I assume the foreigner's embassy would be contacted to contact next of kin. Is there some procedure for remitting bank accounts to family overseas?
I totally get you might not be a U.S. citizen but the information links below , aside from partially answering your question , should also give you proper motivation NOT to leave it in the hands of your local Consular official. There’s no guarantee things will go smoothly.
Death Abroad of a US Citizen
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/while-abroad/death-abroad1.html
Estates of Deceased U.S. Citizens
https://travel.state.gov/content/tr...-abroad1/estates-of-deceased-US-citizens.html
AFFIDAVIT FOR THE SURVIVING SPOUSE OR NEXT OF KIN
https://eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds5511.pdf
Two items I can think of immediately would be making sure the DS-5511 ,
AFFIDAVIT FOR THE SURVIVING SPOUSE OR NEXT OF KIN, which establishes proof of family relationships actually goes forward. Most non-Asian countries don’t use a family registry system ( koseki ) , and once in a while you can still find useless Japanese bureaucrats or bankers who can’t understand why not.
Even though as a foreigner , the civil laws governing inheritance are supposed to apply to your estate - versus the unified system under Japanese civil laws as it applies to Japanese decedents … I’m not sure if in the case of no apparent heirs what the case is for a foreigner. I’m guessing it might be the same - the Court appoints an administrator for the inherited estate. And, I’m guessing that for whatever fixed assets you may have , as well as debts and liabilities - they won’t automatically adjust themselves, and would be applied against your cash accounts etc.
Enough of a pain in the ass that for most people , even those who think the size of their estates won’t warrant it, really should have a practical will laid out for Japanese-side & home. The friends I know who weren’t sure whether they’d be in Japan or the US when they die , appoint different executors for their wills - as much as they might trust their brother , it’d be Hell for him to try work things out in Japan if they hardly know the place.
And, maybe even more cause for a bit of angst is what sort of plans do we have for all our digital accounts, including the activities that we don’t want outsiders finding? Our porn, our TAG accounts and other extracurricular activities?