Yana resigns, new agriculture minister selected

So the other day, (now former) Agriculture minister Kazuo Yana has resigned amid escalating scrutiny of his antics. As mentioned in my previous post, it started when it was revealed that Yana bragged at a private gathering about using his influence to cut road funding for two cities in Tochigi prefecture (Nasukarasuyama city and Nakagawa town), as a form of payback for the mayors backing his political rivals in the Lower House election. While he lost his seat in Tochigi, he held on to his seat in the House of Representatives.
What sealed his fate was additional information was discovered where Yana had provided free shuttle bus transportation for his supporters during the election, which raised questions of the legality of what could be considered buying votes. Yana denied it was illegal, saying that his team had consulted with the Tochigi Electoral commission beforehand. Thing is, the electoral commission cannot confirm that such consultation ever took place. In a further blow, it was also revealed by someone who worked in Yana's campaign for the lower house back in 2024 that she was paid to call people to vote for Yana, a breach of the Public Offices Election act. 
On October 14th, Yana submitted his resignation, with Prime Minister Takaichi accepting it October 15th. This is a blow to her considering he was only in Agriculture Minister role for only a month, and brings to question her decision to defend a man like Yana, who has had history of financial corruption, despite being supposedly "disciplined" by the LDP, which I assumed was some minor finger wagging and light slap on the wrist. In any case, it's good that a corrupt politician (finally) gets their comeuppance. 

Now we will see how Yana's successor Arata Takebe will go

Minister cut funding to cities for not supporting his election campaign?

So recently, Agriculture minister Kazuo Yana has landed in hot water over remarks he made earlier this year in a private gathering that he used his influence to cut road funding for two cities in Tochigi prefecture (Nasukarasuyama city and Nakagawa town). This was apparently in response to the mayors of these two cities not throwing their support behind him in the Lower House elections earlier this year - instead supporting Yana's rival. The result of the lower house elections saw Yana lose his seat in Tochigi, but managing to keep his seat in the House of Representatives, and the recent cabinet reshuffle saw Yana become Agriculture minister.

Furthermore, a recording was released of him bragging about it: (in Japanese only, but you can use the auto-generated English subtitles to get the general gist):

While he (eventually) apologised for the remarks, he denies that he actually sought to cut road funding for those two cities. The Land ministry says that they have found no evidence of Yana putting pressure on officials to cut road funding. On the other hand, nobody can recall if such a request took place at all. However, the Land ministry revealed that Yana did make inquiries in mid-February regarding 2026 funding, before funding allocations were finalized.

Prime Minister Takaichi is continuing to support Yana in the face of all this. However, given that she has continued to keep ministers that have histories of engaging in financial corruption, I can't say I'm surprised. 

No HDMI ports??

When you're working at a school that has flat screen TVs that somehow don't have HDMI ports:

I'm not dead, though some days I wish I was

It's been 5 months since my last post.
A lot has happened, and don't even know where to begin really.

I guess I could begin that I have begun looking for another job. Things happened earlier this year that made me realize that the years I have worked there don't mean much in the face of the number of business trips and a pattern of fuck ups that has forced me to reconsider whether I want to continue with the company, let alone until the end of my contract next year. Rather than looking for another contract job with lack of security, I have instead started applying to Japanese companies for permanent full-time roles (aka the 正社員/seishain) where I get some better perks, including better pay, not having to worry every year if I have another job, plus access to paternity leave (we're not expecting a kid just yet, but this perk will be helpful when the time does come).

Discussions with my wife and a recruiting agent left me at a crossroads on whether I should pursue a job similar to what I have now, especially with a few years of experience under my belt, or go or a role that best fit my interests. I tried looking at the latter, but found that many of the roles are very competitive, require taking an aptitude test, and/or require experience or skills that I do not have. In the end, we decided to focus on jobs that better match my current skills and experience. 

So far, I haven't had much luck. Some companies have reached out just to ask about my the kind of salary I'm looking for or if I have experience with certain software/applications. 

In the meantime, I'm getting back into studying JLPT again. I've applied for N1, but with the limited time I have these days, I've resorted to using apps to help with my studies, and it is rather useful to be able to spend some time doing studying commuting to/from work. 

On the other hand, I'm on another business trip in a rural part of the Chugoku region. I won't name the city, but compared to some other rural towns/cities I've been sent out to, this particular place isn't too bad. The hotel my employer has put me in has breakfast included, which is surprisingly rare in my experience, but it is welcome, and there seems to be a bit to see and do that's not too far from the hotel. Plus having the company car doesn't hurt in getting around. 

