I promised my Japanese wife that we would stay in Japan all our lives. We didn't plan on her dying in January this year. I will keep my promise to stay here and maintain her family grave. It has only been seven months and already its hard. Hoping that I deal with this better as time moves on.
I understand you very well, my Japanese wife and I are no longer very young and I think a lot about what our future could be. I don't know you but I'm close to you with all my heart 😟
Thank you for making this video. I have lived in Japan for 34 years. I am still working, due to retire from my job at a university in 4 more years. My initial goal was to return to my country, Canada, but over the last 25 years, cost of living in Canada has skyrocketed. I doubt I can even buy a small home there anymore. So now I am seriously thinking of staying in Japan. The points you raise are very important.
You would be out of your mind to go back to Canada or the U.S.! It's all done-smoked vapid Godless wasteland. Warrior spirit I told my wife to bury me at the local Buddhist pagoda.
Excellent summary Ben, and very important that everyone thinks about it in time to prepare for whichever way they go. I don't have any positives to add - I think you covered all, but I have quite a few negatives: 1) Possibility of armed conflict in the region - random missiles being lobbed overhead, and the likelihood of a move to invade Taiwan don't leave me with a warm fuzzy safe feeling tbh. 2) Probability of another mega-earthquake/ nuclear accident. I don't share your confidence in the government response, specially if it hits a more densely populated part of Japan and the infrastructure damage is greater. Even though, theoretically Japan should be better prepared since 3-11. What-ifs include your house being reduced to rubble and you getting a delayed and small insurance payout that leaves you to sort out new accomodation in your 70's or 80's in a tight housing market because so many people lose their homes at the same time? Not fun, even with advanced Japanese. 3) Lack of community. I know you covered social networks a bit, but looking in more detail: if you don't have a big enough circle of similar people here for the long term, living near enough to you to physically meet, if your neighbourhood is not friendly, or you even have downright hostile neighbours, this will start to matter more and more as you become less active, or don't have cash to splash on getting out and about. For me, one of the big negatives in Japan is their concept of community. It doesn't mesh with mine, and I find it inhospitable. I'd like to be in a place where people invite each other round, where people are readier to share aspects of their life with others, where it's easier to make new friends (to replace those who leave or drop out of circulation). 4) Language barrier in old age - imagine your grasp of Japanese getting poorer in your twilight years. I feel I have navigated reasonably for the last 25-odd years, but after traipsing round government offices and the pension office recently, it really doesn't seem set up to be easy to understand bureaucracy, even for native speakers. I see a lot of discombobulated-sounding older people in the offices. And I don't see any signs of improvement over the past 25 years to be honest. 5) Food security - I know you mentioned it, but I don't see Japan adapting either to the labour shortage, or anticipating the growing crisis of food production. And we have seen that it can worsen not just steadily, but in a matter of days or weeks. The older you get, the more complicated it is to make all the arrangements involved in a radical change of country. It's not like arriving in your twenties with one suitcase. 6) Value of yen - for all the demographic negatives, I see the value continuing to decline, and I believe that yen saved here are going to continue to fall relative to other places, meaning like you say, better to make any move sooner rather than later. 7) Infrastructure - depopulation is going to mean that being old will need to be done somewhere urban enough to be able to be confident the transport links and health services will continue. That counts out vast swaths of cheaper parts of Japan to live. But even in a major city, I would worry about the falling quality of care in understaffed care homes as the labour shortage bites deeper. And this is bound to push up the price of later years care. 8) Housing - second all you say, so you need to make sure you have your own place to live, in a place that you feel at home, and has all the right services, and plan for this far enough in advance that you have it in place by the time you are ready to retire. As a Brit like you, even without considering the terrible immigration regime making it very hard to import any non UK citizen family members, just considering the economic factors on their own mean I have pretty much written off the possibility of return to the UK, even supposing it suddenly morphed back into a welfare state. So, if the negatives bother you, definitely start planning where you want to head to, and see what you need to do to make it happen.
Wow, fantastic comment 🤩 Almost enought there for a 'part 2' video! Completely true about the earthquake damage part: I know people here in Sendai whose insurance didn't come close to covering the damage to their homes. Others who lost the home/land to the tsunami but still owed the mortgage 😰 And my wife's parents are completely unable to deal with hospitals/city hall/anything on their own: a real wake up call for needing family or close friends in old age.
Where my children were growing up, I had always told them I want you and your brother find a girl from Japan. You are American both of you and that is the only world place that you would live for good. Because culture, goods, and Zen doctrine is the best in the world. So now, I am old lady and still thinking about it. Love Japan, never been there, but I read and continue checking everything in that amazing natural such as flowers, mountains, food, people is quiet and educated, Etc love Japan. 😊
Language- Google Translate. It can be challenging and slow, but it works for the most part. I do casual Japanese. Survival. Visa - I’ve had Permanent Resident status for over 20 years. House - Own my house.
Excellent video. My 91 y.o. father lives in a nursing home in Japan and I'm so grateful he's able to live out the rest of his life there, where he has family support, receives excellent care, and his care costs are less than half of what he'd have to pay here in the U.S. As for me, I had a dream of retiring in Japan, but without fluent language proficiency and no support network, it would have been too difficult.
