Receiving U.S. Social Security in Japan

Is there anyone out there who is receiving U.S. Social Security here in Japan? If so, could you please let me know the following:

1). Do you get your U.S. Social Security sent to a Japanese bank by Direct Deposit?
2). Does the money come to your Japanese bank already converted to Japanese yen?
2). Do you get the FULL amount at a fair exchange rate, or is there a fee extracted, either on the U.S. side, or on the Japanese bank side -- or by both?

Thank you.

PS: If you're reading this and do not have direct personal experience with receiving U.S. Social Security in Japan, please resist the temptation to speculate on the answers. Guesses are of no help. I'm trying to get accurate information. Thanks!

if you want accurate information why you do not contact your social security office?

They only say that they can do direct deposit into a Japanese account, with no fee on the US side.

I'm looking for someone who has actual experience with this matter in Japan.

So what you are really asking then is a banking question. You already know the money can be deposited into the bank account, so there was no reason to ask that.

Does USD deposited into a JP bank account get converted to JPY, and how are the rates?

Does it get converted? I don't think it matters. At some point you will need money and it will need to be converted. You cannot pay bills in USD in Japan.

What are the conversion rates like? Again a banking question. And all banks are gonna be different. So you need to consult a few websites to find the answers.

Get a multi-currency account. I have a simple account that receives 15 different currencies and the exchange rates have nothing to do with the US (or other country) side of things - all about the particular bank you use.

Hey Burton,

As you can see from the replies above, there are trolls on this site who like to post answers on topics they know absolutely nothing about.

Speaking from experience, I can tell you that there should be no fees of any sort for IDD (international direct deposit) of your American Social Security payments into your Japanese bank account. It is the exact same for Japanese nenkin, which we also receive. No fees.

With Social Security, the American government will transfer the funds from within Japan, so you will not have to pay any fee to the bank on either end.

Good luck setting it up. If people at your local bank aren't sure about IDD, consider opening an account at Mizuho Bank. They know about this stuff.

And just ignore the trolls.

@Billy Goat

First of all you should consider well to use the word troll since some of the members are a member long time and have replied to many posts with good information.

You can disagree with the statement but your statement is based on?
You have any sources mentioning it is free of charge? I am from Europe but I know there are bank fees involved (Japanese side)

There are rules about transferring large amount of money to Japan including exchange rates.