Given how much time it takes to get back to Saitama, going back home every weekend isn't feasible. Fortunately, I won't be here for too long, with the forecast being another 2-3 weeks here before I'm finished. All I can do in the meantime is continue my job hunt and preparing N1 JLPT.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash - Gun(dam)s N' Roses

 So I finally got around to watching Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway Sorcery of Nymph Circe (or the Japanese title 機動戦士ガンダム：閃光のハサウェイ　キルケの魔女 / Hathway's Flash - The Witch of Circe). Going to my local cinema, the audience was mostly older folks - some older than me, and maybe one 6-7 year old kid, though I'm pretty sure it was because his dad dragged him along.

A piece of art I received when I purchased my movie ticket.

Plot wise, there is a bit more going on, but it's mostly focusing on Mafty's preparation for their attack on the Adelaide conference. Though on the way to Australia from Davao, they make the decision to meet up with the so called "Mafty's Army" in Oenbelli, led by Fabio. 

You get to see the Federation's Gustav Karls as absolute menaces when combating "Mafty's Army" at Oenbelli. Since they have no mobile suits of their own, it's essentially a slaughtering of rebels or to borrow an analogy from a certain Pirate Lord - it's like using cannons to hunt rabbits. Later on when Mafty arrive at Oenbelli, the Xi Gundam makes short work of the Gustav Karls - oh, and the Messers help a little bit too.

Even though Mafty was able to acquire the Xi Gundam from Anaheim Electronics, the problem is that most of its equipment was lost in the ocean while fighting off the Earth Federation's Circe Unit. As a result, the Xi has to be treated as a precision tool, rather than a bludgeoning weapon as Mafty no longer has the means to adequately resupply - or even repair - the Gundam. One of the engineers warns Hathaway to avoid using missiles as much as possible, which highlights the dire situation they're in. Keep in mind that unlike the Federation, Mafty is simply a ragtag group of rebels, that doesn't even come close to the Zeon remnants. Whereas Zeon at its lowest point still had connections and means to acquire mobile suits, even older ones, Mafty is not as fortunate. Even during the Gryps conflict, the AEUG had way more resources and troops available, not to mention Anaheim Electronics supplying mobile suits to the group. Combine this with the fact that this conflict is on Earth and not in space, and it's become a game of cat and mouse between Mafty and the Federation, with the Federation slowly closing in on them.

The final battle of the film was a lot more brutal compared to the first movie, and watching this fight, you can tell that Hathaway was holding back in the first fight - When he defeated the Penelope, it was simply to neutralise it and escape with the Xi Gundam. But this time, being haunted by the memories of Amuro and Quess upon seeing the inner core of the Alyzeus, Hathaway Noa went all out with the intention to kill Lane Aim - just to silence Amuro and Quess' voices - if not for a last minute intervention. Some nice little cameos here and there, including the Re-GZ Custom, as well as the Mass Production Nu Gundam, which I think is a nice touch, plus it's a way to connect to Hathaway still being haunted by Amuro Ray. Also, I noticed that one of the Gustav Karls was armed with a ReZEL beam rifle? It was hard to tell, but it certainly wasn't the usual Jegan beam rifle. It nice to have an appearance of Bright and Mirai Noa, though Cheimin is noticeably absent? Hopefully she'll appear in the 3rd film at least.

As for the soundtrack, the opening song (Snooze by SZA) - played more than 35 minutes after the film started - didn't really hit like Mobius did in the first film. On the other hand, the choice for the ending song was a surprise.

Yeah, it was the Guns N' Roses' song Sweet Child O' Mine. 

Just like the previous film, this requies some basic UC Gundam knowledge - at the very least, you need to have already watch Char's Counterattack - though that also does require watching the original Gundam, Zeta and ZZ. Watching Unicorn Gundam isn't required, but in the context of Hathaway's Flash, you realise that revealing the truth of Laplace's Box didn't change a thing, and in fact things got worse under the Federation.

It looks like the film will be finishing its run in Japan soon - more than 2 months after its initial release in cinemas. I believe that it will be released outside of Japan next month.

Licensed Househusband (aka I got my Spousal visa)

I only realised recently that Tatsu is voiced by Seto Kaiba

You may refer to me as Househusband Toji. The "Immortal Toji" just doesn't have the same ring to it...

So I received my spousal visa today. I will admit that I was a little worried that my application would not be approved, but that was due to me not getting my shit together and scrambling to get all my necessary documents together. 

Until now, my employers sponsored my visa (first Instructor, and then Specialist when I switched jobs), so there wasn't much I needed to do on my end other than check that my details were correct, and pay a small handling fee for my employer to submit the visa application to the Immigration office for me. Applying for a Spousal visa however, I had to do that on my own, and I was not adequately prepared. 

I will go through the documents that I had to submit, though other people's experiences will likely differ from mine. 