We have chosen Japan to retire early in and we moved here in January this year. As an early retiree (I just turned 39) I think it’s the perfect place but I can see the challenges of becoming older here and not sure it will continue to be the place for us once we approach older age. But for now it’s perfect for us 😊 For us we are using the Designated Activities Long Term Sightseeing visa which gives us a years visa (6 months plus 6 months extension) which we’ve been told we can keep applying for as long as you continue to qualify. Which if you are retiring shouldn’t be too difficult for most to have the right amount of cash.
Wonderful. At your age (slightly younger than me) it's perfect to get a feel for the place and see if you want to stay for the long-term. I would check out living in different areas too if you can, they are very different!
Are you sure about that? Would the bureaucracy really deport a spouse with 30 years here and age 70 or so just because they'd never converted their haigusha visa to PR?
I'm not sure. But if your spouse dies or you get divorced, you are no longer eligible to have a spouse visa. That would be an unacceptable risk for me. Look at what the UK did to the Windrush generation for an example of how bureaucrats can treat people 😢
Hello, I’m Canadian and have lived in Japan since 2011. I fall into the category of wishing to leave, but since I’ve been away going on 14 years, real estate in Canada now is completely unaffordable plus securing employment in Canada will also be very difficult since I am approaching retirement age. I was on the PR track leading up to Covid, then the pandemic changed everything leaving me unemployed for 2-3 years. I just secured a new job this spring, but it may be too little, too late. I’m now looking to retire in a country with a lower cost of living. Further motivation to leave Japan is not meeting a compatible life partner here and finding developing friendships extremely difficult.
Regarding AI, we’ve noticed that even dealing with complex contract language or government documents has become tremendously easier with the increasing quality of translation programs.
Inheritance taxes in Japan are not as bad as some people make them out to be -unless you are fairly wealthy (a good problem to have). www.retirejapan.com/blog/japanese-inheritance-taxes/
@@RetireJapan_OG I saw your video. Nice summation. When compared to the USA (where on gets about $12,000,000 tax free), Japan's system is oppressive. Not only that, the bar will likely be changed (again) as the state searches for revenue to make up for tax shortfalls due to its declining population...
@@aikankei Fair enough. Personally I think inheritance tax is a net social positive (I intend to spend or give away most of my money while I am alive). Only something like 7% of estates in Japan actually pay inheritance tax, so it is not something that most people need to worry about.
Thank you for this. These are the scary questions we must all ask ourselves. I think getting to our last years, as in getting ill, immobile, losing our faculties is hell wherever you are. Slightly less hellish, I guess, if you have friends and family. Personally, I think that is the key. I will live wherever I have friends and family.
Hello from California. May I ask - what are the requirements for a US citizen to retire in Japan (Kyoto prefecture). What agency can I contact for information? Appreciate much any info you can share. By the way, dear Retire in Japan, you should try to stay in a nursing home in Canada or in the US and see what you would get for your money and how you would be treated. Remember, the US has over a million deaths during Covid, a great number of them are nursing home residents. You can be brutally abused by people who are native English speakers or who can speak English well. The worst loneliness is when we are treated as a ‘client’ who generates money for the nursing home and not as a human being, an elderly with a whole life lived who still has feelings and fears and wishes. One cannot evaluate a country’s nursing home and elder care system by itself, that should be done by comparing with that of other societies.
Unfortunately Japan does not have a retirement visa (and I doubt they will ever introduce one -we have too many elderly people already) so you will need to get permission to live here somehow. Japanese citizenship, married to a Japanese citizen, permanent residence are the main options to retire here. You could live here in the short term on a study or entrepreneur visa (by investing in the country) but those are not likely to give you a path to remain.
Good analysis. Although I definitely can eat healthier in Sydney, I’m staying here and cook my own meals before Japan embraces lighter food alternatives. Am renting and this is a worry for sure. But definitely better than “look at the app” response from Sydney bus drivers when asking wheee to alight
Very clear video, btw. I agree with most of your points. It does look to me as though older people in general are keeping more active these days, not only in Japan. And you seem to be rather optimistic about the shift to renewable resources, as you put it.
Thanks! I think the shift to renewable energy is inevitable, both economically and politically. But I'd rather see it happen sooner rather than later 😅 Our manshon is downwind from a new coal power plant they built in 2012 in Sendai, and on a main road. If emissions from both of those disappeared tomorrow that would be great for our quality of life...
Competent government & good natural resources??? Both those reasons seems very far stretched. The government in over 200% of GDP in debt and the government keeps wasting money on things that will never ever work. Also, Japan and people in Japan keep wasting natural resources and won't utilize almost any of their geothermal resources. Also, you forgot the major risk of more major earthquakes that will keep hitting Japan as a major risk.
I am a Japanese American living in the US but have always had a strong connection with Japan. I speak Japanese but my reading has declined significantly over the years. I would love to retire in Japan and I am hoping they will make it easier to do so in the future!
Thank you for the video. Currently living in the States and my wife (whom is Japanese) wants us to retire in Japan...possibly in 4 years from now. So I have that long to learn the language so I'm not so isolated. The spouse vista is a useful piece of info, was planning on just a spouse visa guess I'll have to rethink that. You've been there long term, I wonder what the terms are for someone moving there at retirement age and whether the healthcare system would still apply to me. A lot to figure out. Again I thank you for the video !!
