While this is annoying and is excessive to what's required in law (it must be done at least yearly, and most banks do not try to annoy foreign residents more than what's legally required), Japan does require all Japanese-domiciled bank that they verify that the owner is either a Japanese national or a long-term resident in Japan. In fact, most Asian countries do have a "must be a citizen or resident" or even the much more stricter "must be a resident" requirement.
At least it's not India, according to Mastercard and Visa India even prohibits foreign long-term residents from maintaining an account in their country of nationality (and therefore we must always certify that upon our knowledge we do not send cards, even debit, to India).
That is very, very excessive... Do you know what the official reasoning is for that?
Also, since that some may just scratch their head, here is the relevant provision from MasterCard (https://www.mastercard.us/content/dam/public/mastercardcom/n...).
It's the same in most countries. The regulatory burden may be different but banking presence is required in the country if you are serving domestic market at scale.
Indian residents can open HSBC expat account domiciled on the jersey island as an example.
It's the default regardless of the country unless you are sanctioned.
It's a factor but only a single one among multiple others.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/citi-agrees-sell-japan-retail...
That's the explaination I got when I discussed opening an account there. To note I wasn't a permanent resident, which might have set different conditions.
Went with Mitsubishi, and they were just fine.
(In Canada at least, mail can be set for "no forwarding", so the post office won't redirect in said cases.)
This is generally a good advice, as a bank typically has your money and lose nothing being slow or painful.
On moving to foreign countries while keeping banking access, it's such a world of hurt.
Some banks will straight stop your account and flag it the minute they understand you've been out of the country for any specific length of time (from 1 full month to 6 months depending on the bank). Many banks will just not allow a foreign resident to keep an account.
Citibank in Japan has the funniest rule: you have to receive in person a letter sent to your residency address every month if you intend to keep your account alive. Failing to do so for whatever reason automatically locks the account and you have to come to them to prove you still meet their requirements.