How do I trace an old friend?

She is Japanese and left England in 1975. I have a maiden name, date of birth and the address she went back to in Japan - where do I go from here? Can anyone help?

Have you tried sending a card or a letter by post?
She might be still living at the same address.

Yes I did that a few years ago without success......but thanks for the reply.

Was that mail returned to you? How about trying again via registered mail?

I've been trying to do the same thing but the other way around. I am the Japanese person who left the U.S. in 1973 and I've been trying to locate friends from back then.

Some tell me to try Facebook, and I finally did get the guts to register myself, but it seems like that website is mainly for those a bit younger than me, plus you can only register your history from senior high school and on. I'm in my mid 40s and those I wish to see are from my elementary school days.

I was hoping that school would work as some kind of a mediator, and I did find a former teacher of mine just by Googling her name, but she had no clue about the other students. I also used to keep in touch with my best friend from the school, but lost contact when she got married and I can't remember her new family name.

I wish there were ways for nomads like me to unite with old friends. Hope some of my experiences will give you a hint on finding yours. And let me know if you find someone who graduated Madison Elementary School, Pasadena in 1973 ;)

Uco-san,

She may lead you to the Yearbook. [address removed]

--please do not post other people's street or email addresses without their permission-- admin--

It seems very, very unlikely that someone would still be living at the same address they were at in 1975- I wouldn't waste my money on registered mail if I were you. Other than that I can't help I am afraid- tracing people in Japan when all you have is a name seems to be extremely difficult.

Stanfordgal,
I'm afraid the address you wrote was removed for some reason and, while I did some Googling, I don't know what your're talking about. But thanks anyway.

Andy,
Actually it is likely that someone is living at the same place since 1975. My parents certainly do (under my maiden name). But if your mail was returned to you, then that is that. Instead, if your mail never came back, then that pretty much proves that someone by that name still lives there.

Actually it is likely that someone is living at the same place since 1975

A residential address maybe, but something like an apartment then it is almost guaranteed that the person has moved in the past 30 years.

Instead, if your mail never came back, then that pretty much proves that someone by that name still lives there.

Unless the current occupant puts it straight into the trash, which is also likely.

Andy,
I'm afraid that it sounds as if you have exhausted the easy solutions. If you really want to contact this person you may need to hire a private investigator. Or perhaps if the address is an apartment you can contact the landlord and maybe find out where they moved from there?

Unless the current occupant puts it straight into the trash, which is also likely.

I hope not to get too off-topic, but I think that is not likely, except for the very few occasions when mail is delivered to the wrong person by mistake.

In Japan, postal mails is delivered to match both the address and name. The name should always be written on the name plate of the house (which we call "hyosatsu").

So for example, let's say her parents still live there under Andy's friend's maiden name. As long as the letter is addressed to "Miss (maiden name)" it will be delivered to that house. But of course, if the letter is addressed to "Mrs. (new name)" without being written "c/o (maiden name)," then it will be returned to the sender due to the receiver's address being unidentified.

As for the residency itself, as far as the 1970s is concerned, it has more to do with whether the place was rented or bought rather than it being a small apartment or a large house. If it wasn't a rented residency, it's quite likely for the owner residents to keep living at the same address even if they had to rebuilt it. But then, I have to admit that 30 year old apartment buildings in Japan are likely to be torn down for safety reasons.

A bit more on-topic, Andy, if you are desperate and have an interesting story behind it, you may want to consider contacting major newspapers in Japan. Otherwise you can also try writing to the address anyway addressing the letter to "whoever lives there," and ask if they know her whereabouts. But for the latter, you need to have that letter writen in Japanese.

Many thanks for all your thoughts and suggestions. I'll try the mail route again but in Japanese and English this time.
There is no story of "news" interest, just a personal one of love and sadness.

Uco,

School 'yearbook' if still attainable will bring back immense joy!

School address........
Madison Elementary School‎
515 E Ashtabula St, Pasadena, CA‎. 91104-4306 (626) 793-1181

This is the school website, but old & not helpful
www.pasadena.k12.ca.us/sitepgs/madison/WebPage1.html -

I emailed my sis in Irvine. Will post any feedback.

P.S.

Stanfordgal,

I visit the school's website all the time. Are you suggesting that I should personally contact them and ask if they can send me the yearbook of my graduation year? I wonder if they ever made one. But I suppose there is no reason I shouldn't try asking them. While I'm at it, I suppose I can ask them for alternative suggestions.Thanks again.

Andy,

I'm wondering how old your friend was when she left, and what part of England she lived in. For example, if she was under 18, it is likely that she attended one of the very few Japanese schools in the weekends. And if she lived with her parents, it is likely that they were part of the very close Japanese community of that time. Then you can start by asking the school or community. If her father was a business man, perhaps Jetro can help you on the way.

Uco-san,

My sister learned that the Pasadena Unified District contracted with several photo studio to make an annual class photo of students in their elementary school, which student could order the photo pack.

