Job Discussion Forums

deadzenpoet · Joined: 06 Aug 2010 Posts: 71

Did you try JCB? They seemed to be the most lenient when I lived there.

lisa111082 · Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 4:23 am Post subject:

One year work visa, here for only two years, recently changed jobs, low income, applied for and received a Citibank Visa.

rxk22 · Joined: 19 May 2010 Posts: 1629

I read Saving the Sun, a book about banks and such here. Basically japanese banks are cut off from other banks. Meaning that if you have terrible credit in Japan,and move to a different country, that info may not follow you. So you can technically run up a credit card here, and go home, and be ok. in their eyes at least, gaijin are a flightrisk.

PG_Tips · Joined: 02 Mar 2011 Posts: 20 Location: TYO

An acquaintance of mine got a JCB card within less than a year of being here. Admittedly that was in 2002. Early on in my tour of duty, I applied and was rejected. Since then I've had one given to me unwittingly when I filed for a gym membership, and got a Rakuten Master Card earlier this year for the points incentive. I'm married to a Japanese so that might have had something to do with my success. It all seems (like so many processes here) arbitrary to me regardless.

I actually like the fact that Japan is still cash based. I'm cynical of credit cards and the way people back home rely on them.

dmocha · Joined: 06 Mar 2010 Posts: 30

Getting a credit card does not seem to be based on a logical analysis of your credit history. What I found was that they just looked at your JAPANESE guarantor. It's the same with renting a place. As long as a trusted Japanese person is willing to put their hanko on the line for you, you're good.

Having said that, getting an Amex or Citi Bank card does not really count as getting a Japanese credit card. You can reasonably expect to at least get fair consideration from a gaijin bank.

pseudonym · Joined: 15 Feb 2007 Posts: 5

I got a JCB card at the beginning of this year. I have been in Japan since 2009.

I had tried many times to get a card - through my bank, at the local department stores, on Rakuten.com, to no avail. One day I was out shopping with a friend and she wanted to go into the Disney store. I was asked as soon as I walked in whether or not I wanted to apply for a credit card. I figured there was no harm in trying because a) I had been denied everywhere and so the likelihood of me getting one was slim and at the very least b) I would receive a gift plus 4000Y in Disney dollars right up front (so kind of like free money!). So, I filled out the app and handed over the gift and the certificates to my friend who used them right then and there.

'Lo and behold I unexpectedly got a package with my shiny new card in it a few weeks later.

So, I think it's random! Try applying anywhere and everywhere and you never know what you might get!

G Cthulhu · Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 11:21 pm Post subject:

gaijinalways · Joined: 29 Nov 2005 Posts: 2279

A little late to the party, but....

I have a JCB card issued by Tsutaya and
a Visa issued by Saison. The Visa I got when I was just on a 3 year visa, but I was married to a Japanese national already. The JCB card was after I got a permanent resident permit.

Actually, I'd like to get another US credit card (in case I move back to the US to retire), I lost mine when I didn't use it for 17 months.

In the US, it depends on the size of the card company. Some companies will check your overseas credit history (I worked for one that does).