Japanese baffled by U.S. stimulus checks arriving in the mail

Who says there’s no such thing as free money? Some Japanese people who once lived in the United States recently received U.S. government stimulus checks — to their befuddlement.

The checks of up to $1,400 (about ¥150,000) were issued as part of U.S. President Joe Biden’s measures to shore up a coronavirus-ravaged economy. It is believed that most of the Japanese recipients are not eligible to receive the cash handout.

“I don’t understand it,” said a 66-year-old woman in Yokohama who early this month received a check issued by the U.S. Treasury Department. “I’m stumped.”

The woman lived in Connecticut for about 3½ years from 1989 because her husband, who worked at a bank, was transferred to a branch in the state on the East Coast. Both of them currently receive

U.S. pensions.

No letters accompanied the checks they both received, which made them suspicious. Then, letters signed by Biden arrived in the mail for both of them.

The couple’s friends who lived in the United States around the same time also received checks and letters.

According to major banks and other financial institutions in Japan, inquiries about the U.S. checks increased after the Golden Week holidays ended in early May. Some of the banks do not process foreign checks and are advising that inquiries be made about a person’s eligibility to receive the money before going to a bank.

The cash handout is a pillar of the Biden administration’s economic measures enacted in March. According to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, which is sending the checks, those eligible to receive money are, in principle, either U.S. citizens or foreigners living in the United States. The monetary amounts are based on tax data.

The IRS said foreigners living outside the United States are not eligible to receive the checks, without clearing up why the checks have been sent to Japanese residents who used to live in the United States.

This is the third round of cash relief provided by the U.S. government to soften the blow of the pandemic. A survey by the U.S. Government Accountability Office has found that about 1.1 million checks in the first round went to dead people.

It is possible that the money was hastily sent without carefully examining each recipient in a bid to boost the economy quickly.

The IRS said that those who are ineligible for cash relief but have received a check should write “Void” on the back of the check and return it to: 3651 S Interregional Hwy 35 Austin, TX 78741 U.S.A. (May 29)

The Yomiuri Shimbun Letters from the U.S. government with President Joe Biden’s signature and stimulus checks issued by the Treasury Department that were sent to a woman and her husband who once lived in the United States but now reside in Yokohama are seen in this photo.