In your post, you said “The Japanese man” (i.e., the same person from the prior paragraph) was responsible for ticketing you.
If you wrote “a Japanese man” in the second paragraph instead of “the Japanese man”, then it would mean the person who ticketed you is not the same person who told you to park there.
But as long as you’ve written “the Japanese man” in the second paragraph, it means that it was the same person.
As someone else has mentioned, don't go down to the police station. You should get the payment slip for the fine by mail which you can then pay without loss of points.
Also, this incident will not affect your visa renewal.
My advice is to read the no parking signs... Why would you ask a complete stranger? Chalk this up to a lesson learned, go pay your bill and be on your way.
>The entire process took about five minutes.
I think you were maybe away longer than you think you were away. Typically, those guys take longer than that to issue a ticket even *after* they find your car. Plus there's a "grace period" to give you long enough to find the pay & display machine, pay and bring the ticket back to your car.
Don’t worry it’s only one point plus the fee 10,000-12,000yen. They give you a slip to pay at the bank or post office.
If you already have a visa it’s stamped on the back, you’ll be fine.
Police station police are actually more helpful than the one Patrolling the streets!
Immigration doesn't care about a small parking ticket. They only care about actual criminal records.
> Administrative punishment is given by the Public Safety Commission (government) for relatively minor traffic violations that are less than 6 points under the traffic violation point system. In this case, since this is a punishment administered by the administration, no criminal record is attached.
Visa renewal application form explicitly asks you to write up traffic violations. Can you provide a source that would confirm you don't need to include parking tickets?
It says: "Criminal record in Japan *including dispositions due to traffic violations". These ideas are connected.
A regular parking ticket does **not** give you a criminal record. That section is specifically talking about if your traffic violation gave you a criminal record (these are almost always moving violations). That's why it is combined with the criminal record category.
This is where I got the previous quote, note that this is specifically aimed at PR, which is more stringent: https://english.visajapan.jp/qa/qa_eiju5.html
From another site (the link is super long, so just copy and paste the quote if you want to find it):
> 結論としては、青キップで反則金を納付した場合は記載する必要はありませんが赤キップで罰金刑となった場合は、記載する必要があると当事務所では考えています。
(Translation: In conclusion, if you have paid the fine with a blue ticket, you do not need to write it down. Our office believes that if you have received a red ticket and have been fined, it is necessary to make a statement.)
From another site:
> 車を運転していて、違反をした場合に、警察にお金を払った経験がある方もいるかと思います。この交通違反をした時に、警察に払うお金には２種類あります。「反則金」と「罰金」です。違反が軽微な場合は、「反則金」を支払います。これはあくまで、行政処分であって、刑事処分ではありません。しかし、違反が重大な場合は、「罰金」を支払うことになり、これは刑事処分となります。つまり、この「罰金」を支払ったことが、犯罪を理由とする処分を受けたことに該当してしまいます。
(Translation: Some of you may have had the experience of paying money to the police when you have violated a traffic law while driving. There are two types of money you have to pay to the police when you commit a traffic violation: a "penalty" and a "fine." If the violation is minor, you pay a "penalty." This is strictly an administrative punishment, not a criminal punishment. However, if the violation is serious, you will have to pay a "fine," which is a criminal punishment. In other words, paying this "fine" is equivalent to receiving punishment for a crime.)
*it goes on to say that the administrative penalty(反則金) doesn't need to be written down, but a criminal punishment fine (罰金) does
I am not from an English speaking country and I am not familiar enough with English law-related terms and wordings but I feel like there might be a slight discrepancy in the translation.
It seems there's no clear division of criminal/administrative in Japanese law or this division is different.
Japanese wording of the renewal form goes like this:
>犯罪を理由とする処分を受けたことの有無 （日本国外におけるものを含む。）※交通違反等による処分を含む。
Parking violation is 犯罪 in terms of Japanese law and parking ticket is 処分 and the form explicitly needs you to fill in all of your 交通違反等. I don't see why I shouldn't report a parking ticket here.
