misconstruing a narrative of "arrested => 100% convicted". ONCE the police decide to pursue a matter, then it's true, but they only do so with incredibly strong evidence. See wikipedias' notes: "If measured in the same way, the United States' federal conviction rate would be 99.8%." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conviction_rate#Japan

- With the worst prison conditions in the developed world

Fairly true, if we consider only the handful of countries that can be called "the developed world".

[wk_end]

This is heavily tilted.

The Japanese conviction rate is high, but this is largely in part because the authorities are extremely reluctant to try cases unless they have a slam-dunk case. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice_system_of_Jap...

  Scholars say the biggest reason for Japan's very high conviction rate is the 
  country's low prosecution rate and the way Japan calculates its conviction rate 
  is different from other countries. According to them, Japanese 
  prosecutors only pursue cases that are likely to result in convictions, and not 
  many others. According to Professor Ryo Ogiso of Chuo University, 
  prosecutors defer prosecution in 60% of the cases they receive, and conclude the 
  remaining 30% or so of cases in summary trials. This summary trial is a trial 
  procedure in which cases involving a fine of 1,000,000 yen or less are examined 
  on the basis of documents submitted by the public prosecutor without a formal 
  trial if there is no objection from the suspect. Only about 8% of cases are 
  actually prosecuted, and this low prosecution rate is the reason for Japan's 
  high conviction rate.

Also worth noting that, when evaluated equally, the US justice system has a similarly high rate:

  According to Bruce Aronson of New York University School of Law, Japan's conviction rate is
  misleading because it is the rate at which defendants admit guilt in the cases they are
  charged with. According to him, if the method of calculating the conviction rate in Japan is
  applied to the United States, the conviction rate of federal defendants in the United States
  in 2018 was also over 99%. According to him, when there is a discussion about Japan, it
  is easy to misunderstand because people quickly rely on broad cultural generalizations and
  stereotypes.

None of which is to say that there aren't serious problems with the Japanese justice system (or the US one, for that matter).

[therein]

I am glad they prioritize and look out for their own. That's how it should be. Not everywhere needs to be in love with globalism. And yes, I would say the same should be the case in other places as well.