Written by Goro Koyama

Japan PI >> Articles by: Written by Goro Koyama
Goro Koyama is CEO & Founder of Japan PI Inc., a bilingual private investigations firm with headquarters in Tokyo. Goro has 30 years experience serving domestic and overseas companies and individuals in Japan. He is a member of the Council for International Investigations (CII), World Association of Detectives (WAD), and the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ). He has been featured in the Japan Times & Beacon Reports.
Employment Screening

Quick Guide of Employment Screenings in Japan

Pre-employment screening in Japan is subject to restrictions such as the Employment Security Act and the guidelines of the Minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare. Therefore, you need to be familiar with legitimate research methods in Japan. You need to get a survey consent form from the candidate. Investigation of suitability and ability You can research the aptitude and abilities of candidates. But you can’t do social class research. Also,

Find a friend

How to Find Someone in Japan

Need to locate someone in Japan for debt collection, asset division, service of process, missing family issues, etc.? We let you know how.

Inheritance

Tips for International Inheritance Tax

Unnecessary Concern of Japanese heirs   We often see Japanese heirs get concerned about Japan’s inheritance tax when they hear they are entitled to the inheritance from the US.  In fact. no Inheritance tax is imposed in Japan on the inheritance from the US. In Japan, heirs pay inheritance tax. However, in the United States, the deceased person (in fact, the executors of the deceased or the administrators of heritage) pay

Old Koseki

How To Find Family In Japan

Koseki records are the perfect family tree generators Koseki records are the perfect family tree generatorsTo trace a relative in Japan or create a complete family tree of a Japanese family, you need to obtain the Koseki family registry records, which comprise the fundamental citizen documentation system in Japan. However, these records are strictly confidential, and you can’t get access to them without knowing the Honseki, the legal domicile of

Find Someone

How To Find Someone In Japan

Type Of Missing Persons We want to know more details such as who looks for who, what kind of clues you have, and so on. The way people are searched depends on that. In Japan, most people don’t want to be found their personal information. The Japanese government also places great importance on protecting privacy over the convenience of finding people. Therefore. Most personal information owned by the government is

Japan Temple

How To Hire A PI In Japan

What Services PIs Can Offer The general public knows very little about the private investigation (PI) industry. Ordinary people typically believe that private detectives mainly handle cheating spouse investigations. However, the range of services covered by the PI industry is almost equal to the service range covered by lawyers. Investigation services cover everything from individual problems to corporate problems and international trade frictions. What Services You Need First, you need

Digital Forensics

Digital Forensics Investigations

The principal policy of Japan PI is result-oriented services. We will adopt any investigation methods that are effective, depending on the specific situation the client needs to solve. In this digital era, there are numerous cases where digital investigations are much more efficient than conventional physical examinations, such as surveillance and interviews. We explain some of the situations where digital forensics play a significant role in fact-finding procedures. The digital

Yakuza

How to Detect Anti-Social Forces in Japan

“What Is Anti-Social Force?” The term ‘anti-social forces’ (反社会的勢力) is officially used by the Japanese government. It refers to the organized crime groups (Japanese Mafia = Boryokudan/yakuza) and their members, corporate racketeers, and groups that have the potential for violence or social unrest. It sometimes includes serial fraudsters, as well. ‘Anti-social forces’ is the euphemistic term for ‘organized crime syndicates.’ However, it is not clear why officials use this euphemistic

JFBA

Information Request System of Attorneys in Japan

The Japanese government, basically, does not disclose any personal information. Even with the legally permissible reasons, individuals are not allowed to get any third party disclosures from the government offices or companies. PIs are not licensed and not given any privileges in Japan. However, attorneys are given the information request rights by The Attorney Act (The Attorney Act 23-2). Bellow is the translation of the explanation of the Bar Association

Child Abduction

How To Apply the Hague Convention of Child Abduction

If your Japanese wife took away your child to Japan or is hampering your visitation right to your child, you can apply mediation of the Hague Convention of Child Abduction through the central authority or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We explain how to apply this procedure in this article. What Is The Hague Convention? The Hague Convention is an international treaty for correcting differences in international civil laws. It