@@RetireJapan_OG sorry to bother u, it was just amazing you are from England and I am from China, but living in the USA. We can talk by RUclips. Anyway, appreciate your videos and I am interested in Japanese customs but know nothing about the country.
For me right now I’m already stationed here in Japan and I’m hoping to move forward to become a contractor seeing as that leans in my favor for staying in Japan seeing as my heart points me here. 僕の日本語は少しずつで増えるけどたくさん知りたい事がある。Like there’s so much more for me to learn and a bonus reason is also to move forward with my fiancée no matter where we go realistically. I’m not a perfect planner and yet somehow I get things done despite how difficult. 😂 I just wish my passport would arrive after these past 3 months. 😢
Just started my research journey about the prospect of retiring in Japan. I'm 48 and live in the US now as a relatively high earner (around $260k USD a year) with a Japanese wife and teenage daughters. We're all bilingual and have experience living in Japan, so language or other cultural barriers are less of a concern. I'll be on the lookout for more resources about finances and finding my magic net worth number to figure out at what age I can most comfortably retire with dollars doing most of the work for me.
Excellent Summary. A1-9 all great pts. D1-Language (written/spoken) is critical and a showstopper IMO. As I recall you passed the JLPT1 test, a grand accomplishment most foreigners won't ever get a sniff at. You are set. My Japanese spouse could certainly cover for my social blunders, but in the end my approx JLPT3 level of proficiency would be C- survival level acceptable in Japan. Doable, but improvement - I'm sure - is faster when living 365/365 in Japan. I'd also miss my kids alot in the US if I was all in 365/365 Japan. Keep up the good videos, I'm sharing your inheritance info with the better half. She owns a home there and we visit 3-4x/yr. Interesting that there is no joint property ownership allowances in Japan, so I'm told. Makes for transfer of spouse to spouse property more complex.
Funnily enough, I think JLPT1 is just table stakes to be honest. A normal JHS aged Japanese person could pass it easily, and it doesn't test speaking or writing at all. My Japanese is passable at best 😅
Very good vid to a niche proportion. I got my so Australian citizenship this month so I’ll see what happens. I still like Japan. I live in my own world.
Very legitimate questions we are or shall be asking ourselves when having leaved in Japan for quite a long time. I agree that residency status combined with ownership is a must if you plan to stay in Japan to avoid any uncertainties besides, "if and when" you are able to secure a loan, those are still very reasonable in Japan . Being in Europe for the Summer, indeed cost of living is on another level compared to Japan. Even when looking at the rest of Asia, i think Japan and Tokyo are quite undervalued.
I have lived here since I retired from the us military. I became a permanent resident in 2014 but my wife divorced me a year later and I’ve been living alone ever since. My son is here and so I stayed in Japan because I wanted to be close to him but now I’m 55 and my Japanese unfortunately isn’t good. I’m planning on making my move back to the states, my main reason for wanting to leave is because of my own government and how the U.S taxes it’s citizens and even forces our banks to give up our information to the IRS. Wish this would change but unfortunately the politicians in America could care less. Greed!
You didn't mention earthquake. I am retiring in 2026 and plan to live there 3 months per year using just a tourist visa (visa free actually), and use the other several months to travel. Planning to buy a small apartment for that purpose.
I am interested as well, not to stay longer than 3 months but to have own place to visit as often as I wanted, pls share your journey of finding apartment/small place owner so I can also start from there, will greatly appreciate @jrwong9396
I have lived in Japan for 22 years and am retired. Living and working in Japan has been easy, mainly because my Japanese wife handles all the bureaucratic stuff. With the slumping Yen and our investment income coming from the USA, we have gotten into a high Japanese tax bracket. Health insurance for me and my wife is also astronomical and they just created a new monthly health insurance surcharge. I suppose we are rich but I sure don't feel like it. I look at all these Japanese who drive Mercedes and Porsches and I think "How do they do it?" Truth be told, I can get by in Japanese but I have never reached a comfortable level of fluency. All of my friends here are really my wife's friends so I have to be careful what I say. I would like to experience living in another possibly cheaper country like Panamá. But my wife doesn't want to leave Japan. So I think I am stuck here. I sometimes feel like the Tony Last character in Evelyn Waugh's "A Handful of Dust."
hello from your new subscriber!! thank you for all the videos on investing in japan. any idea why rakuten securities keep transferring few hundred yens to my rakuten bank? is it due to the money bridge sweep function? what exactly is that money?
I did know an English gentleman who lived for decades without knowing the language. His end of life in the Japanese hospital consequently sounded like a bit of a nightmare.
I think people are fearing the demographic decline too much. I grew up in a country which went from 52mln to 42mln people in just 20 years and it wasn’t that bad. Although I agree that Japan needs to invest into improving labor productivity I am sure it will be fine. I am surprised about the “resources” argument. Japan doesn’t have any meaningful quantities of any natural resources. Almost all the energy and minerals are imported. There is not much potential for solar and wind due to the geography either.
I go back and forth on the demographics. It's not just the numbers, it is the % of elderly people. Just saw this today: www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h01727/ Pretty mindblowing.
Japan has plenty of renewable energy potential (richardkatz.substack.com/p/70-renewable-energy-by-2035-physics) there are just a lot of people who want to delay it. I was kind of thinking about water and land for resources, particularly with the falling population. But there are a lot of possible outcomes. I will keep an eye on things and try to keep my options open.
