Imagine these scenarios. There’s an upcoming work conference and your school takes care of your shinkansen ticket and hotel room reservation, and then asks you for money. Or, without giving you a single yen, they ask you to take care of it all yourself. Or perhaps one day someone at your school comes up to […]
Once a month, when you get your paycheck, your school (or CO) will probably also give you a piece of paper describing it in detail. Here’s an explanation for those of you wondering how everything adds up.For most JETs in Hyogo, Payday will be on the 15th/16th of any given month. Salary (報酬額) The official […]
Last updated: September 2025 During our time on JET, we have been paying into the Japanese pension system. After we leave JET, we are eligible to receive a portion of this money back. There are two payments we are eligible for: the Pension Refund and the Pension Tax Refund. Although we are eligible for these, […]
Last updated: July 2025. Credits to Jason Yang. If you’ve never had a credit card before coming to Japan, you may be asking yourself why you would want or need one, especially given that debit cards also exist here. It is definitely an optional thing and not everyone would require one. One of the main […]
Last updated: June 2025. Credits to Jason Yang for providing most of the information. Once you have your Residence Card (在留カード) and a Japanese phone number, you are ready to set up your bank account. Some banks require a hanko as well, but others like Prestia, Sony, and Shinsei Bank don’t – you can just […]
One of the nice things about Japan is that the company takes care of the taxes. No April 15th, no frantic and confusing filling out of pages of forms. Your company (school, BOE) takes care of everything for you. Unfortunately, the same is not true for most other countries, and even though you’re over here, […]
Depending on your country of origin, when doing your home country tax return, you may have to include a statement from your Contracting Organization in Japan about your annual earnings. This statement is known as your gensenchoshuhyo, and is issued to you in January of each year. It covers the period from January 1st to […]
Resident tax (住民税, juuminzei) is a tax charged by the local government every June that covers the period of the previous calendar year. Who Has To Pay The Resident Tax Depending on your job status, nationality, and how long you have been living in Japan, you may or may not be excused from the resident […]