Company Registry

Six Things You Should Know About Japanese Company Registry

1, No Listings Of Shareholders Although the total number of issued shares, etc., are stated, the name of the shareholder is not listed. The company’s articles of incorporation contain the name, address, and the number of shares held by shareholders (founders). 2, The Articles Of Incorporation are Substantially Unavailable Only stakeholders (shareholders and creditors) can view the articles of incorporation. Moreover, after five years have passed since the establishment of

Coverage from Norway Movie Crews

Visit Japan PI (Media Coverage)

Japan PI drew media attention. Here is the interview we had. What kind of business does Japan PI provide? Japan PI is a bilingual detective company that integrates translation and investigation. We mainly handle private investigation services in Japan for foreign corporations and individuals located both outside of Japan and inside Japan. Since we serve exclusively international clients, we provide unique services that no other Japanese investigators do as well

Deep Web Japan

Open Source Intelligence Framework In Japan

This is the list of all the conceivable sites and methods for the open source intelligence in Japan. Most of the sites are membership-based services. In general, the Japanese government has strict privacy protection policy. Please note what is abailabe from open sorce domains is limited.  National Gazette 官報 Bankruptcy, Naturalization, National License Holders, etc. 破産、帰化、国家資格合格者等https://search.npb.go.jp/kanpou/ Registry Records 登記簿提供サービスhttp://www1.touki.or.jp/ Supreme Court Records 最高裁判例Courts in Japan 裁判所http://www.courts.go.jp/app/hanrei_jp/search2?reload=1 National Tax Office 国税庁法人番号検索https://www.houjin-bangou.nta.go.jp/ Legal Bureau

Child Custody Investigation

Child Custody Investigation Case Study

Child Custody Investigation Case Study: An American grandmother contacted us to ask for help with a child custody dispute with her son. The client learned her American son was living in an apartment in Tokyo with his second wife and an infant who had been born to his first wife. He had lived in Japan for the previous two years, but he began abusing alcohol and had been unemployed for

Medical Records

How to Conduct Death Verification in Japan

Believe it or not, but the fact of death is still considered to be sensitive information in Japan. It is not easy to obtain someone’s records of death. Obituaries are only for celebrities or high-profile individuals. You will never find an obituary of ordinary people in papers. Below is the checklist for the death verification investigation for insurance companies in Japan. Sources Certificate Requirements Mail Order FYI Family    

探偵の戦い方

Guest Speech At The PI Seminar – The Way PIs Fight

  Our lead investigator, Goro Koyama, was invited as a guest speaker in the PI seminar held on August 7, 2017, at Senshu University, Tokyo, Japan. He was invited as a guest speaker in the symposium session of Mr. Tomonori Takahashi, the attorney at REI LAW OFFICE who spoke about how to find a sign of stalker clients. As he had an experience where he declined the request from the Zushi

False Conviction

Pro Bono Criminal Investigation for Innocence Project

Rescue an Inmate Who Has Been Imprisoned Due to a False Accusation In collaboration with a private investigator in California, we took on a pro bono case to conduct an investigation and locate a witness for a prison inmate who is serving 19 years for an aggravated rape charge which he claims did not happen. The accuser was a Japanese woman who was an international student in California back in

Locate

Four Reasons Why Locating Someone In Japan Is Difficult

As a bilingual private investigation agency, we always get inquiries from foreign customers to locate people in Japan. However, there are various obstacles to conducting this type of investigation in this country. Unless the person is a high-profile individual, it is always challenging to locate someone in Japan without a sufficient amount of information due to privacy laws in the country. No public records in Japan First of all, there

The Vanished

Coverage of PRI – Japan Drives People Vanished

Interview from the radio program of PRI Mr. Goro Koyama, our lead investigator, was interviewed by Ms. Alina Simon at PRI (Public Radio International) in February 2017. The program was regarding “The Vanished” in Japan, a nonfiction writing by the French journalist. Mr. Koyama was asked to explain the situation of locating people in Japan. “Japan’s ‘evaporated people’ have become an obsession for this French couple” (PRI Radio, April 25,

