So my friend lives in Japan now for work and is having trouble figuring out how to connect Paypal to a Japanese bank account. I was wondering if any other Japanese users here wouldn’t mind sharing how they got paypal to work with their various accounts and or credit cards? (I know credit cards are rarer in Japan than in Australia)
Thanks 
Haha… It’s a nightmare…
You have to verify your my number + zairyu card on PayPal.
Then have to link the bank account with your exact spelling of your name.
I’ve done it twice, and it keeps failing. I think because I can’t write in Japanese, I don’t know.
I think it failed for me because of the spelling of the bank name and PayPal name were slightly different. Needs to be exact.
Credit cards…
Sigh after 6 months I still haven’t been accepted for one. They don’t allow foreigners because they can’t read the terms in Japanese. Or are on temporary visas. Some banks might be changing this soon, but it’s just a mess dealing with banks and credit etc. Unless your smart and can read Japanese / speak it well.
Talk to the other guys in Japan, im sure they are doing better than me, and know how to do it. Sorry
What’s a Zairyu card? 
Like I’d card. You get it if your a resident only.
oooh, ok Thanks!
If you’re living here and planning to stay, apply for permanent residency. That makes everything move so much easier. (My PayPal account, for instance, was up and running in about 15 minutes.)
Since permanent residency takes 5 plus years of living in Japan I guessing that isn’t the option his friend is looking for.
I wish I could help, but my (our) PayPal account is in my wife’s name.
I would expect it to be pretty straight forward as long as you have all the documents and you spell your name as it is on your documents. But things can be confusing when you have English and Katakana. I know when I was applying for my Rakuten credit card I was using my Japan Post account and my wife wasn’t sure which name to use as my bank book as my name in English on the outside and katakana on the inside. Took a couple of tries to get the paperwork filled out properly.
Nah, they’re only planning on staying two years tops.
So advice on that would be helpful.