Thanks for the links! I agree demographics looks pretty dire. But I choose to be optimistic: it will play out over a long time so we will be able to adapt hopefully :) Peter Zeihan believes Japan already prepared well for the upcoming demographic challenges. As for renewables I personally think it is better to invest in safer nuclear technologies and also geothermal. I don’t really like when they cut down the trees and cover the mountains with solar panels.
@@RetireJapan_OG yes, with all the volcanoes around one would wonder why there are no large scale use of geothermal energy. I’ve read somewhere the main obstacle is that people are concerned about the impact on the onsens and fears of triggering of earthquakes and volcano eruptions
Japan doesn't have a retirement visa. Unless you are married to a Japanese citizen or already living here it would be difficult to retire in Japan under current rules.
@@RetireJapan_OGThank you for your response, I enjoyed you video. Aside from being married, how can a person be "already living there" besides work visa and education visa?
Having lived in different countries, I can easily agree with your 9 positive reasons. I find it tough to make friends and paperwork can be complicated. Also, a lack of diversity can be a drawback.
My projection Japan economy will improve over time within 5 years, more investment inflow, excellent workforce, women too joing the workfore such as carpenter, chief etc, GDP will be improving, look at the Japanese stock index, all up 25% in the last 8 months, building a solid economics foundation and fundemental, yet good control on inflation and growth, nowhere in the world can mimic it appropriately.
You forgot to mention how poor the Japanese retirement pensions are. Anyone who thinks they might stay needs to plan a lot about separate (private) pensions or other kind of income, probably established overseas, to supplement retirement income. Otherwise I think you are incorrect about Japan and natural resources; your positiveness about that relies on your own ideas of what the Japanese government might do in the future, which is not my experience of government in 33 years here. The reasons you give for not staying in Japan are based more on individual circumstance rather than anything to do with Japan itself. I agree that being reasonably fluent in Japanese helps a lot, but people do get by as long as they have help for certain official matters, and many government offices now offer help in a number of languages. You also forgot to mention that some people might wish to stay because they have a Japanese side of the family. I am at a lower/intermediate level in the Japanese language, but have nevertheless managed to buy two houses, several cars, do my taxation, deal with insurance and many other aspects of living here with no problem. If I get stuck when unable to fathom out an official letter I simply ask a friend for help, All my family are overseas, but we can communicate through video chatting etc, and occasional visits in either direction. It is a similar situation for many people, not just in Japan. Living here has huge pluses compared to other countries, which you mentioned (eg healthcare, safety). I have permanent residence of Japan. I am British but also an Australian citizen; I cannot imagine returning to either country because the benefits of being in Japan far outweigh returning to either of those countries though I dearly miss aspects of life in Australia in particular. However, I do visit often to see my children and grandchildren. Indeed, Japan is in a great position being not so far from either country (relatively speaking). Best wishes from the mountains of southern Nagano-ken.
You are ramping up the videos recently. For us we are 1/2 the yr in JP and 1/2 other for now. One more negative that would hold us back committing to JP 100% other than family is taxes. Big increase 30% cap gains (20% + 10%), depending on your retirement income and what country you are coming from (where as US is tax free up to a certain amount for cap gains and social security). Perhaps you could say that it would then be a “wash” with cost of living differences and tax. So in that case it comes down to quality of life which JP has the edge in. Or just continue to choose multiple places thru the year :).
Hoping to stay here for good, but need to reskill and move into a career with a salary that will allow for that. I definitely want to avoid returning to the UK at all costs, though, so hoping this reskilling works out!
Reason 10 - The rest of the first world is... not doing too well. This is unfortunate but true. Japan looks increasingly better by comparison in spite of its (many) shortcomings. Regarding language, the new generations are more versed due to internet exposure.
Yes, I agree with your analysis, and thank you for reminding us about the Visa situation. When you said you spent 4 weeks in a hospital last year, do you have any idea how much that would cost here in the US? Yikes! It's the #1 reason for bankruptcy here. (And probably homelessness) Let's keep an eye on AI. I can't see past the event horizon on this. Will money even exist? Education? Purpose? Maybe the governments of the world will come to their senses and shut it down. Or maybe it's too late for that already.
Money not existing is one of my esoteric fears. Kind of makes me want to spend more of ours before it is too late! The four weeks in hospital cost about $400 US 😉 Largely thanks to the high cost medical expenses cap: ruclips.net/video/sUc-t0cTp6k/видео.html
Im turning 40 next year. I have just bought a house and am eligible to apply for PR soon. Im hoping that the government in Japan will change from the LDP who just provide resources for their elderly voters. I hope more women and young people get involved in politics and that they help families and encourage people to have kids, companies to increase wages and to allow more immigration.
8 yrs here and with my (Japanese) wife we want to get out asap . I agree with most of what you said but not with the responsible government. Japan’s politicians are bred to do 2 things: keep their party dominant and follow the US (meaning consume their surpluses, vote aligned on the international stage and ofc provide military bases). As such, none of the really important decisions such as moving jpn to net-zero, modernizing the educational system, boosting natality (recently done but too little too late) are taken which makes the long term for my hafu child a no-no.
Fair enough! If that is how you feel probably best to make the move soon -I see a lot of people end up stuck here because they can no longer make the move to another country career-wise or financially. Good luck!
