By Jay For most of our marriage, my answer to “what visa would you even get” has been a shrug and a sentence like “I’m married to a Japanese citizen, so it’ll work out.” I have never looked past that…
By Dako Nearly every account we own is American. Two 401(k)s, a brokerage account, the IRAs, the HSA, the kids’ 529. All of it sits in US institutions, in dollars, under US law. When I first read about Japan’s inheritance…
By Dako A 401(k) is an American object. It lives at an American custodian, follows American rules, and reports to the IRS on American forms. Ask most people in our position what happens to it after a move to Japan…
By Dako & Jay Nearly everything we own has both our names on it. The checking account, the savings, the taxable brokerage. The retirement accounts are the exception, and only because the law insists they belong to one person each.…
By Dako On paper, we’re the prepared couple. We have a trust. The wills are signed, and so are the powers of attorney. I’d filed “what happens if one of us dies” under handled, the way you file a fire…
By Dako The word usually arrives in a sentence that also contains a deadline. Some office on the Japanese side of your life, a city hall, a bank, a legal affairs bureau, asks for a US document, and then adds…
By Jay Let me describe my role in Japanese government offices, because “survival guide” implies more heroism than I can honestly claim. Dako walks up to the counter. Dako talks. The person behind the counter talks back. Papers appear, get…
By Dako & Jay In our house we talk about “our retirement money” the way most couples do. One number, one plan, one future. The IRS has never once seen it that way. A 401(k) is an individual account. Not…
By Jay Nobody warns you about the paperwork. People warn you about chopsticks etiquette and meeting the parents and whether you should bow or shake hands. Useless. Lovely, but useless. I’m the American half of this blog. My wife Dako…