Hi guys

I have been blessed with a good career progression that has made me reach the symbolic 10M annual salary without being in tech or finance.

I am certain many of you are way above that and I also want to keep aiming for higher.

However, these last months my eyes have finally opened to the necessity of cutting lifestyle inflation, rather than focusing on salary only. In fact, I haven't been able to increase my wealth although my salary did double since the start...

I am thinking of moving to a more simple place to cut on the rent and be able to achieve a 70% saving rate.

Any of you guys proactively living below your means although you earn a strong salary?

Any tips etc?

For the moment I have cut the fixed costs I don't need, cut lunches and dinner during weekdays, switched supermarket to cheaper ones and could reach a ~64% SR.

My job is very data and optimization driven so I am always looking for ways to get better.

Would like to have an open discussion with everyone to hear what you are doing to maximise your investment capacity here in Japan :)

Does anyone have experience with financial advisors in Japan? I have considered asking some for advice but am a bit skeptical from what I hear, eg some of them seem focused on optimizing insurances, which does not make much sense to me.

I've started a GK and will use money forward for accounting.

I'm the type to do as much by myself as I can, but I kind of hate accounting and anyway will need education and advice for the first year at least.

I joined the local chamber of commerce and will meet with with a tax accountant through their introduction soon.

Money forward also contacted me to offer their accounting services. Benefits are that they are always available online, and are money forward native experts. They're writing an estimate for getting me up and running this year, and a separate one for twice a year data entry and accounting starting next year.

They sold themselves as being able to offer advice for future planning, such as how to maximize my retirement.

Just curious if people have had experience with this and whether you would recommend it or not.

Feeling a bit dejected after visiting the city hall and getting absolutely zero useful advice today.

I'm a sole proprietor and my taxable income last year was just short of 2.2 mil yen. My income tax was 90k which is totally manageable, but my municipal tax is ~200k, pension is another ~200k, and national health insurance is over 300k. Add that with my half of the property tax and home insurance and I end up paying well over 900k a year.

My monthly living expenses are around 100k, with roughly half that being my portion of the mortgage payment (loan is in spouse's name). In terms of luxuries I do have a gym membership and eat a lot but I only shop at value grocery stores. Life is not bad here but it is certainly a lower standard of living than what I was accustomed to. These days there is pretty much nothing left once my bills, taxes, and insurance is paid.

I'm admittedly pretty new (and ignorant) to the Japanese tax system and that seems to be the root of my issues. In hindsight hiring an accountant would have been cheaper than eating all these taxes and premiums. I assume my biggest mistake was not deducting my portion of the mortgage (technically rent? as I am not on the loan) paid when I work from a home office.

Any advice for a sole proprietor like me to cut down their taxes and premiums would be greatly appreciated. I'm a total newbie at this and I'm sure I missed a lot of things on this filing. I want to make sure I don't screw up as badly for next year.

Thanks!

I'm kojinjigyonushi and I have freeee set up, and my income is pretty simple. I know I need to sort out bunbetsu for the fact I work from home and have some money I should spend on furusato nozei, but I've been too distracted to really sit down and get it all done. My Japanese is a schmear above N3 so it would take time to decipher the terms and make sure I'm doing it all correctly.

I was wondering if you know an accountant I can talk to who would be willing to spend 2 hours just to help me get my head on straight ahead of residence tax/income tax payments etc. while it's not too close to tax season.

Thanks in advance for any references you can share!

😄 Big day for Americans living in Japan and getting paid in yen! Your salary is still the exact same pile of yen it was yesterday, but you checked the exchange rate anyway, because apparently that's a hobby now.

I am from Phillipines and I sent my lumpsum documents last March and received a mail today saying there were minor mistakes on the documents that I've had sent and they cannot process my lumpsum. Upon checking I find it weird that they really had to put highlights on my handwriting though it is completely readable. Also do I have to put period (.) in every word? Does the letter "I" in the PHILIPPINES needs to have the 2 horizontal lines? I find this absurd now I have to wait again for another 3 to 6 months before they give my back pay.

I'm think of using Yuucho bank (ゆうちょ銀行) NISA account for Tsumitate NISA.