I promised my Japanese wife that we would stay in Japan all our lives. We didn't plan on her dying in January this year. I will keep my promise to stay here and maintain her family grave. It has only been seven months and already its hard. Hoping that I deal with this better as time moves on.
Can't imagine how hard that would be.
@@RetireJapan_OG Thanks. Hoping it will get better.
I’m sincerely sorry for your loss.
Thank you I will continue to do my best@@shibafujiwatches2808
I understand you very well, my Japanese wife and I are no longer very young and I think a lot about what our future could be. I don't know you but I'm close to you with all my heart
😟
Thank you for making this video. I have lived in Japan for 34 years. I am still working, due to retire from my job at a university in 4 more years. My initial goal was to return to my country, Canada, but over the last 25 years, cost of living in Canada has skyrocketed. I doubt I can even buy a small home there anymore. So now I am seriously thinking of staying in Japan. The points you raise are very important.
Good luck! I imagine it would be tough to leave after 38 years here 😳
You would be out of your mind to go back to Canada or the U.S.! It's all done-smoked vapid Godless wasteland. Warrior spirit I told my wife to bury me at the local Buddhist pagoda.
Excellent summary Ben, and very important that everyone thinks about it in time to prepare for whichever way they go.
I don't have any positives to add - I think you covered all, but I have quite a few negatives:
1) Possibility of armed conflict in the region - random missiles being lobbed overhead, and the likelihood of a move to invade Taiwan don't leave me with a warm fuzzy safe feeling tbh.
2) Probability of another mega-earthquake/ nuclear accident. I don't share your confidence in the government response, specially if it hits a more densely populated part of Japan and the infrastructure damage is greater. Even though, theoretically Japan should be better prepared since 3-11. What-ifs include your house being reduced to rubble and you getting a delayed and small insurance payout that leaves you to sort out new accomodation in your 70's or 80's in a tight housing market because so many people lose their homes at the same time? Not fun, even with advanced Japanese.
3) Lack of community. I know you covered social networks a bit, but looking in more detail: if you don't have a big enough circle of similar people here for the long term, living near enough to you to physically meet, if your neighbourhood is not friendly, or you even have downright hostile neighbours, this will start to matter more and more as you become less active, or don't have cash to splash on getting out and about. For me, one of the big negatives in Japan is their concept of community. It doesn't mesh with mine, and I find it inhospitable. I'd like to be in a place where people invite each other round, where people are readier to share aspects of their life with others, where it's easier to make new friends (to replace those who leave or drop out of circulation).
4) Language barrier in old age - imagine your grasp of Japanese getting poorer in your twilight years. I feel I have navigated reasonably for the last 25-odd years, but after traipsing round government offices and the pension office recently, it really doesn't seem set up to be easy to understand bureaucracy, even for native speakers. I see a lot of discombobulated-sounding older people in the offices. And I don't see any signs of improvement over the past 25 years to be honest.
5) Food security - I know you mentioned it, but I don't see Japan adapting either to the labour shortage, or anticipating the growing crisis of food production. And we have seen that it can worsen not just steadily, but in a matter of days or weeks. The older you get, the more complicated it is to make all the arrangements involved in a radical change of country. It's not like arriving in your twenties with one suitcase.
6) Value of yen - for all the demographic negatives, I see the value continuing to decline, and I believe that yen saved here are going to continue to fall relative to other places, meaning like you say, better to make any move sooner rather than later.
7) Infrastructure - depopulation is going to mean that being old will need to be done somewhere urban enough to be able to be confident the transport links and health services will continue. That counts out vast swaths of cheaper parts of Japan to live. But even in a major city, I would worry about the falling quality of care in understaffed care homes as the labour shortage bites deeper. And this is bound to push up the price of later years care.
8) Housing - second all you say, so you need to make sure you have your own place to live, in a place that you feel at home, and has all the right services, and plan for this far enough in advance that you have it in place by the time you are ready to retire.
As a Brit like you, even without considering the terrible immigration regime making it very hard to import any non UK citizen family members, just considering the economic factors on their own mean I have pretty much written off the possibility of return to the UK, even supposing it suddenly morphed back into a welfare state.
So, if the negatives bother you, definitely start planning where you want to head to, and see what you need to do to make it happen.
Wow, fantastic comment 🤩
Almost enought there for a 'part 2' video!
Completely true about the earthquake damage part: I know people here in Sendai whose insurance didn't come close to covering the damage to their homes.
Others who lost the home/land to the tsunami but still owed the mortgage 😰
And my wife's parents are completely unable to deal with hospitals/city hall/anything on their own: a real wake up call for needing family or close friends in old age.
Where my children were growing up, I had always told them I want you and your brother find a girl from Japan. You are American both of you and that is the only world place that you would live for good. Because culture, goods, and Zen doctrine is the best in the world. So now, I am old lady and still thinking about it. Love Japan, never been there, but I read and continue checking everything in that amazing natural such as flowers, mountains, food, people is quiet and educated, Etc love Japan. 😊
Currently getting everything together for my PR application. Hoping to stay here until the end of time!
Good luck! It's a game changer ^-^
Having PR is a huge relief. I got mine a long time ago - a really great day. No more immigration visits , no worries bout visas.
Language- Google Translate. It can be challenging and slow, but it works for the most part. I do casual Japanese. Survival.
Visa - I’ve had Permanent Resident status for over 20 years.
