Daily life and culture
What should I know about residence cards, rubbish collection and hanko?
Keep your residence card with you if you are 16 or older, follow your municipality's rubbish calendar and check whether a signature is accepted before buying a hanko.
Residence-card holders must carry the card and show it when an authorised officer asks; a passport does not replace it. For rubbish, your municipality sets the sorting categories, collection days, bags and put-out times. Get the local calendar when you register your address. A personal seal, commonly called a hanko (はんこ), is still used for some contracts and registrations, but many banks and employers accept signatures. Ask the organisation which form it needs.
What may vary
Rubbish rules and seal-registration requirements vary by municipality. Use the instructions for your own address. Whether a signature can replace a seal depends on the bank, landlord, employer or office handling the document.
Checked on
Sources
- Immigration Services Agency of Japan
- City of Yokohama — published
- Minato City — published
- Shinjuku City