結Yuika

For people in Japan who don’t read Japanese

What is this letter,
and when is it due?

Photograph anything that lands in your postbox — city hall, health insurance, pension, tax office, the electricity company. Yuika answers in English: what it is, what you have to do, by when, and how much.

One email at launch. No newsletter, no sharing your address.

On Android? It’s already out — 10 free scans a month.

Get it on Google Play
  • No Japanese needed
  • Answer in seconds
  • Delete anything, any time

See the answer, not the words

Four letters everyone in Japan gets

Pick one: first the page that lands in your postbox, then the answer Yuika gives back. Every scan comes out in that shape.

〇〇市役所　市民税課

令和七年度　市民税・県民税　納税通知書

納期限　八月三十一日

第２期分　納付額　￥48,300

この通知書は、地方税法第三百十九条の二の規定により送付するものです。納期限までに納付されない場合は督促状を送付し、延滞金が加算されることがあります。納付書は金融機関、コンビニエンスストア又は市指定の収納アプリでご使用いただけます。

Yuika

TaxCity hall

Resident tax — instalment 2 of 4

Last year’s income tax owed to the city and the prefecture, split into four payments across the year. This slip is the second one, not a new charge.

Pay by31 August
Amount¥48,300

Do this

  1. Take the whole slip to a convenience store and pay at the till, or scan the barcode with the city’s payment app.
  2. Keep the stamped stub — it is your proof of payment.
  3. Instalment 3 will arrive next quarter; the total for the year is already fixed.

Words on this page

  • 納期限 payment deadline
  • 市民税 city tax
  • 県民税 prefectural tax
  • 延滞金 late-payment charge

〇〇区役所　保険年金課

国民健康保険料　納入通知書

納期限　九月三十日

第４期　￥21,700

保険料は世帯主の方に納めていただきます。口座振替をご利用の場合は、この通知書での納付は不要です。納付が困難な場合は、お早めに保険年金課までご相談ください。

Yuika

InsuranceWard office

National Health Insurance — instalment 4

Your household’s health insurance premium for this period. It is addressed to the head of the household even if the care is for anyone in it.

Pay by30 September
Amount¥21,700

Do this

  1. Pay the slip at a convenience store or bank before the date above.
  2. Already on direct debit? Then ignore this slip — it says so in the small print.
  3. If paying is hard right now, the ward office can discuss it. Say nothing and it just accrues.

Words on this page

  • 国民健康保険 National Health Insurance
  • 納入通知書 payment notice
  • 世帯主 head of household
  • 口座振替 direct debit

〇〇電力　カスタマーセンター

電気ご使用量のお知らせ

ご使用期間　七月十日〜八月九日

請求金額　￥9,842

お支払期限　八月二十九日。口座振替をご契約のお客さまは、指定口座から自動的に引き落とされます。ご使用量は前月比で十二パーセント増加しています。

Yuika

UtilityNo action if on direct debit

Electricity statement, 10 Jul – 9 Aug

This is a usage statement, not a warning or a disconnection notice. Usage is 12% higher than last month — that is the air conditioning.

Pay by29 August
Amount¥9,842

Do this

  1. On direct debit: nothing. It leaves your account automatically.
  2. Otherwise: pay at a convenience store with the attached slip before the date above.
  3. Nothing here is overdue and nothing is being cut off.

Words on this page

  • ご使用量 amount used
  • 請求金額 amount billed
  • お支払期限 payment due date
  • 前月比 compared with last month

日本年金機構

国民年金保険料　納付案内書

納付期限　九月一日

保険料額　￥17,510

保険料の納付が困難な場合は、免除・納付猶予の申請ができます。未納のまま放置されますと、将来受け取る年金額が減少し、障害年金等を受けられない場合があります。

Yuika

PensionExemption possible

National Pension — one month’s contribution

The monthly National Pension contribution. The small print is the important part: if you cannot pay, you can apply to have it waived or postponed rather than simply not paying.

Pay by1 September
Amount¥17,510

Do this

  1. Pay the slip at a convenience store or bank, or set up direct debit to stop the monthly paper.
  2. Low income right now? Ask your ward office about 免除 (exemption) — an approved exemption still counts toward your record.
  3. Unpaid and unexempted months quietly reduce what you get later.

Words on this page

  • 国民年金 National Pension
  • 納付期限 payment deadline
  • 免除 exemption
  • 納付猶予 deferral

Illustrative examples of Yuika’s output on typical documents. Your own scan is answered in the same structure. Yuika gives guidance, not legal or tax advice — always check the original.

