Billy Blanks and his Japanese wife
April 16th, 2009 by James
Billy Blanks, the American fitness video guru whose Bootcamp videos became a major hit in Japan last year, has married a Japanese woman:
His new wife, Tomoko, is a 39-year-old interpreter he met in Los Angeles back in 2007. A romance soon developed, and in November of last year (just a few months after Billy divorced his previous wife), Tomoko gave birth to their daughter, Angelina. They legally married in January. According to the report, they plan to have a formal wedding ceremony in Osaka in June.
Billy has long term plans to stay in Japan. He’ll be opening an exercise studio in the Shinsaibashi area of Osaka later in July. He’s also applying to receive permanent residency.
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A bit of of the yoko ono action going on there. I wonder if she can hold on to him once he discovers Roppongi.
This is the type of person who gives foreigners such a bad stigma in Japan. GO HOME BILLY.
why is he giving others a bad stigma? he’s trying to do good
No Roppongi in Osaka.
Just wonder if the Immigration office will pull another “You’re rich and/or famous, so you don’t need to have lived in Japan 10 years straight like the normal gaijin, here’s your Permanent Residency visa!”
I bet a big question for him is taxes, though. For Americans with $75,000/year and under in income, we can just pay Japanese taxes, and are exempt from American taxes. Multi-millionaires probably have to pay (in effect) double taxes, and looks like they’ll be even higher under Obama.
Reason enough to try getting Japanese citzenship and give up American?
Just wonder if the Immigration office will pull another “You’re rich and/or famous, so you don’t need to have lived in Japan 10 years straight like the normal gaijin, here’s your Permanent Residency visa!
I was wondering the same thing. I reckon old Billy should tough it out for three years on a spouse visa like the rest of us!
I bet a big question for him is taxes, though. For Americans with $75,000/year and under in income, we can just pay Japanese taxes, and are exempt from American taxes. Multi-millionaires probably have to pay (in effect) double taxes, and looks like they’ll be even higher under Obama.
As far as I know, the limit is now $82,000, and you only have to pay taxes on whatever you make over that — or so I’ve heard. So yeah, if you’re raking it in like Billy probably is, I’d imagine it’s something he’s thinking hard about. Then again, there are oodles of loopholes in the process, too, and if you have access to a good accountant, it shouldn’t be too hard to keep most of your money.
“I reckon old Billy should tough it out for three years on a spouse visa like the rest of us!”
Speak for yourself, those SOBs at Immigration gave me One Year Spouse Visas 2 years in a row! And that’s after having a Working Visa for a couple of years!
Ganbatte Billy! You can do it!
Its not double taxation for Americans really. From what I understand (as a non-American myself) the rule is that if you’re an American who has made more than the equivilant of USD$75,000 and the income taxes you pay in the other country are less than you’d pay if you were living in the U.S. then you owe the IRS the difference.
But I think if you’re making several hundred thousand USD/year you’d face higher income taxes in Japan than in the U.S. at that tax bracket. Japanese income taxes are pretty progressive at the higher levels. In which case Billy wouldn’t owe Uncle Sam anything more.
You only need 10 years for PR if you’re single. Once you marry a Japanese, the bar is a lot lower. The fastest cases for those married to Japanese have 3+ years of marriage and just 1 year of residency.
Regarding what kind of single person gets JP PR in less than ten years and who doesn’t, immigration has kindly given us a peek at the acceptance/rejection cases:
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/zairyuu/eizyuu.html
I hope his children grow up learning out to be like their dad(learning how to get millions of people to buy your crap)
Is that busu the best he could do?
Ya thats what I thought too O_o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU13MRtSD7E
This video is not available in my country.
why ?, does billy look that good.
Billy, you weren’t shy! You were married!
Also I love how they use “language study” as a ploy to get together! I can tell that’s been working really well!
I wonder if they have written books about this kind of relationship in the genre of African American men with Japanese women. I wonder what the appeal is? Is this indigenous? Japan can have be very racist even more so than America.
Japan more racist than the country that was built on the bones of the Native Americans, on the bones of the Africans, on the bones of the Mexicans, on the bones of the Puerto Ricans….?
You really think that? Or were you just being sarcastic?
Or Japan that still openly discriminates against minority ethnic populations like the Ainu and Buraku.
why are you guys criticizing Billy?
It seems that Billy doesn’t shoot Blanks.
i wish them all the best.
same for Seal and Heidi Klum..
and i hope dumb japanese yakuza losers will let them live peacefuly.
Huh? What does “Japanese racism” have anything to do with this post? Nowhere does it mention anything about Billy Blanks complaining about perceived racism in Japanese society, or getting flak from the Japanese Yakuza (lol, we have some truly odd people that come to Japan sites). Have some originality people instead of raining on the parade of successful foreigners like Billy Blanks. Best of wishes Billy, don’t listen to the jealous haters!
Hi Tomoko! you & Billy doing well over at Japan? It’s good to hear @ see you’re doing okay thru website. take care of your self & give my regards to billy from Genki!
Hi Tomoko! It’s Steve from Genki Sushi. Hope you and Billy doing good over at Japan. Please say hello to Billy for me.
Take care of your self.