How to request background investigation in Japan

How To Request A Background Check In Japan

3 things you should keep in mind There are a couple of major issues. Western clients will often face in the background investigation in Japan. You must be aware of these before requesting background investigation in Japan. Due to the bellow mentioned issues, background investigations in Japan are more challenging and cost consuming than most other countries. Provide subject’s name in the Japanese character Often the case, overseas clients can

Credit Score

The Pecuriality of Japanese Credit Bureau

We have three domestic credit reporting agencies in Japan. They are not the government credit bureau, but the subsidiaries of multiple financial institutions. The data of credit reports must be used solely for financial lending purposes by the Banking Act. It can’t be used for the general due diligence for consumers. Financial institutions are sharing these databases by joining the membership of the credit reporting agencies. Therefore, the industries of

House Investment

Real Estate Property Investigation

Due Diligence on Real Estate Properties At Japan PI, we support real estate investors to Japanese properties with various kinds of investigative demands. Prices of Japanese real estate properties remain to the lowest level for the past 25 years. Along with the gentle practice of Japanese tenants, Japanese real estate properties are known to be the trajectories of steady yielding investments. However, real estate dealing prices are shared only with

Cheating Asian Wife

Cheating Spouse – Cultural Aspects in Japan

Infidelity is often a secret fear of many couples. Unfortunately, those fears may sink into reality. According to research conducted by the > Associated Press, Journal of Marital and Family Therapy just last year, in a whopping 41% of marriages, one or both partners admitted to either physical or emotional infidelity. Couple those statistics with frequent business trips or military deployment and the numbers only increase. Japan is a country

GPS map

Locate an Heir

Last year, pop icon Prince passed away, leaving his 300-million-dollar estate and no will and testament. With both parents dead, no spouse and no known surviving children, an uproarious legal battle ensued with a large pool of hopefuls claiming to be the rightful recipient of the singer’s fortune. According to USA TODAY, due to the absence of a will, “Prince’s estate could [have] end[ed] up with the IRS (40% of

Divorcing

Cheating Spouse – A Female Perspective

According to the Huffington Post, a whopping 36% of men have admitted to adultery while on a business trip. In cases like military deployment (in Japan alone, there are 23 United States military bases) it is actually more likely for husbands to have affairs while overseas than for their wives at home to be unfaithful. What makes cheating in Japan so tempting to Western men? Westerners are often romanticized and

Employment Screening

Quick Guide of Employment Screenings in Japan

Pre-employment screening in Japan is subject to restrictions such as the Employment Security Act and the guidelines of the Minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare. Therefore, you need to be familiar with legitimate research methods in Japan. You need to get a survey consent form from the candidate. Investigation of suitability and ability You can research the aptitude and abilities of candidates. But you can’t do social class research. Also,

Find a friend

How to Find Someone in Japan

Need to locate someone in Japan for debt collection, asset division, service of process, missing family issues, etc.? We let you know how.

Inheritance

Tips for International Inheritance Tax

Unnecessary Concern of Japanese heirs   We often see Japanese heirs get concerned about Japan’s inheritance tax when they hear they are entitled to the inheritance from the US.  In fact. no Inheritance tax is imposed in Japan on the inheritance from the US. In Japan, heirs pay inheritance tax. However, in the United States, the deceased person (in fact, the executors of the deceased or the administrators of heritage) pay

Old Koseki

How To Find Family In Japan

Koseki records are the perfect family tree generators Koseki records are the perfect family tree generatorsTo trace a relative in Japan or create a complete family tree of a Japanese family, you need to obtain the Koseki family registry records, which comprise the fundamental citizen documentation system in Japan. However, these records are strictly confidential, and you can’t get access to them without knowing the Honseki, the legal domicile of

Find Someone

How To Find Someone In Japan

Type Of Missing Persons We want to know more details such as who looks for who, what kind of clues you have, and so on. The way people are searched depends on that. In Japan, most people don’t want to be found their personal information. The Japanese government also places great importance on protecting privacy over the convenience of finding people. Therefore. Most personal information owned by the government is