The difference

A translation app hands the problem back to you

Camera translation

“Municipal tax, prefectural tax, payment notice, the second term portion, forty-eight thousand three hundred yen, article three hundred nineteen…”

Every word. No idea what to do.

Yuika

“Resident tax, instalment 2 of 4. Pay ¥48,300 at a convenience store by 31 August. Instalment 3 comes next quarter.”

The document, the action, the date.

How it works

Photo in, decision out

  1. 01

    Photograph the page

    Flat, lit, whole document. Printed text is what Yuika is best at; the envelope is not needed.

  2. 02

    Read what it actually is

    The type of document, a plain-English summary, and a glossary of the Japanese terms printed on that exact page.

  3. 03

    Do the thing, on time

    Concrete next steps with the amount and the deadline pulled out, then tracked so the date does not slip past you.

After the first scan

The letter is not the problem. The date on it is.

Japanese admin mail is relentless and repetitive: the same tax in four instalments, insurance every month, a utility bill you already paid. Yuika keeps every scan, notices which ones repeat, and pushes overdue and due-soon items to the top so you open the app and immediately see what actually needs you today.

  • Deadline and amount pulled out of every document
  • Overdue and due-within-a-week surfaced first, in Japan time
  • Mark things paid or done so the list stays honest
  • Short guides on residence cards, My Number, insurance and pensions
Yuika home screen listing documents that need attention: a resident tax bill and a health insurance premium, each with the amount in yen and the days remaining.
Needs attention
Yuika document screen: a resident tax notice explained in English with the deadline, the amount, numbered steps and a glossary of Japanese terms.
One document

Coming to iPhone

Be ready before the next letter arrives

Yuika is on Google Play today. iOS is next. Leave your email and you get exactly one message — the day it is downloadable.

One email at launch. No newsletter, no sharing your address.

or start today on Android
Get it on Google Play

Trust

Your post is nobody else’s business

You can delete all of it

Remove a single document and its photo, or wipe the whole account — user record, sessions, documents, images — from inside the app. How to delete.

We say where the photo goes

To read your document, the image is sent to our AI vision provider, currently xAI Grok, after you allow that sharing in the app. That is stated plainly in the privacy policy rather than buried.

Guidance, not advice

Yuika is a very well-informed reading of your mail, not a tax accountant. Every answer asks you to check amounts and dates against the original.

No ads, no resale

The app is paid for by subscriptions, not by your documents. We do not sell personal data, and the waitlist is only used for the launch email.

Pricing

Free until you’re getting a lot of post

Free

10 scans a month

Every part of the answer: type, summary, steps, glossary, deadline and amount, plus the tracker and the guides. Resets on the 1st, Japan time.

Yuika Premium

Unlimited scans

About €6.99 a month or €49.99 a year, bought inside the app through Google Play. Store prices vary by country, and the yearly plan includes a 7-day trial where the store offers one. Cancel from the store at any time.

Yuika Premium is an auto-renewing subscription. Full terms are in the Terms of Use.

Questions

Before you hand it your mail

Is Yuika a translator?

No. A translator gives you the words. Yuika classifies the document, tells you what action it demands, extracts the deadline and the amount, explains the Japanese terms that appear on that page, and then keeps track of the date.

What kind of Japanese mail can it read?

The everyday administrative post: city hall and ward office notices, resident and income tax bills, National Health Insurance and pension slips, electricity, gas, water and internet bills, NHK, bank and landlord letters, and forms you have to fill in and send back. Printed documents work best; handwriting is harder.

Is it on iPhone?

Not yet. Yuika is on Google Play for Android today and iOS is coming. Leave your email above and you will get one message when the iPhone version is live — nothing else.

What does it cost?

10 scans every calendar month are free and reset on the 1st in Japan time. Yuika Premium removes the cap at roughly €6.99 a month or €49.99 a year as an auto-renewing in-app subscription through Google Play; store prices vary by country.

What happens to the documents I photograph?

After you allow it in the app, the photo is sent to our AI vision provider (currently xAI Grok) to be read, then stored in your account together with the explanation. You can delete any single document, or your entire account with everything in it, from inside the app at any time. See the privacy policy.

Do I need to read any Japanese?

No. Yuika is built for people who cannot read the letter in front of them. Everything it gives back is in English, including a glossary of the Japanese terms printed on that specific page.

Can I trust the amount and the date it gives me?

Treat them as a strong first read, not as the last word. Yuika highlights what it extracted so you can compare it with the original in a couple of seconds, and it will tell you when a document is unclear. It is guidance, not legal, tax or immigration advice.

Something already arrived this month

Find out what it wants before the deadline does.

Get it on Google Play Email me for iOS