Opening a Bank Account in Japan — and Telling the Bank When Your Period of Stay Is Renewed

Receiving your salary in Japan, paying your rent and your electricity, gas, and water bills, and receiving benefits such as the child allowance all assume that you have a savings account in your own name. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) has produced a pamphlet for foreign residents who live in Japan long-term, 日本でくらすための銀行口座や送金のつかい方 (“How to Use Bank Accounts and Money Transfers When Living in Japan,” revised September 2024), which is also available in Ukrainian.

The following explains what you need to open an account, what you are asked to report afterward, and the procedures for when you leave Japan, based on this pamphlet, the FSA’s 外国人顧客対応にかかる留意事項 (“Points to Note in Dealing with Foreign Customers,” revised July 2026, issued to financial institutions), and Japan Post Bank’s (ゆうちょ銀行) guidance for foreign customers. This information was confirmed as of September 2026.

Whether you can open an account, and which documents you need, differs by financial institution — this article does not judge that. Before applying, check at the counter or on the website of that financial institution.

Which financial institutions can open accounts, and what to bring

The FSA’s pamphlet states that, besides banks, you can also open an account at a shinkin bank (credit union), a credit cooperative, a JA Bank (agricultural cooperative), a JF Marine Bank (fishery cooperative), or a labour bank (rokin). As examples of what you need to open an account, it lists the following three items, while noting that requirements can differ by financial institution.

• Residence card, passport
• A personal seal (hanko): in some cases a signature is accepted
• Employee ID or student ID: if you do not have one, go to the financial institution together with someone from your workplace or school

The pamphlet also explains why these checks are made. Financial institutions must follow international calls to action and laws so that the products and services they handle are not used for money laundering or the financing of terrorism. When opening an account, and again as needed after it is opened, they check things such as address, name, period of stay and status of residence, and the actual state of employment. If this cannot be confirmed, an account may not be opened, or may become unusable.

The case of Japan Post Bank

As a concrete example of the conditions, Japan Post Bank’s page for foreign customers (as of September 2026) states that, since July 29, 2019, it has handled applications as follows.

• For an account-opening application, you present your residence card to confirm your nationality, status of residence, and period of stay. You may also be asked to present your passport.
• If your period of stay expires within three months of the date of application, an account will not be opened. If you intend to keep staying in Japan, apply with a new residence card showing a renewed period of stay.
• If the period of stay decided on entry is three months or less and you have not been issued a residence card, you cannot open an account.
• If your status of residence is “Student” or “Technical Intern Training,” present your student ID or employee ID together with your residence card.
• Because confirmation takes time, an account may not be opened the same day, and the passbook may be mailed to your home later. Opening an account may also be declined.

The same page explains that you can fill out the application form in advance online, that it supports multiple languages, and that you can also apply using a smartphone app. The app supports four languages — Japanese, English, Chinese (simplified), and Vietnamese — and does not include Ukrainian. It also states that, because important matters are explained in Japanese, if you cannot understand an explanation in Japanese, you may be asked to bring someone who understands Japanese well.

This is Japan Post Bank’s practice; other banks are not necessarily under the same conditions.

Not refusing across the board just because someone cannot speak Japanese — what the FSA asks of financial institutions

The FSA has published 外国人顧客対応にかかる留意事項 (“Points to Note in Dealing with Foreign Customers”) for financial institutions that handle deposits. The July 2026 revision lists points such as the following for how counters should respond.

• Whether they are refusing service across the board just because someone cannot speak or write in Japanese.
• Whether they require Japanese for entries such as an address, or allow entries in the Roman alphabet.
• Whether they are declining to open or maintain an account without a reasonable reason, even though they have received the information they need.
• Whether they allow application forms to be filled in beforehand (except for items such as a signature field).

That said, the document also states that it does not require every financial institution to respond in the same uniform way. It is not the kind of document you can cite to demand that an account be opened if you are turned away at the counter.

Up to six months after entry, an account may be treated as a “non-resident’s” account

The same document also has a section on the classification of accounts. It asks whether financial institutions that handle deposits from non-residents explain to their non-resident foreign customers that, once they work at an office in Japan or six months have passed since they entered Japan, their account can be switched to a resident’s account. Under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (外為法), a foreign national who has recently come to Japan may be treated as a non-resident, and during that time their account may be handled separately from those for residents. Check with the financial institution about which kind of account you will have, and what procedure is needed to switch it.

What to report after opening an account

Opening an account is not the end of it. The FSA’s pamphlet asks you to contact the financial institution where you opened your account in cases such as the following.

• When your address, period of stay, or status of residence changes
• When you lose your passbook or cash card
• When you leave your company or school
• When you return to your home country (to close the account)

On the period of stay in particular, the FSA, the National Police Agency (NPA), and the Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA) jointly issued a leaflet in April 2025, 預貯金口座が悪用されないために (“So That Deposit Accounts Are Not Misused”). Noting that there have been notable cases in which accounts belonging to people whose period of stay had expired, and who could no longer be reached, were misused, it asks you to tell the financial institution, by the date your period of stay expires, that you have renewed it or that your renewal application is pending. If you do not report this, your transactions may be restricted from the day after the expiry date. The leaflet is available in seven languages — Japanese, English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Filipino, and Portuguese — with no Ukrainian version.

Japan Post Bank likewise advises that when you renew your residence card or change your address, you should update your period-of-stay information through the app or at the counter, and that if you do not, your transactions may be temporarily restricted. The procedure for renewing your status of residence itself is covered in the article on the residence-status procedures for people who evacuated.

Handing your account to someone else is illegal

From its cover page onward, the pamphlet stresses that money laundering — hiding the true owner of money connected to crime — is illegal. It states that acts such as giving your account to someone else, or letting someone else use it after you return to your home country, break the law, and that doing something illegal such as giving your account to someone else can result in your being unable to stay in Japan, or unable to come to Japan again. The Ukrainian-language version uses, as an example, being approached with an offer to pay you 10,000 yen if you send money from your own account for someone.

This is also why you are asked to close your account when you leave Japan. Japan Post Bank likewise advises closing your account when you move out of Japan, such as when returning to your home country. On the other hand, the lump-sum withdrawal payment from Japan’s pension system is something you claim after leaving Japan, and Japan Post Bank and some internet-only banks cannot be used as the receiving account for it (see the article on enrolling in Japan’s health insurance and pension). Before leaving the country, you need to check what you will receive, and into which account.

Money transfers, and where to go for help

On overseas money transfers, the pamphlet also notes that whether you can send money, and to which countries or regions, differs by bank or by remittance service provider; that you may be asked for documents to confirm the purpose and content of the transfer; and that providers not registered with the FSA and the like are illegal and should not be used. The conditions for sending money to Ukraine are set out in the article on sending letters, parcels, and money to Ukraine.

When you run into trouble with an account or a transfer, the pamphlet recommends first consulting someone at your workplace or school. The FSA also has a consultation counter (the Financial Services Users’ Help Desk), but the cover of the Ukrainian-language version notes that calls are handled only in Japanese, so it asks you to call together with someone who understands Japanese. How to find a consultation counter in your area is introduced in the article on consultation counters for when you start living in Japan.