Disagreement in Washington could cause problems in Tokyo.

The U.S. government isn’t exactly functioning like a well-oiled machine these days, with a federal shutdown beginning just after midnight on October 1. With a country as internationally connected as the U.S., the ramifications go beyond the country’s own borders, and the American embassy in Tokyo is also being affected.

The embassy contains two official Twitter accounts, one in English and one in Japanese, and both announced on October 1 that they will be suspending posting until the shutdown has been resolved and they’re operating at full capacity again, with the exception of emergency-level safety and security announcements, should such situations arise. The website for the U.S. embassy and consulates in Japan will also not be updating.

While embassies and consulates are involved in a wide variety of governmental programs and activities, for the average person they’re most critically the gateway for various travel and immigration permissions, such as issuing/renewing passports of American citizens in Japan and processing visa applications for Japanese and other non-American nationals looking to move to move to the U.S., whether for work, school, or accompanying American spouses moving home. The embassy’s tweets say that passport and visa services will continue during the shutdown, but with the disclaimer of “as the situation permits,” implying that such services could be suspended if the shutdown goes on long enough. The announcements also refer to “scheduled” passport and visa services, without specifying whether “scheduled” is meant to mean “as per the embassy’s normal operating hours” or “for which appointments were already made prior to the shutdown.” It also makes no mention as to the availability status of other services, such as Social Security administration, which the embassy ordinarily offers to U.S. citizens living in Japan.

On the website of the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Japan, a notice has been placed on the top page for “Federal Government Shutdown and Emergency Information,” but clicking on it merely reveals a statement that “Due to a lapse in appropriation, website updates will be limited until full operations resume” followed by the standard contact information, with no further details as to what specific services will and won’t be available during the shutdown.

The embassy’s tweets do include “For information on our services and operating status, visit travel.state.gov,” but that just takes you to the top page of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, and in addition to not being Japan-specific, it currently has no mention of the government shutdown at all.

So if you’re currently in Japan and have business with the U.S. embassy or one of its consulates, you might want to try calling ahead using the contact numbers here and make sure that whatever function you’re in need of is still functioning.

Source: Twitter/@ACSTokyo, Twitter/@usembassytokyo, U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Japan, U.S. Department of State
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Japan
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