Q1. I don't live in Europe. Wire transfers from my US bank can only be sent domestically, cost me $20, and require me to fill out a form and then stay up until 2AM so that a person can call me on the phone during business hours in the US and I can confirm that I did in fact fill out that form. Wire transfers from my Japanese bank are more reasonable but cost 10000x as much money to send and (under ideal conditions -…
Why not get an account at a US bank with a presence in Japan?
This is a good suggestion. I'm seeing about BofA's stuff for Japanese residents. I don't know of any competing options.