Only option to finding the name of your classmates is through the California Public Record Act (CPRA, Sections 6250 - 6270) which guarantee that the public hass access to public records of all governmental bodies in the State of CaliforniA. Your email or letter should have the title "Request For List of All Students Enrolled At James Madison Elementary School in the year ?"


The California Public Records Act (CPRA) is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of governmental bodies in California. Statutes 6250 - 6270 define the law. List of the name of students enrolled in the specific year isn't disallowed under the Federal nor State Privacy Protections,

www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs11-pub.htm -
http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/sd/
http://www.californiapublicrecord.com/
www.pasadena.k12.ca.us/

Pasadena Unified School District
c/o: Superintendent Edwin Diaz
351 South Hudson Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91109
626.795.6981
pusd@pusd.us

Good luck, 'Gunbattene'

Stanfordgal (or anyone else),

Thanks to you, I've sent an email to pusd@pusd.us concerning the possibilities of yearbooks, so we'll see how it turns out.

Meanwhile, I've been looking at http://www.californiapublicrecord.com/
and I do see some names that match the age, and a lot of them seem up-dated, while a few aren't. Now, I have a few questions.

Is it correct to assume that by paying a dollar through my credit card I can "buy" information about birth dates and home addresses of these people on the list?

If so, can I do that from Japan? (I'm so scared to even try!)

How are these info updated? Are former schoolmates of mine willingly updating their personal information on the internet just to let strangers buy them?

Wouldn't they think I'm a stalker if I contacted them and told them I bought their address from the internet? Wouldn't they be annoyed?

This is really unbelievable in Japanese standards, and I just wanted to make sure what I'm in to.

Uco,

Most or all "if you pay for the information" sites are sites that sell copied record from other sites. Not a currently verified info!

And those that seem to be reputable ,... Classmate.com is a garbage.... I found 1 Japanese girl with same 1972 date but when I clicked for confirmation, 1976 was the year she graduated..... RIP OFF!

Proceeding with a deliberate patience is time consuming and frustrating, but, less troubling.

For now please wait for a reply from the school district. Banking regulations between 2 countries will prevent you from making a direct payments to the school district for copying the lists. Please keep in touch with me via standfordbiomedical@gmail.com with any news good or not, because there is a solution to everything.

Uco,

Is it correct to assume that by paying a dollar through my credit card I can "buy" information about birth dates and home addresses of these people on the list?

How are these info updated? Are former schoolmates of mine willingly updating their personal information on the internet just to let strangers buy them?

The information available on these sites is taken from public records, i.e. county birth/death records, business name filings, marriage licensing, basically anything that is available to the public already, and indexed in a way that makes it easy to search through them. Your classmates are not directly updating this information.

If so, can I do that from Japan? (I'm so scared to even try!)

You should be able to purchase whatever is publicly available. The catch is that you could just go directly to the source, the county clerk for example, and get the info yourself for free. These sites are just a middleman.

Wouldn't they think I'm a stalker if I contacted them and told them I bought their address from the internet? Wouldn't they be annoyed?

Maybe, but if you were friends previously then perhaps not.

This is really unbelievable in Japanese standards, and I just wanted to make sure what I'm in to.

Maybe not too unbelievable. You could potentially have the same service in Japan that could search any public information available at a Japanese city hall. There probably are some already. Also, hiring a private investigator would be similar although more drastic, and they are available in Japan.

If it makes you feel better though, purchasing this kind of info over the internet is not a common practice in the states and most people do feel that it is an invasion of their privacy.

Thanks Stanfordgal and Yllwsmrf. Now I get the picture. I suppose that site is similar to the Japanese "meibo-ya" business where people (like me) trying to buy info at the end are doing nothing illegal but someone had stolen all those personal information on the way.

Which brings us back to the topic. In Japan, services like that was the very reason why people became so nervous about having their personal information printed. So, no, it is not possible in Japan for a stranger to obtain someone's birthdate, phone number, address, average income and average home value through a "city hall" without that someone's permission. If that should happen at a city hall, the person responsible will be accused and the case will be featured on the 6 o'clock news.

If it makes you feel better though, purchasing this kind of info over the internet is not a common practice in the states and most people do feel that it is an invasion of their privacy.

It certainly does make me feel better, but thankfully I'm not surprized. Thanks again.

In Japan, postal mails is delivered to match both the address and name. The name should always be written on the name plate of the house (which we call "hyosatsu").

So for example, let's say her parents still live there under Andy's friend's maiden name. As long as the letter is addressed to "Miss (maiden name)" it will be delivered to that house. But of course, if the letter is addressed to "Mrs. (new name)" without being written "c/o (maiden name)," then it will be returned to the sender due to the receiver's address being unidentified.

That's probably how it's supposed to work but I doubt most postal delivery guys checks the names. It would be too time consuming.

I've twice received someone else's mail in the past year--it had my address on it but not my name. Also, my girlfriend has a lot of her mail sent to my address and it always gets delivered.