Japan is having a census this year and we are being counted.
Last evening, a census enumerator showed up on our doorstep with a form for us. It’s a one-page, computer-readable sheet with a small booklet of instructions in Japanese. There is also a separate multi-language translation.
The translated directions ensure us that the information in the census will not be shared with Immigration, the tax authority, or the police. I doubt that assurance is in the original!
Census day is October 1, the same day we are moving, so we won’t be here for our enumerator to collect our form. When Tod explained and asked if we could mail it back, the poor woman ran off to find us an envelope. She returned five minutes later with exactly what we needed.
So we’re ready to be counted. Next time you see statistics about the number of foreigners in Japan, think of us!
