Guest viewing is limited

Cost Of Living In Japan Relative To Income

Sorry for the possibly misleading info.

Desktop is 100% correct - if you don't pay your taxes your visa renewal will be denied until you pay the back taxes. This is definitely checked when you go in for a renewal. Also note that even if you're employed full time the ward tax comes directly to you. If your company files your taxes the paperwork will be handled at the same time as your national tax but while the national tax is deducted from your pay the ward/city tax is not. You'll get a bill for it in the mail a couple months down the line.

Anna is also correct - legally you are required to be on some type of insurance (either through your employer or through the national plan). In my personal experience this isn't checked when applying for a new visa. As in all cases YMMV and things may have changed in recent years - I've been a permanent resident for 5~6 years now so I haven't had to go through a visa renewal for a while. When I was regularly renewing my visa it was never an issue and the worst I ever got was a stern talking to at the ward office which didn't really impact anything. Anna is also correct in saying that if you DO choose to get on the insurance (or are forced to get on) down the line you will have to pay your back insurance. As far as I know the max they can hit you with is 24 months but again that's old info and things may have changed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AliceInWonderland and zer0ed
BIPSY said:
In my personal experience this isn't checked when applying for a new visa. As in all cases YMMV and things may have changed in recent years - I've been a permanent resident for 5~6 years now so I haven't had to go through a visa renewal for a while.
Click to expand...

Yeah, one of the reasons they changed how they process residency (zaryu) cards from the ward/city level to the national level is in large part because they are starting to enforce insurance and retirement a lot more closely.
 
  • Like
Reactions: zer0ed
meiji said:
Yeah, one of the reasons they changed how they process residency (zaryu) cards from the ward/city level to the national level is in large part because they are starting to enforce insurance and retirement a lot more closely.
Click to expand...

The times they are a'changing... It was a good ride while it lasted!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wwanderer
BIPSY said:
Anna is also correct - legally you are required to be on some type of insurance (either through your employer or through the national plan). In my personal experience this isn't checked when applying for a new visa. .
Click to expand...

Health insurance is quite expensive. And as I never go to the doctors something I don't like paying. This said nobody should consider living in a foreign country without adequate coverage. You don't want to be hit by a car, if you don't have insurance.
 
National health insurance charges different amount of money depending on where you live, how old you are and how much money you make per year.
If you are a student and make little money, it is around 3,000yen per month. If you make a lot, max is 650,000yen per year. My mother owns a company, she always complains why she has to pay so much money when she visits clinic zero or maybe 2 times the most in a year.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: AliceInWonderland, zer0ed, MikeH and 2 others
Wow, I come back after a day and find all these great insights- thanks! :) So it seems like 250k a month pre-tax is livable as long as I keep my discretionary spending in check. ;) I'm still debating whether to go with JET or a private company so I can stay close to Tokyo. What to do...
 
  • Like
Reactions: AliceInWonderland
You must log in or register to reply here.