The maximum investment is 1.2 million, so no more than 100,000円 a month, I'll only use 30,000, so it should be all right (?)

I can invest a total of 18 million without being taxed in my whole life (tied to me, not to the account )

I remember there was a 5 year rule or something before, but I couldn't find anything about it no more, is that no longer the case ? In that case, can I just retire my money whenever I want ? after 3, 6, or 10 years?

Since I am supposed to add money to the account monthly, is there a penalization if I fail to do so ? Like when I want to retire my money, I just do so, or are there like specific timings when I can withdraw my gains?

Lastly, I was looking for a "japanese treasury bonds" or government bonds, but what would be the closest thing for japan?

Background: About to move to Japan to study at university and my workplace are converting me to part-time remote to meet the student visa requirements (after getting the permission to work of course). I'm from the UK but the company is based in the US.

I have been offered the option to be paid in Yen, GBP or USD. They would just take my current hourly rate and convert it to the currency I choose. But once it is chosen and converted, it will be locked-in at that amount.

From what I can tell it is generally better to get paid in Yen as it avoids bank conversion fees, makes tax calculations simpler etc. however with the current state of the Yen I'm not sure if it would be more worth it to get paid in USD and eat the conversion costs, to ensure I won't be losing out if the Yen continues to get weaker.

I know nobody can predict the future, but given what we know now, which currency would people suggest?

EDIT: I would be using the income to help cover some of my living costs and tuition fees, I'm not currently looking to save or invest. So I'm curious what the general "safe bet" would be without needing to completely min-max every penny. Also thanks to all those who have given their advice!

I have PR and have been living in Japan for 11 years at this point, and I am lucky enough to have my parents (who have never been to Japan) offering to help me buying a house.

I would like to know how:

• that would trigger the gift tax
• whether there are ways to minimize the impact

Their accountant is of the opinion that they could transfer the money to my bank account in my country of origin in the EU, an act which is not taxed by local jurisdiction, and that I could then bring the money in my Japanese account tax free, since both accounts would be in my name.

I personally doubt it would be as simple as that.

Should it indeed not be that easy, are there other ways to avoid triggering the tax? Would it be possible to have my parents loan me the money instead?

I have an JP post bank account already.

I have a dependent visa right now and applied for a conversion to gijinkoku recently. In the employer's 入社手続き docs, they specifically say that JP post bank account cannot be registered for receiving salary.

And I tried in couple of other banks and they either outright reject my application due to being unemployed while some banks need me to wait for 6 months from entering Japan to accept my application .

Is there any bank which allows unemployed person to open a bank account before completing 6 months in Japan?

My last option is to try applying once my visa changes to gijinkoku (as that could make my application more acceptable i think), but it would be better if I can get this done earlier.

I'm American, currently on a student visa at a Japanese language school. I've been in Japan since October 2025. I want to switch to the J-FIND visa (Designated Activities No. 51).

The business part:

Since before I moved here, I've run a small e-commerce business registered in the US. I'm the sole operator and only spend a couple hours a week on it, answering email and managing my own listings. It's only a couple hours a week, but it does generate income in the US.

While on my student visa, I filed the student pension exception paperwork (学生納付特例) stating I had no income. At the time I didn't think my US business counted, but now I'm realizing that may have been a mistake since I do have foreign income even though I do no other "work" in Japan.

Do I need to correct the pension filing, and would I owe back contributions? Also, maybe I wouldn't even of been able to get my visa with this kind of work in the first place? Not really sure.

How do I clean this up before applying for the new visa so it doesn't become a bigger issue down the line?

I know the real answer is "talk to a professional" and I'm planning to, just trying to walk in informed and not blindside myself. Thanks in advance.

I hope everyone is having a great Sea Day.

It's been a few months since the last update on the sub's Take-Home Pay Calculator.

New Survey Data

The results of MHLW's latest "Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions" were recently published. This is the data on which the take-home pay calculator bases its income distribution in and below the chart (e.g. "This income is higher than ~X% of all households in Japan"). The data the calculator uses has been updated to the latest, and in addition, data for other household types in the survey has been added. Before, only the "all households" data set was used, but now you can select other household types to compare against. As before, the comparison shown is the input individual income against the household income data.

