“What is your date of birth?”
“Uhm, August 7, 1784!”
“Are you sure about that, ma’am?”

It’s October now, which means that even in Japan it’s finally starting to cool down a bit, making life a little more bearable. Days of 36 degrees and humidity aren’t exactly my favorite climate, and I’m actually thinking of spending next summer entirely in the Netherlands. And if that doesn’t work out, then at least somewhere like Hokkaido, or the mountains of Nagano or something.

Anyway. Things are moving along steadily. My Japanese corporation has officially been dissolved, so I’m now in the liquidation phase. It’s about as annoying as the startup phase — just with less enthusiasm (but thankfully a bit more experience) on my part. Like three years ago, I have to update my information everywhere, cancel accounts, and create new ones. Most companies and institutions have now been dealt with, though I’m still having issues with Meta (Facebook/Instagram), and opening a new account at Rakuten Bank turns out to be rather cumbersome.

The first hurdle was a phone call for verification, during which I accidentally said that my birth year was 1784. Luckily, I realized quickly, and my Japanese was deemed good enough for step two: proving that I really am a self-employed individual with a sole proprietorship. I had registered online for this (so modern!), but now Rakuten wanted proof. So off I went to the tax office… where the kind employee proceeded to show me how I could download a copy of my registration online, through the MyNumber app. I had actually already done that myself, but I thought it wouldn’t be sufficient. Turns out it was.

My biggest source of stress was my health insurance. In Japan, there are basically two systems: if you work for a company, both your health insurance and pension are handled through your employer. My corporation had been paying those premiums every month. But if you’re a student, self-employed, or whatever else, you fall under the national pension and national health insurance. When my corporation officially shut down at the end of September, I had to switch systems. Officially, that has to be done within fourteen days.

My accountant had sent my deregistration to the relevant office, and then… nothing. After a week, I decided to stop by city hall, but they couldn’t do anything until that deregistration was processed. Time was running out, and I was getting nervous: not only was I afraid of being uninsured, I also knew that late insurance payments are held against you when applying for permanent residency.

I emailed my accountant, who advised me to just go to the insurance office myself. Since my company had been based in Hachioji, I had to go there first. And because I live in Kawasaki, I then had to go there too — to register, armed with the much-coveted proof of deregistration. But anyway, it worked out. (Unfortunately, I still have to pay my accountant 60,000 yen for this “service,” because they filled in my name and number on a form. Hooray.)

I also arranged an editor for my new book, which I’ll be publishing myself. I really need to pick up the pace with the writing now, because all that energy-draining bureaucracy has left me with little time for it. I did, however, find some inspiration for the cover, reached out to someone to design the interior, and started planning the marketing. Once I have a cover and a blurb, I can start accepting pre-orders. Or, well… if my new Stripe account is finally up and running. For that, I’m still waiting on the new Rakuten bank account, since Stripe can’t pay out to my Wise account. Without Stripe, you’d only be able to pay via PayPal — which isn’t ideal.

Anyway, next week Charlotte’s coming to Tokyo. A week later, my brother’s arriving. In the meantime, I’m working on new and existing websites for some great clients. Oh, and in early December I also have my Japanese language exam (N3). Not that I’ll have much time left to study, of course…