Out of Japan on the expiry of residence card?

Hello all - hopefully I'm not the first person to have ever encountered this problem, but I need to be out of Japan on the date that my residence card is due to expire. I've applied to renew it (and they put a little stamp in the bottom-right corner of the underside of the existing one to certify the process is underway), but the new one is unlikely to be ready by the time I have to leave. I've read a couple of websites which suggest that you get an automatic 2-month extension of the existing card when you renew it, which would therefore mean that everything is OK, but it would be nice to hear that somebody else has actually reality-tested this by leaving Japan when their card was due to expire (and, ideally, successfully coming back afterwards).

Thanks in advance!

By "expiry of residence card", do you mean also expiry of your status of residence? If so, you need to obtain a re-entry permit in advance; the "special re-entry permit" you get at the airport when leaving does not automatically extend beyond the expiry date of your status, even if you have an application in progress.

Thanks - yes I do mean my status of residence also expires - and what you say makes sense. I've read, though, that applying for renewal automatically extends the residence status by two months - ie:

"Once the application for the visa renewal is submitted, your current visa is automatically extended for 2 months, during which time the application is processed and the result is notified.

It is possible to travel outside of Japan while the application for the visa renewal is being processed as long as you will come back to Japan before the end of this 2 months' extension."

from https://www.juridique.jp/visa/renew.php

Yes, it is possible, you just need to obtain a re-entry permit in advance.

By the way, strictly speaking it is not true that your status is extended. What really happens is that you are permitted to "reside in Japan continuously" even though your period of stay has expired.

Pertaining to re-entry permits, in principle a re-entry permit is valid until the expiration of your period of stay, but immigration can extend it to cover the additional two months. You only need to make sure that the validity period of your re-entry permit has been properly extended, and you are good to go.

See ICRRA Arts. 20 (5), 21 (4), and especially 26 (4) and 26-2 (1). http://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/law/detail/?id=3039&vm=&re=

why you do not discuss with immigration

Thanks - that's helpful - I'll make my way over there and get a re-entry permit when the time comes then.

any update on this?
Did you leave and return in Japan?