House - Own my house.
Congratulations on your very productive output of videos - keep it coming!
Thanks! The process is getting easier 😀
Excellent video. My 91 y.o. father lives in a nursing home in Japan and I'm so grateful he's able to live out the rest of his life there, where he has family support, receives excellent care, and his care costs are less than half of what he'd have to pay here in the U.S. As for me, I had a dream of retiring in Japan, but without fluent language proficiency and no support network, it would have been too difficult.
That sounds like a very sensible assessment. It would be tough to live here in retirement without the language and family/friends around.
We have chosen Japan to retire early in and we moved here in January this year. As an early retiree (I just turned 39) I think it’s the perfect place but I can see the challenges of becoming older here and not sure it will continue to be the place for us once we approach older age. But for now it’s perfect for us 😊
For us we are using the Designated Activities Long Term Sightseeing visa which gives us a years visa (6 months plus 6 months extension) which we’ve been told we can keep applying for as long as you continue to qualify. Which if you are retiring shouldn’t be too difficult for most to have the right amount of cash.
Wonderful. At your age (slightly younger than me) it's perfect to get a feel for the place and see if you want to stay for the long-term.
I would check out living in different areas too if you can, they are very different!
Good point highlighting that one is no longer allowed to stay in Japan with spouse visa, if the spouse passes away.
Are you sure about that? Would the bureaucracy really deport a spouse with 30 years here and age 70 or so just because they'd never converted their haigusha visa to PR?
I'm not sure. But if your spouse dies or you get divorced, you are no longer eligible to have a spouse visa.
That would be an unacceptable risk for me.
Look at what the UK did to the Windrush generation for an example of how bureaucrats can treat people 😢
Yeah, I couldn't imagine dealing with death of partner and then facing having to leave Japan at short notice 😬
In this case, you'd probably be eligible for the Long Term visa (if you don't already have PR)
@@aa47 I wouldn't want to gamble my entire life on 'probably' 😬
Hello, I’m Canadian and have lived in Japan since 2011. I fall into the category of wishing to leave, but since I’ve been away going on 14 years, real estate in Canada now is completely unaffordable plus securing employment in Canada will also be very difficult since I am approaching retirement age. I was on the PR track leading up to Covid, then the pandemic changed everything leaving me unemployed for 2-3 years. I just secured a new job this spring, but it may be too little, too late. I’m now looking to retire in a country with a lower cost of living. Further motivation to leave Japan is not meeting a compatible life partner here and finding developing friendships extremely difficult.
That sounds rough. Sorry to hear you are not enjoying things. Many people in a similar situation with regards to not being able to afford to leave...
Regarding AI, we’ve noticed that even dealing with complex contract language or government documents has become tremendously easier with the increasing quality of translation programs.
Yes, DeepL was a game changer. Are there better options now?
Exactly! And getting better by the day!
Well done! Thanks for sharing...
My pleasure!
Reason 3 is highly underrated. + #4 makes it a no brainer.
Taxes are bound to increase here as labor shortages increase and services are cut. Also, the inheritance tax scheme is a real disincentive to staying.
Inheritance taxes in Japan are not as bad as some people make them out to be -unless you are fairly wealthy (a good problem to have).
www.retirejapan.com/blog/japanese-inheritance-taxes/
@@RetireJapan_OG I saw your video. Nice summation. When compared to the USA (where on gets about $12,000,000 tax free), Japan's system is oppressive. Not only that, the bar will likely be changed (again) as the state searches for revenue to make up for tax shortfalls due to its declining population...
@@aikankei Fair enough.
Personally I think inheritance tax is a net social positive (I intend to spend or give away most of my money while I am alive).
Only something like 7% of estates in Japan actually pay inheritance tax, so it is not something that most people need to worry about.
Thank you for this. These are the scary questions we must all ask ourselves. I think getting to our last years, as in getting ill, immobile, losing our faculties is hell wherever you are. Slightly less hellish, I guess, if you have friends and family. Personally, I think that is the key. I will live wherever I have friends and family.
Hello from California. May I ask - what are the requirements for a US citizen to retire in Japan (Kyoto prefecture). What agency can I contact for information? Appreciate much any info you can share.
By the way, dear Retire in Japan, you should try to stay in a nursing home in Canada or in the US and see what you would get for your money and how you would be treated. Remember, the US has over a million deaths during Covid, a great number of them are nursing home residents. You can be brutally abused by people who are native English speakers or who can speak English well. The worst loneliness is when we are treated as a ‘client’ who generates money for the nursing home and not as a human being, an elderly with a whole life lived who still has feelings and fears and wishes. One cannot evaluate a country’s nursing home and elder care system by itself, that should be done by comparing with that of other societies.
Unfortunately Japan does not have a retirement visa (and I doubt they will ever introduce one -we have too many elderly people already) so you will need to get permission to live here somehow.
Japanese citizenship, married to a Japanese citizen, permanent residence are the main options to retire here.
You could live here in the short term on a study or entrepreneur visa (by investing in the country) but those are not likely to give you a path to remain.
Good analysis. Although I definitely can eat healthier in Sydney, I’m staying here and cook my own meals before Japan embraces lighter food alternatives. Am renting and this is a worry for sure. But definitely better than “look at the app” response from Sydney bus drivers when asking wheee to alight
You're probably earning a lot more in Sydney 😅
Thanks for some great insights.
