Job Discussion Forums

[moot point]

The E-trade internet trading site is cheaper than the charges you've mentioned.

Just out of experience, I've also found it hard to invest in Japan whether it be through stocks or mutual funds. I once walked into the Yokohama branch of Merryl Lynch and they handed me a 20-page pamphlet all in Japanese. When I said I coudln't read it they said they couldn't offer any investments to me. The same happened at Citibank where I had over 3 million yen in their bank divided between my Japanese savings and foreign currency time depoisits. Both were pretty cold atmospheres but in retrospect I realised that trading laws are strictly abided by and these companies do not want to offer any investments to people who don't understand the conditions fully.

The only way around it is to have a Japanese spouse and to make your stock purchases through them. As for myself, my wife is not very knowledgable in terms of investing so I decided to invest in a Japanese mutual fund using an offshore account.

[moot point]

The E-trade internet trading site is cheaper than the charges you've mentioned.

Just out of experience, I've also found it hard to invest in Japan whether it be through stocks or mutual funds. I once walked into the Yokohama branch of Merryl Lynch and they handed me a 20-page pamphlet all in Japanese. When I said I coudln't read it they said they couldn't offer any investments to me. The same happened at Citibank where I had over 3 million yen in their bank divided between my Japanese savings and foreign currency time depoisits. Both were pretty cold atmospheres but in retrospect I realised that trading laws are strictly abided by and these companies do not want to offer any investments to people who don't understand the conditions fully.

The only way around it is to have a Japanese spouse and to make your stock purchases through them. As for myself, my wife is not very knowledgable in terms of investing so I decided to invest in a Japanese mutual fund using an offshore account.