Japan Temple

How To Hire A PI In Japan

What Services PIs Can Offer The general public knows very little about the private investigation (PI) industry. Ordinary people typically believe that private detectives mainly handle cheating spouse investigations. However, the range of services covered by the PI industry is almost equal to the service range covered by lawyers. Investigation services cover everything from individual problems to corporate problems and international trade frictions. What Services You Need First, you need

Digital Forensics

Digital Forensics Investigations

The principal policy of Japan PI is result-oriented services. We will adopt any investigation methods that are effective, depending on the specific situation the client needs to solve. In this digital era, there are numerous cases where digital investigations are much more efficient than conventional physical examinations, such as surveillance and interviews. We explain some of the situations where digital forensics play a significant role in fact-finding procedures. The digital

Yakuza

How to Detect Anti-Social Forces in Japan

“What Is Anti-Social Force?” The term ‘anti-social forces’ (反社会的勢力) is officially used by the Japanese government. It refers to the organized crime groups (Japanese Mafia = Boryokudan/yakuza) and their members, corporate racketeers, and groups that have the potential for violence or social unrest. It sometimes includes serial fraudsters, as well. ‘Anti-social forces’ is the euphemistic term for ‘organized crime syndicates.’ However, it is not clear why officials use this euphemistic

JFBA

Information Request System of Attorneys in Japan

The Japanese government, basically, does not disclose any personal information. Even with the legally permissible reasons, individuals are not allowed to get any third party disclosures from the government offices or companies. PIs are not licensed and not given any privileges in Japan. However, attorneys are given the information request rights by The Attorney Act (The Attorney Act 23-2). Bellow is the translation of the explanation of the Bar Association

Child Abduction

How To Apply the Hague Convention of Child Abduction

If your Japanese wife took away your child to Japan or is hampering your visitation right to your child, you can apply mediation of the Hague Convention of Child Abduction through the central authority or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We explain how to apply this procedure in this article. What Is The Hague Convention? The Hague Convention is an international treaty for correcting differences in international civil laws. It

Company Registry

Six Things You Should Know About Japanese Company Registry

1, No Listings Of Shareholders Although the total number of issued shares, etc., are stated, the name of the shareholder is not listed. The company’s articles of incorporation contain the name, address, and the number of shares held by shareholders (founders). 2, The Articles Of Incorporation are Substantially Unavailable Only stakeholders (shareholders and creditors) can view the articles of incorporation. Moreover, after five years have passed since the establishment of

Coverage from Norway Movie Crews

Visit Japan PI (Media Coverage)

Japan PI drew media attention. Here is the interview we had. What kind of business does Japan PI provide? Japan PI is a bilingual detective company that integrates translation and investigation. We mainly handle private investigation services in Japan for foreign corporations and individuals located both outside of Japan and inside Japan. Since we serve exclusively international clients, we provide unique services that no other Japanese investigators do as well

Deep Web Japan

Open Source Intelligence Framework In Japan

This is the list of all the conceivable sites and methods for the open source intelligence in Japan. Most of the sites are membership-based services. In general, the Japanese government has strict privacy protection policy. Please note what is abailabe from open sorce domains is limited.  National Gazette 官報 Bankruptcy, Naturalization, National License Holders, etc. 破産、帰化、国家資格合格者等https://search.npb.go.jp/kanpou/ Registry Records 登記簿提供サービスhttp://www1.touki.or.jp/ Supreme Court Records 最高裁判例Courts in Japan 裁判所http://www.courts.go.jp/app/hanrei_jp/search2?reload=1 National Tax Office 国税庁法人番号検索https://www.houjin-bangou.nta.go.jp/ Legal Bureau

Child Custody Investigation

Child Custody Investigation Case Study

Child Custody Investigation Case Study: An American grandmother contacted us to ask for help with a child custody dispute with her son. The client learned her American son was living in an apartment in Tokyo with his second wife and an infant who had been born to his first wife. He had lived in Japan for the previous two years, but he began abusing alcohol and had been unemployed for

Medical Records

How to Conduct Death Verification in Japan

Believe it or not, but the fact of death is still considered to be sensitive information in Japan. It is not easy to obtain someone’s records of death. Obituaries are only for celebrities or high-profile individuals. You will never find an obituary of ordinary people in papers. Below is the checklist for the death verification investigation for insurance companies in Japan. Sources Certificate Requirements Mail Order FYI Family    

