It's quite common and natural to use present perfect if the change is quite recent. It's also correct to use past perfect in those situations. It depends what you're trying to express.
With present perfect, the focus is on what was true until now, suggesting that some aspect of it is still true. And with past perfect, the focus is on the new situation, and how that period is finished and in the past.
With the electric bills, if you're trying to convince the electric company not to shut off your power, you would want to emphasize to them that you still are a person who pays their bills, but it was just this one time that you didn't. This may convince them to give you another month before shutting off your power.
But if you're telling a friend that you're embarrassed that you're no longer a person who can pay their bills on time, then the focus is on the change itself, and past perfect is the right choice.
With the Japan flight, let's say you have just landed, and are standing on Japanese soil. If you want to focus on how little experience you have of Japan or how nervous you are, then your focus is that this is entirely new to you, so you could still use the present perfect.
But if you're counting the countries whose soil you have stood on, then the moment you get off the plane, you are focusing on the new change and should proudly use the past perfect.
The volcano example is a bit odd. It's not wrong, but I don't see any compelling reason to use present perfect. An editor would change it to past perfect because the focus is the fact that it's now erupting, not the fact that it had been dormant before.