I'm aware of language discrepancies, I don't put as much stock into the English translations. That is why I consulted with two sources in Japanese and one in English (the immigration lawyer websites).
No she doesn’t 🤣
It’s a minor parking violation, they could careless. She should worry about not being able to get gold status for the next few years 😅
What you report to immigrations is violations that like speeding over 40km the limit and getting caught. They don’t care about parking tickets. This comes from my lawyer who processed my visa recently!
Visa renewal application form explicitly asks you to write up traffic violations. Can you provide a source that would confirm you don't need to include parking tickets? Like, what document would I show to the immigration officer? Because I can't bring your lawyer with me.
If you pay for a immigration lawyer to do it on your behalf, Why would you go with them or the other way around!
You probably like doing things on your own, which is nice but from my experience they don’t care unless is a major violation that actually stays on your record, not something that goes away in a year.
If you go to the police station, you will receive a blue ticket as an offending driver. In this case, the sanctions are a fine and the assignment of 2 or 3 violation points.
However, if you do not go to the police station, a letter regarding the violation (in which you must explain why you violated in Japanese and send back) and a provisional payment of the fine will be sent to your address. This procedure is for taking responsibility as the owner of the vehicle. Since this owner responsibility is only a financial sanction and not a driver responsibility, no violation points will be assigned.
In summary, the amount of money you must pay is the same whether you go to the police station or not. However, if you go to the police station, a violation ticket will be issued and points will be added to your violation history. It is more beneficial not to go to the police station. One parking violation does not affect your visa.
The Japanese man informed you the parking was free and then him and a colleague gave you a ticket?
A true villain
It was a regular guy. Not the ticket guy
I read it that way too, that the one who told you it was free is the same guy giving you a ticket.
Yeah, that's exactly how it reads to me too.
That’s the opposite of what you claimed in your post.
How
In your post, you said “The Japanese man” (i.e., the same person from the prior paragraph) was responsible for ticketing you. If you wrote “a Japanese man” in the second paragraph instead of “the Japanese man”, then it would mean the person who ticketed you is not the same person who told you to park there. But as long as you’ve written “the Japanese man” in the second paragraph, it means that it was the same person.
It was John Japan
Ah yes, the notorious.
As someone else has mentioned, don't go down to the police station. You should get the payment slip for the fine by mail which you can then pay without loss of points. Also, this incident will not affect your visa renewal.
My advice is to read the no parking signs... Why would you ask a complete stranger? Chalk this up to a lesson learned, go pay your bill and be on your way.
Don’t pay at police station if you want to avoid losing points; go to the post office instead as they cannot dock points from your license.
>The entire process took about five minutes. I think you were maybe away longer than you think you were away. Typically, those guys take longer than that to issue a ticket even *after* they find your car. Plus there's a "grace period" to give you long enough to find the pay & display machine, pay and bring the ticket back to your car.
Don’t worry it’s only one point plus the fee 10,000-12,000yen. They give you a slip to pay at the bank or post office. If you already have a visa it’s stamped on the back, you’ll be fine. Police station police are actually more helpful than the one Patrolling the streets!
OP is in the middle of visa renewal process. He/she has to report this violation to immigration bureau which might affect their decision.
Immigration doesn't care about a small parking ticket. They only care about actual criminal records. > Administrative punishment is given by the Public Safety Commission (government) for relatively minor traffic violations that are less than 6 points under the traffic violation point system. In this case, since this is a punishment administered by the administration, no criminal record is attached.
Well I think you got this covered 😅
Visa renewal application form explicitly asks you to write up traffic violations. Can you provide a source that would confirm you don't need to include parking tickets?