探偵の戦い方

Guest Speech At The PI Seminar – The Way PIs Fight

  Our lead investigator, Goro Koyama, was invited as a guest speaker in the PI seminar held on August 7, 2017, at Senshu University, Tokyo, Japan. He was invited as a guest speaker in the symposium session of Mr. Tomonori Takahashi, the attorney at REI LAW OFFICE who spoke about how to find a sign of stalker clients. As he had an experience where he declined the request from the Zushi

False Conviction

Pro Bono Criminal Investigation for Innocence Project

Rescue an Inmate Who Has Been Imprisoned Due to a False Accusation In collaboration with a private investigator in California, we took on a pro bono case to conduct an investigation and locate a witness for a prison inmate who is serving 19 years for an aggravated rape charge which he claims did not happen. The accuser was a Japanese woman who was an international student in California back in

Locate

Four Reasons Why Locating Someone In Japan Is Difficult

As a bilingual private investigation agency, we always get inquiries from foreign customers to locate people in Japan. However, there are various obstacles to conducting this type of investigation in this country. Unless the person is a high-profile individual, it is always challenging to locate someone in Japan without a sufficient amount of information due to privacy laws in the country. No public records in Japan First of all, there

The Vanished

Coverage of PRI – Japan Drives People Vanished

Interview from the radio program of PRI Mr. Goro Koyama, our lead investigator, was interviewed by Ms. Alina Simon at PRI (Public Radio International) in February 2017. The program was regarding “The Vanished” in Japan, a nonfiction writing by the French journalist. Mr. Koyama was asked to explain the situation of locating people in Japan. “Japan’s ‘evaporated people’ have become an obsession for this French couple” (PRI Radio, April 25,

How to request background investigation in Japan

How To Request A Background Check In Japan

3 things you should keep in mind There are a couple of major issues. Western clients will often face in the background investigation in Japan. You must be aware of these before requesting background investigation in Japan. Due to the bellow mentioned issues, background investigations in Japan are more challenging and cost consuming than most other countries. Provide subject’s name in the Japanese character Often the case, overseas clients can

Credit Score

The Pecuriality of Japanese Credit Bureau

We have three domestic credit reporting agencies in Japan. They are not the government credit bureau, but the subsidiaries of multiple financial institutions. The data of credit reports must be used solely for financial lending purposes by the Banking Act. It can’t be used for the general due diligence for consumers. Financial institutions are sharing these databases by joining the membership of the credit reporting agencies. Therefore, the industries of

House Investment

Real Estate Property Investigation

Due Diligence on Real Estate Properties At Japan PI, we support real estate investors to Japanese properties with various kinds of investigative demands. Prices of Japanese real estate properties remain to the lowest level for the past 25 years. Along with the gentle practice of Japanese tenants, Japanese real estate properties are known to be the trajectories of steady yielding investments. However, real estate dealing prices are shared only with

Cheating Asian Wife

Cheating Spouse – Cultural Aspects in Japan

Infidelity is often a secret fear of many couples. Unfortunately, those fears may sink into reality. According to research conducted by the > Associated Press, Journal of Marital and Family Therapy just last year, in a whopping 41% of marriages, one or both partners admitted to either physical or emotional infidelity. Couple those statistics with frequent business trips or military deployment and the numbers only increase. Japan is a country

GPS map

Locate an Heir

Last year, pop icon Prince passed away, leaving his 300-million-dollar estate and no will and testament. With both parents dead, no spouse and no known surviving children, an uproarious legal battle ensued with a large pool of hopefuls claiming to be the rightful recipient of the singer’s fortune. According to USA TODAY, due to the absence of a will, “Prince’s estate could [have] end[ed] up with the IRS (40% of

Divorcing

Cheating Spouse – A Female Perspective

According to the Huffington Post, a whopping 36% of men have admitted to adultery while on a business trip. In cases like military deployment (in Japan alone, there are 23 United States military bases) it is actually more likely for husbands to have affairs while overseas than for their wives at home to be unfaithful. What makes cheating in Japan so tempting to Western men? Westerners are often romanticized and

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