My pleasure! A lot of this is just me thinking aloud 😅
Very clear video, btw. I agree with most of your points. It does look to me as though older people in general are keeping more active these days, not only in Japan. And you seem to be rather optimistic about the shift to renewable resources, as you put it.
Thanks! I think the shift to renewable energy is inevitable, both economically and politically.
But I'd rather see it happen sooner rather than later 😅
Our manshon is downwind from a new coal power plant they built in 2012 in Sendai, and on a main road. If emissions from both of those disappeared tomorrow that would be great for our quality of life...
Thanks for your advice 🥰
Competent government & good natural resources??? Both those reasons seems very far stretched. The government in over 200% of GDP in debt and the government keeps wasting money on things that will never ever work. Also, Japan and people in Japan keep wasting natural resources and won't utilize almost any of their geothermal resources. Also, you forgot the major risk of more major earthquakes that will keep hitting Japan as a major risk.
Hmmm, sounds like ALL other countries 😢😢😢
I am a Japanese American living in the US but have always had a strong connection with Japan. I speak Japanese but my reading has declined significantly over the years. I would love to retire in Japan and I am hoping they will make it easier to do so in the future!
As long as you have citizenship it should be relatively easy to retire here if you wanted to.
@@RetireJapan_OG I am a US citizen. My mother was born in Japan but also is a US citizen so….
@@jujubi1050 Ah, in that case you will need a visa to live here long term. Good luck!
Thank you for the video. Currently living in the States and my wife (whom is Japanese) wants us to retire in Japan...possibly in 4 years from now. So I have that long to learn the language so I'm not so isolated. The spouse vista is a useful piece of info, was planning on just a spouse visa guess I'll have to rethink that. You've been there long term, I wonder what the terms are for someone moving there at retirement age and whether the healthcare system would still apply to me. A lot to figure out. Again I thank you for the video !!
Yes, any legal resident must enrol in public health insurance in Japan and pays the same rates as everyone else (based on income).
Thanks for the info and it is very useful
Glad it was helpful!
@@RetireJapan_OG thanks and certainly would love to check out more your videos about Japan 🇯🇵
@@RetireJapan_OG sorry to bother u, it was just amazing you are from England and I am from China, but living in the USA. We can talk by RUclips. Anyway, appreciate your videos and I am interested in Japanese customs but know nothing about the country.
@@user-fq1dr6ft9b It's a great time to visit with the cheap yen at the moment 😉
For me right now I’m already stationed here in Japan and I’m hoping to move forward to become a contractor seeing as that leans in my favor for staying in Japan seeing as my heart points me here. 僕の日本語は少しずつで増えるけどたくさん知りたい事がある。Like there’s so much more for me to learn and a bonus reason is also to move forward with my fiancée no matter where we go realistically. I’m not a perfect planner and yet somehow I get things done despite how difficult. 😂 I just wish my passport would arrive after these past 3 months. 😢
Just started my research journey about the prospect of retiring in Japan. I'm 48 and live in the US now as a relatively high earner (around $260k USD a year) with a Japanese wife and teenage daughters. We're all bilingual and have experience living in Japan, so language or other cultural barriers are less of a concern. I'll be on the lookout for more resources about finances and finding my magic net worth number to figure out at what age I can most comfortably retire with dollars doing most of the work for me.
Good luck! Cost of living is much lower here, so ultimately it's all going to depend on what kind of lifestyle you want 😀
Excellent Summary. A1-9 all great pts. D1-Language (written/spoken) is critical and a showstopper IMO. As I recall you passed the JLPT1 test, a grand accomplishment most foreigners won't ever get a sniff at. You are set. My Japanese spouse could certainly cover for my social blunders, but in the end my approx JLPT3 level of proficiency would be C- survival level acceptable in Japan. Doable, but improvement - I'm sure - is faster when living 365/365 in Japan. I'd also miss my kids alot in the US if I was all in 365/365 Japan. Keep up the good videos, I'm sharing your inheritance info with the better half. She owns a home there and we visit 3-4x/yr. Interesting that there is no joint property ownership allowances in Japan, so I'm told. Makes for transfer of spouse to spouse property more complex.
Funnily enough, I think JLPT1 is just table stakes to be honest. A normal JHS aged Japanese person could pass it easily, and it doesn't test speaking or writing at all.
My Japanese is passable at best 😅
Very good vid to a niche proportion.
I got my so Australian citizenship this month so I’ll see what happens.
I still like Japan. I live in my own world.
Nice to have options!
I want to watch your video about healthcare. I can't find it. Don't see a link to it.
This is one about medical insurance: ruclips.net/video/6i1JLwrNvgw/видео.html
Very legitimate questions we are or shall be asking ourselves when having leaved in Japan for quite a long time. I agree that residency status combined with ownership is a must if you plan to stay in Japan to avoid any uncertainties besides, "if and when" you are able to secure a loan, those are still very reasonable in Japan . Being in Europe for the Summer, indeed cost of living is on another level compared to Japan. Even when looking at the rest of Asia, i think Japan and Tokyo are quite undervalued.
A lot depends on the exchange rate. Is this the new normal? Will the yen strengthen again? No one knows, which makes it difficult to plan.
If you don't mind committing to support our social security for the rest of your life, then yes.
