mtfester@netMAPSONscape.net wrote:

>>So in your part of the world, what is considered a criminal record then?
> 
> It varies. Certainly, and felony conviction. The form I filled out
> and submitted to the police asked only for convictions.

So if you were hypothetically completing a form asking a Yes / No to the 
following question:

Have you ever been convicted of a crime in any country, including any
conviction which has subsequently been removed from official police
records through a pardon, amnesty or legal action?

And all you had was a hypothetical parking infringements on your driving 
record - you would circle Yes or No?

If all you had was a DUI, which had involved an arrest and a court 
appearance & fine - would you circle Yes or No?

>>Last time I completed an application for a certificate of eligibility 
>>for myself was 94, I don't remember if a declaration was required. For 
>>permanent residency and some other visa categories it is different of 
>>course.
> 
> I had  to submit a copy of my "police record". I wasn't sure what it
> was, either.

Vagueness is always a pain. The time cost in obtaining clarifications is 
the biggest pain.

>>The certificates I received today takes my tally for successful 
>>applications to just over the 700 mark. These ones were the first to 
>>require the single Yes / No. I figure Japan will probably follow the 
>>other OECD countries and require a lengthy declaration in due course, 
>>and hopefully not go any further than that. I have no problem designing 
>>forms for a declaration, but I'd hate to have to translate dozens of 
>>different kinds of legal statements from 25-30 countries every 6 months.
> 
> I'm guessing that, since it's Japan, they just want to see a good-faith
> effort on your part.

When and if information provided by a proxy applying for certificates of 
eligibility is subsequently found to be false, the *1st* step is 
suspension of status pending the investigation.

-- 
"They took you up to midnight Mass and left you in the lurch
So you dropped a button in the plate and spewed up in the church."

  - The Sickbed of Cuchulainn