Note that the income data in the 2025 survey is for 2024 income. The median income figure across all households rose 10% compared to the previous year (the largest year-over-year increase since the start of the survey data in 1985). However, compared to 3 years prior, it only rose 6.6%. Adjusted for inflation, median income from 2021 to 2024 fell 1.9%, given the 8.7% inflation across the same period (see CPI data).

See the survey's 用語の説明 (Explanation of Terms) (PDF) for exact definitions. Some categories overlap.

Expanded Credits and Deductions Support

Progress continues on expanding the calculator's coverage of taxpayer situations.

There is a new "Additional Deductions & Credits" input section now, and the input for iDeCo/corporate DC/etc. contributions has moved into there. This is also where the following have been added:

• Home loan tax credit (住宅ローン控除)
• Life insurance premium deduction (生命保険料控除)
• Earthquake insurance deduction (地震保険料控除)
• Medical expenses deduction (医療費控除)

In addition, support for the 所得金額調整控除 has been implemented. This was missed when support for dependents was added and it resulted in the incorrect net employment income being calculated for taxpayers with over 8.5 million yen in gross employment income and a qualifying dependent.

Let us know if there are questions or feedback on the calculator. Leave a comment here or send us a modmail. Otherwise, feel free to discuss the new survey data.

Hopefully a simple question, but struggling to find an answer that fills me with confidence!

Been in Japan since August 2016 (approaching Japanniversary), and have PR. But spent 18 months outside the country working - and during this time deregistered my tax residency. So I didn't accrue health insurance, resident tax, or pension payments during this time. When I returned to Japan I recieved an exemption on pension payments as I wasn't working.

What I am confident on is that the "exemption" period counts towards pension contribution timing - it is assumed I am enrolled, but not paying, so the average balance is simply spread across a longer period.

What I don't know - does the period outside of the country get excluded from my total months contributed? So 120 months - 17 months outside Japan?

Considering a move back overseas at some stage, and wondering if I would still be below 120 months for withdrawel?

I am 37 years old and will be employed at a Japanese company for the first time.

The company does provide a corporate DC investment scheme which I am mandated to use.

For additional investments I am considering iDeCo/NISA but undecided as of now.

But I have these requirements in mind -

1. Easy to use UI. Japanese UI is fine.
2. Have the eMaxis Slim orukan fund for investment.
3. Have a way to invest in US T bills. (Could use them for the bonds portion closer to retirement.)
4. Easy to open account, especially for foreigners. (From what I know the major issue in Japan financial systems is often name mismatch in english/katakana and especially having a middle name, which i have).
5. For iDeCo, in case I leave Japan (could happen 12~15+ years later), I should be able to manage the investments from overseas and upon turning 60 preferably redeem the funds to my home country bank account without having to visit Japan ideally.

For #5, I understand that the situation could change a lot during this period and there might be more providers who can give this service 15 years later than they do now.

Please suggest me which iDeCO provider, NISA provider should I choose and why?

(My own study suggests that SBI securities seems to be the best choice for me, but if people here know anything better I would like to know about it). SBI does not provide the orukan fund for ideco but a close match can be made using eMAXIS Slim 全世界株式（除く日本）and the eMAXIS Slim 国内株式 (TOPIX). SBI securities reference here..

It is fine to have two different providers for the two systems.

Also is it possible to change these providers midway whenever I need, and how practical/impractical is it?

I know that nobody can really predict what will happen with the exchange rates, but I’m curious what others are doing. I don’t really transfer much money into USD these days because it feels too painful. I’m not paying off any debt or really using USD in any way, it’s just nice to have a stock for buying gifts for family back home, etc. I saw an article saying “top currency forecaster says yen may reach ¥170 against dollar” and it got me wondering if I’d better cut my losses and transfer some money now rather than later. What are you all doing?

Hello everyone, I'm a PR holder living in Tokai and there is a possibility of doing FIFO work in Australia. Before accepting the FIFO position I'd like to know the tax (and VISA) implications as well as if anyone else has had/heard of similar experiences.