• Family register
  I got this from my city hall for a small fee. This is a document that lists the members in the family (just me and my wife in this case)
• Marriage certificate (Japan)
  Obviously for a spousal visa, proof is needed that we are married. We got this city hall when we registered our marriage last year, and just in case we requested for two copies.
• Marriage certificate (home country)*
  *Technically, you have to submit the marriage certificate from your home country too. Thing is with Australia, they don't issue marriage certificates if the marriage was carried out overseas. Furthermore, while they don't register overseas marriage, they do recognize them as long as legal requirements are met (of legal age, not forced to get married etc).
• Certificate of Employment
  I got this from my work. It proves that I work and have income while in Japan.
• Letter of Guarantee
  Needs to be signed by your Japanese spouse, it's proof of affirmation that they will support you of your stay in Japan.
• Photos of proof of relationship.
  We had been dating for over 10 years before getting married, so I picked a couple from over the years. It's visual proof that the relationship/marriage is genuine, and not just so I could get a visa to stay in Japan.

In my scramble to submit my visa application, I did not have the signed letter of guarantee from my wife, assuming that since I was working I wouldn't need it. When I went to immigration, they explained that I did in fact need that guarantee letter, along with the Australian marriage certificate. Fortunately, they gave me an envelope, along with a list of documents that I am missing, and said that I can mail the remainder of my documents instead of having to come in person a second time. In the meantime, they held on to my application and the rest of the documents I submitted. 

I had spoken to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs previously, and knew I couldn't give them an Australian marriage certificate because of the reasons explained above, so when I mailed the guarantee letter, I also included a letter (in Japanese) explaining why I couldn't give them the Australian Marriage certificate.

Despite it being the busiest time of year for foreigners to renew/change their visas, mine only took about 2-3 weeks fortunately. Though my Specialist visa expires in just over a week, the thing about renewing the visa is that they slap a letter in my passport explaining that I'm in the process of having my visa renewed/changed, with an extension of 2 months applied to the Specialist visa if the application process is not finished by the time my current visa expires. 

After two or so weeks, I got a post card in the mail telling me that my visa is ready to be picked up, along with a list of required items I needed to bring. Those being

• The post card they sent me
• My passport
• My current residence card
• The letter explaining about my visa change that was attached in my passport
• Revenue stamp
  You need to get this from the post office beforehand. For my visa it cost me 6000 yen (which is up from 4000 yen now). You have to pay cash for the revenue stamp. The staff were kind enough to put the stamps in a small plastic bag.

With all of that prepared, I headed to the Immigration office to submit all my required items. They had me paste the revenue stamp on the form they presented to me, and asked me to sign it before I had to wait for about 45 minutes or so. There were plenty of people at the Immigration office today, but fortunately, most were there to apply for their visas rather than picking up their new residence cards.

Eventually I got my new residence card, with my old one now having a hole punched through it to indicate that it is now no longer valid.

The thing that actually surprised me the most when I received my spousal visa is that it's valid for 3 years, which is what I requested for in my visa form. From previous experience when my employer submitted my form for a specialist visa, they requested 3 years, but I ended up with only one year initially - I got a 3 year specialist visa when I had to renew it a year later. Because it's been less than a year since we got married, I assumed I was only going to get the 1 year. Not sure the reason why - perhaps because my previous visa was also 3 years? Feel free to correct me if you know the reason.

In terms of employment going forward, I have no restrictions and can work in just about any field now. It also means that when job hunting, I no longer have to worry about whether an employer can sponsor my visa. 

With everything that has been going on lately, it is nice to have a little bit of good news for a change. Also, I'm surprised I have not done a post about visas since I started living and working in Japan.

Canary in the coal mine

Work front, I have recently witnessed the canary in the coal mine moment with many people leaving - some after many years of work, some only after one year. I'm not going to lie, I was considering looking for other work too, but due to my circumstances of preparing for a wedding, switching my visa (future post maybe?), I felt that the timing was not in my favor. However, with the fallout of so many people leaving, it means my workload is going to increase - and I predict a lot more business trips for this year. 

As I have committed to a one year contract - and sticking to a contract is a much bigger deal in Japan compared to other countries - my plan is to stick out this year, but I'm going in to this with the expectation that I won't continue after this year is over... unless something pops up at my work that would be favorable to me. 

My wife has suggested looking for work related to my interests, as I'm at stage in my life that I can't keep jumping between jobs every few years anymore, and I am inclined to agree with her on that last point. If we are to start a family, we both need stable jobs, with permanent work being the ideal situation. However, finding a job that I would genuinely enjoy is something that I think is not realistic, and I like keeping my work and hobbies separate, though it is something that I shouldn't quickly dismiss either.

I have asked around about job hunting, as the usual channels are usually advertising ALT work, or work related to ALT dispatch companies. Searching a little bit in to jobs similar to what I do right now, I found I have to search beyond those channels, as those kinds of companies very rarely advertise there. However, someone did point me to a Japanese job hunting website, commenting that with fewer foreigners using those kinds of websites, there will be less competition there - of which I have bookmarked that site for when I will most likely begin job hunting towards the later part of the year.

There has been a lot more that has happened in the last few months, but I may share about them later when the time is right.