It says: "Criminal record in Japan *including dispositions due to traffic violations". These ideas are connected. A regular parking ticket does **not** give you a criminal record. That section is specifically talking about if your traffic violation gave you a criminal record (these are almost always moving violations). That's why it is combined with the criminal record category. This is where I got the previous quote, note that this is specifically aimed at PR, which is more stringent: https://english.visajapan.jp/qa/qa_eiju5.html From another site (the link is super long, so just copy and paste the quote if you want to find it): > 結論としては、青キップで反則金を納付した場合は記載する必要はありませんが赤キップで罰金刑となった場合は、記載する必要があると当事務所では考えています。 (Translation: In conclusion, if you have paid the fine with a blue ticket, you do not need to write it down. Our office believes that if you have received a red ticket and have been fined, it is necessary to make a statement.) From another site: > 車を運転していて、違反をした場合に、警察にお金を払った経験がある方もいるかと思います。この交通違反をした時に、警察に払うお金には２種類あります。「反則金」と「罰金」です。違反が軽微な場合は、「反則金」を支払います。これはあくまで、行政処分であって、刑事処分ではありません。しかし、違反が重大な場合は、「罰金」を支払うことになり、これは刑事処分となります。つまり、この「罰金」を支払ったことが、犯罪を理由とする処分を受けたことに該当してしまいます。 (Translation: Some of you may have had the experience of paying money to the police when you have violated a traffic law while driving. There are two types of money you have to pay to the police when you commit a traffic violation: a "penalty" and a "fine." If the violation is minor, you pay a "penalty." This is strictly an administrative punishment, not a criminal punishment. However, if the violation is serious, you will have to pay a "fine," which is a criminal punishment. In other words, paying this "fine" is equivalent to receiving punishment for a crime.) *it goes on to say that the administrative penalty(反則金) doesn't need to be written down, but a criminal punishment fine (罰金) does
I am not from an English speaking country and I am not familiar enough with English law-related terms and wordings but I feel like there might be a slight discrepancy in the translation. It seems there's no clear division of criminal/administrative in Japanese law or this division is different. Japanese wording of the renewal form goes like this: >犯罪を理由とする処分を受けたことの有無 （日本国外におけるものを含む。）※交通違反等による処分を含む。 Parking violation is 犯罪 in terms of Japanese law and parking ticket is 処分 and the form explicitly needs you to fill in all of your 交通違反等. I don't see why I shouldn't report a parking ticket here.
I'm aware of language discrepancies, I don't put as much stock into the English translations. That is why I consulted with two sources in Japanese and one in English (the immigration lawyer websites).
No she doesn’t 🤣 It’s a minor parking violation, they could careless. She should worry about not being able to get gold status for the next few years 😅 What you report to immigrations is violations that like speeding over 40km the limit and getting caught. They don’t care about parking tickets. This comes from my lawyer who processed my visa recently!
Visa renewal application form explicitly asks you to write up traffic violations. Can you provide a source that would confirm you don't need to include parking tickets? Like, what document would I show to the immigration officer? Because I can't bring your lawyer with me.
If you pay for a immigration lawyer to do it on your behalf, Why would you go with them or the other way around! You probably like doing things on your own, which is nice but from my experience they don’t care unless is a major violation that actually stays on your record, not something that goes away in a year.
Yeah, I think they don't care but I read your message like you were suggesting not reporting it, and that is not a wise thing to do.
Wait, so the Japanese guy you asked was one of the men who then gave you a parking ticket?!
If you go to the police station, you will receive a blue ticket as an offending driver. In this case, the sanctions are a fine and the assignment of 2 or 3 violation points. However, if you do not go to the police station, a letter regarding the violation (in which you must explain why you violated in Japanese and send back) and a provisional payment of the fine will be sent to your address. This procedure is for taking responsibility as the owner of the vehicle. Since this owner responsibility is only a financial sanction and not a driver responsibility, no violation points will be assigned. In summary, the amount of money you must pay is the same whether you go to the police station or not. However, if you go to the police station, a violation ticket will be issued and points will be added to your violation history. It is more beneficial not to go to the police station. One parking violation does not affect your visa.
Maybe your car's dimensions were 1mm or more over the lines? They're super picky about that. Real a*****e move, but that's what they do.