I would keep my current residence in Japan

Return to Japan on a bi-weekly basis

Continue to pay all required pension, health and social security obligations

As I will be outside Japan for over half the year does this have any impact tax wise as well as the legality of my PR visa. Also if my income was from overseas how does this affect my Japanese tax return?

If anyone has information or experience relating to the above that would be great to hear.

Thank you

good day,

I did some research, but couldn’t find an answer to this question.

I am headed to Japan in December on a Student Visa. Before leaving, I plan on converting about 40k CAD from Savings to Yen in a Wise account and then from the Wise account to my Japanese bank account once opened in Japan.

that money will fund my spendings for all of 2027 and prevent me from remitting any money in Japan during 2027.

I will earn some income in Canada in December (about 10k CAD) after leaving Canada and becoming a tax resident.

During 2027, I will continue to earn incomes in Canada.

1. What are my tax obligations in 2026 in Japan?

2. If I avoid remitting a single dollar in 2027, what’s my tax exposure for 2027 in Japan?

3. Does that lump sum count as remittance in any shape?

4. How complex is the execution from Wise account to Japanese bank account?

thanks much!

Hi,

I'm a sole proprietor in Japan working as a freelance field engineer. I do on-site IT work like hardware installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and data center support.

I have a contract with a foreign company and I invoice them in USD. All of my work is done at customer sites in Japan, but my contract is only with the foreign company.

I'm trying to figure out how Japanese consumption tax applies in this situation.

Do I need to add 10% consumption tax to my invoices?

Also, my contract doesn't mention anything about a Qualified Invoice (T+13). Is there any reason to keep my T+13 registration, or should I consider cancelling it?

Has anyone here dealt with something similar?

I'm planning to begin applying for the startup to business manager visa pathway. I'm currently in Japan doing the language school thing. 30F. Does anyone know of a lawyer with experience with businesses moving to Japan/with the startup visa? I'd especially like help with all the materials required for the startup visa (pitch deck, activity plan etc.). I'm not conversational yet so English support is a must. I have had a couple of meetings already but they didn't feel like a good fit.  I'm also interested in any advice people can give on how to find a good lawyer generally or advice from people who have received this visa.

PS

I know all the requirements. I know it's an expensive and difficult visa. The lawyers I spoke to thought I was a strong candidate and I'm not worried about the money. I'm just looking for lawyer recommendations. :)

As the title says, opened a interactive brokers account and am planning to do forex + stocks (mid - long term) on the side.
Also have NISA (separate), dont want to transfer to IBKR to avoid complications.
How to handle taxes in case i book profit or loss?

Planning to start with 150k Yen and grow it up.
From what i could research 200k in side income is tax free , if thats the case then unless i more than double my money in a year, i dont need to file anything ? Or still need to do so?

Any advice / suggestions would be quite helpful.

Bonus: Anyone have eny experience with NISA (IBKR)? Do they offer different securities / ETFs? I was interested in chinese stocks but major brokers (Rakuten SBI) dont offer those under NISA framework.

Hello everyone,

What is the best option to move JPY from my MUFJ to my EU bank account? Wise or Revolut (or something else)?

My plan is to do only one transfer per month. This will be from around 50k JPY to 200k JPY depending on the month. Objective is to pay the least amount of money on fees and conversion, etc. I can obviously do it in the right moment to avoid off-market hours.

Also, from which country should I open Wise/Revolut if it matters?

Thank you very much for your help!

I’m looking for some advice on saving money.
I live around the Musashino/Mitaka area of Tokyo and take home about ¥190,000 a month after taxes. I know that’s on the lower side for Tokyo, but I work around 30 hours a week, but I’m not a full-time employee (正社員)

My monthly fixed expenses are roughly:
Rent: ¥55,000
Utilities: around ¥15,000
Phone: around ¥8,000
After paying for food, transportation, and other day-to-day expenses, I usually have around ¥50,000–60,000 left each month.

I’m interested in hearing how others in a similar situation approach saving, budgeting, or investing in Japan. What strategies have worked well for you?