stamp for foreigner

[myjasonlee]

Dear All

Anyone has any idea about foreigner (in Japan ) to create a honku stamp in order to open a savings account at any bank?
Could the signature work for gaijin in Japan?

Thanks to advise

Jason

[Glenn]

My experience was that I didn't need a hanko, but it would have made life easier. Instead I had to sign and write a secret number, which was different from the PIN for my ATM card, every time I did something official at the bank.

[pika la]

I *HAD* to have a hanko at both Yuubin Bank and UFJ.
Was easy...went to one of those little shops that sells lot's of stamps... I filled out a short form with my surname in katakana and they special made it; ready in 3 days. It is handy for sure.

[Mike Cash]

You can get a simple wooden hanko very quickly and cheaply, as Pika La indicated. Any hanko shop can take care of it for you. It's handy to have, even though very often you can get by with just a signature in many situations.

[ET_Fukuoka]

I had to have a hanko too. I had this super old cool dude make mine in a couple of hours. I think you have to get it registered too, to make it official.

[Guinea Pig]

I had to have a hanko too. I had this super old cool dude make mine in a couple of hours. I think you have to get it registered too, to make it official.
Don't get it registered unless you absolutely have to! (Buy a car or other property)

[myjasonlee]

Dear All (who has replied)

Thanks a lot for sharing with me your experience and opinion.
So the summary is to sign at most of the occasions. However the hanko stamp is very convenient.
If that is the case, I will try to talk to Mizuho local branch here to see if they allow me to sign. If not, I will go to the little shops ;)

By the way, I am told to crave romanji instead of katakana. Anyone who had katakana name on the hanko here? Can anyone confirm?

Thank you!

best rgds
Jason

[GaijinPunch]

The problem w/ the signature is that you have to sign it EXACTLY the same. I've had people say, "your signature isn't the same" when it's clearly from the same person.

[Mars Man]

Yes...some good advice here. I have two chops (and I don't mean for eating either....although that's true too) and one of them is in katakana, and the other one is an original design that made up of three very stylised letters from my first name. Both of them are registered--but as Guinea Pig has mentioned that is not usually needed.

(speaking of Guinea Pig...I thought he had been banned or something...anyway, nice to see that cute little smiling back around too !!) MM

[Glenn]

The problem w/ the signature is that you have to sign it EXACTLY the same. I've had people say, "your signature isn't the same" when it's clearly from the same person.

I had that happen once, when I went to close my bank account the othre day. I had to sign three times because certain parts of my signature weren't acceptable.

[Mikawa Ossan]

Hankoes are cheap and they are convenient. Signing for things sounds convenient, and sometimes it is, but as GaijinPunch has alluded to, signing in Japan can at times make things overly complicated.

I say, don't even bother asking, just get a hanko and use it to open up your bank account.

Mine has katakana. I have never seen one in Roman letters, but I would advise against it as katakana is more space efficient.

[Glenn]

Half-width? Because with my name at least, it ends up about the same. In fact, the katakana is probably longer for my last name (it's a muther).

[Mikawa Ossan]

That's too bad to hear. My last name is 9 letters long in English and 6 in katakana.

[myjasonlee]

Thanks to all who replied!

I have gone out for a hanko :) due to the fact that it is not too expensive. The cheapest one cost around 750 yen.
Then it is convenient as many have pointed out.
I sticked to romanji by craving only my surname (3 letters). I would not mind taking katakana but my Alien registration seems to allow me to put romanji name and never a katakana.
I heard that it depends on the country one is from. For Malaysia, I need to stick to romanji. I think it is the same for ASEAN.
What about American, Aussie, British, Canadian, Chinese and European...?

Just ask this question so many people can learn from this info.

Thank you once again for the kind advice!

best rgds
Jason

[Mikawa Ossan]

I am from the U.S.A.

My alien registration card (ALC) has my name written in both katakana and roman letters. (This is mostly due to the fact that my pension fund booklet only has my name written on it in katakana, which is perhaps a bit of a story.)

I have never had any problems whatsoever with having a hanko in katakana. Even when I was here on a different ALC (back in the days when you had to get figerprinted) and my name was not written in katakana on my ALC, I never had any problems with my hanko for opening a back account or anything.

Personally, I hate writing my name in roman letters here because no one can read it. It's much easier to just use katakana, in my opinion.

[Mike Cash]

You can use katakana on your hanko and even on your bank account. All you need to do is go to the city hall and have the katakana version of your name registered as 通称 (like an alias). They'll record it on the back of your card. That makes it all nice and official. Mine has been like that forever, and except for a few official government forms and my credit card, everything I do is in the katakana version of my name. I just recently changed my bank account to a romaji version at the request of the bank after it had been in katakana since the late 80s. They needed a romaji version of it when I added some online mutual fund investing capabilities to the account. Other than that, it could have remained in katakana forever.

[pika la]

Is there an option for bank card to be in romaji? They put mine in katakana... they also forced my middle name on it, though I think it's the first time I've EVER used said name, so it's sooo long...

[myjasonlee]

Dear Mikawa and Mike

Thanks for the ideas.Having a hanko should be good. Then about getting a katakana name I think it is not necessary at this moment.

Dear Pika
You are right. I met the situation where option for romanji name is just compulsory at the Mizuho bank.

Cheers
Jason

[duff_o_josh]

i know i just had to sign at SMBC but everywhere else required a stamp. eventually i had one made for insurance reasons, so i recommend you do it if you plan on staying for a while.

[Pachipro]

If you are living in Japan or intend on living there, I strongly suggest that you get one. It can be in katagana with your surname and will definitely come in handy when it comes to renting an apartment, opening a bank account and using same, or paying bills. I know it was for me. It made everything go that much more smoothly.

[myjasonlee]

Thanks Guys
based on my experience, it is proven that getting a stamp is much more easier even though it took a week for a stamp to be made.
For all other gaijins, this posting should be helpful.
Thank you all
best rgds
Jason