It probably is illegal, but it's not such a hype as in US/EU so I think you can play on all sites and don't have to worry about anything. Well I will find out this summer.
i was in Tokyo from October 08 to March 09. i was abble to play without problem on ongame, ipoker and everrest. So i guess it would be the same for FTP...
as far as i know all sites work there, most sites have it on their main page if they work in japan. I played there like in 2006 w/o issues. actually v good internet.
i think banking might be a bigger issue than connecting to the sites. it's relatively easy to get an international account (e.g., at a uk bank) if you live in japan.
The ISPs don't block you and the government doesn't know and probably doesn't care. There are blatant adds for online casinos in major shopping districts too. (Most notably Shibuya.)
I've lived here three years now and the only hassle is from Neteller. They require all your visa documentation whenever it expires to prove you are still legally allowed to reside here.
Im headed to Japan for 3 and a half months for school. Does anyone know the rules/regulations out there? Someone told me it was technically illegal but uninforced. Not to sure about that. I need an income while im away and hope poker is still an option.
I don't know the rules, but now that I think of it, I have never once seen a player on Stars from Tokyo and I have a habit of checking cities. Of course I don't know the names of most Japanese cities.
You should probably setup a VPN. If it is technically illegal there is a chance you could get in trouble.
The law says gambling is illegal.
However
a) you can interpret the law that it is not illegal if you play online
b) juridically speaking, the bookmaker has to be illegal for a bettor to be caught (due to out-dated law), which is not the case.
c) anyways online gambling is so minor that the police don't care, and I doubt that the sites would cooperate in an investigation that would destroy the market.
So it is kind of in the grey zone. I don't think anyone has been caught gambling online.
Which school are you going to go?