Face it, foreigners present a risk. For a number of reasons, a landlord can not take it for granted that a foreigner will stay in Japan for the duration of the contract. And worse than that, some people seem to think that they are under no obligation to follow up on their end of their contract when in Japan.

When I did a stunt at eikaiwa, it was not unheard of for teachers to just up and leave without any warning. I know of people who leave Japan without paying their cell phone and other bills from my college days.

Anyone who has had business dealings with such people are understandable wary of us foreigners. I know I don't blame them.