Originally Posted by Nyororin (Post 732007)

You should be able to apply for receiving the money in person at the government office?
There is an option allowing those who are unable to have the money deposited into an account to pick the money up at the office - although depending on the area it may be quite a bit later than the date set for it to be deposited into accounts. I understand that the more residents there are in an area the later it becomes.
So you shouldn`t technically have to open an account in order to receive the money.

You say you have a host mother - you should have received documentation in both Japanese and in other languages. I`m going to say that it`s pretty much a given that she also applied, so will know exactly what it is. It shouldn`t be that hard to have her help you even if she doesn`t speak English. If you`ve been living with her since September you should be able to communicate with her at some level.