Currently in London on a sabbatical, converting yen to pounds, and yes the difference in the cost of living is shocking.
Yeah, we are pretty comfortable here in Japan, but I would worry about paying the bills long term if we had to move to the UK (not even London) 😬
I have lived here since I retired from the us military. I became a permanent resident in 2014 but my wife divorced me a year later and I’ve been living alone ever since.
My son is here and so I stayed in Japan because I wanted to be close to him but now I’m 55 and my Japanese unfortunately isn’t good.
I’m planning on making my move back to the states, my main reason for wanting to leave is because of my own government and how the U.S taxes it’s citizens and even forces our banks to give up our information to the IRS.
Wish this would change but unfortunately the politicians in America could care less. Greed!
Good luck with the move!
You didn't mention earthquake. I am retiring in 2026 and plan to live there 3 months per year using just a tourist visa (visa free actually), and use the other several months to travel. Planning to buy a small apartment for that purpose.
That's true! Natural disasters should probably be in there too 😬
I am interested as well, not to stay longer than 3 months but to have own place to visit as often as I wanted, pls share your journey of finding apartment/small place owner so I can also start from there, will greatly appreciate @jrwong9396
Reason #1 Having a Japanese wife. The best reason to retire here, to acquire a damn good woman in your life. 😊
I have lived in Japan for 22 years and am retired. Living and working in Japan has been easy, mainly because my Japanese wife handles all the bureaucratic stuff. With the slumping Yen and our investment income coming from the USA, we have gotten into a high Japanese tax bracket. Health insurance for me and my wife is also astronomical and they just created a new monthly health insurance surcharge. I suppose we are rich but I sure don't feel like it. I look at all these Japanese who drive Mercedes and Porsches and I think "How do they do it?" Truth be told, I can get by in Japanese but I have never reached a comfortable level of fluency. All of my friends here are really my wife's friends so I have to be careful what I say. I would like to experience living in another possibly cheaper country like Panamá. But my wife doesn't want to leave Japan. So I think I am stuck here. I sometimes feel like the Tony Last character in Evelyn Waugh's "A Handful of Dust."
Some international travel might help 😀
hello from your new subscriber!!
thank you for all the videos on investing in japan.
any idea why rakuten securities keep transferring few hundred yens to my rakuten bank? is it due to the money bridge sweep function? what exactly is that money?
If it is small amounts of money and is happening automatically, it sounds like the money bridge sweep 😅
Try turning it off in the settings.
I did know an English gentleman who lived for decades without knowing the language. His end of life in the Japanese hospital consequently sounded like a bit of a nightmare.
Wouldn't fancy that much...
I think people are fearing the demographic decline too much. I grew up in a country which went from 52mln to 42mln people in just 20 years and it wasn’t that bad. Although I agree that Japan needs to invest into improving labor productivity I am sure it will be fine.
I am surprised about the “resources” argument. Japan doesn’t have any meaningful quantities of any natural resources. Almost all the energy and minerals are imported. There is not much potential for solar and wind due to the geography either.
I go back and forth on the demographics. It's not just the numbers, it is the % of elderly people.
Just saw this today: www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h01727/
Pretty mindblowing.
Japan has plenty of renewable energy potential (richardkatz.substack.com/p/70-renewable-energy-by-2035-physics) there are just a lot of people who want to delay it.
I was kind of thinking about water and land for resources, particularly with the falling population. But there are a lot of possible outcomes. I will keep an eye on things and try to keep my options open.
Thanks for the links!
I agree demographics looks pretty dire. But I choose to be optimistic: it will play out over a long time so we will be able to adapt hopefully :)
Peter Zeihan believes Japan already prepared well for the upcoming demographic challenges.
As for renewables I personally think it is better to invest in safer nuclear technologies and also geothermal. I don’t really like when they cut down the trees and cover the mountains with solar panels.
@@Jernova I would love to see Japan exploit its geothermal riches 😀
Geothermal the ultimate source of renewable energy?
@@RetireJapan_OG yes, with all the volcanoes around one would wonder why there are no large scale use of geothermal energy. I’ve read somewhere the main obstacle is that people are concerned about the impact on the onsens and fears of triggering of earthquakes and volcano eruptions
What kind of visa does one need to retire in Japan? What are the income requirements?
Japan doesn't have a retirement visa. Unless you are married to a Japanese citizen or already living here it would be difficult to retire in Japan under current rules.
@@RetireJapan_OGThank you for your response, I enjoyed you video. Aside from being married, how can a person be "already living there" besides work visa and education visa?
Having lived in different countries, I can easily agree with your 9 positive reasons. I find it tough to make friends and paperwork can be complicated. Also, a lack of diversity can be a drawback.
Good points, although I hear making friends after a certain age is more difficult in any country.
@@RetireJapan_OG True. Also scattering ashes cannot be done in Japan so this is another thing to consider...!?
My projection Japan economy will improve over time within 5 years, more investment inflow, excellent workforce, women too joing the workfore such as carpenter, chief etc, GDP will be improving, look at the Japanese stock index, all up 25% in the last 8 months, building a solid economics foundation and fundemental, yet good control on inflation and growth, nowhere in the world can mimic it appropriately.
I hope so! Female workforce participation is already quite high in Japan I believe.
You forgot to mention how poor the Japanese retirement pensions are. Anyone who thinks they might stay needs to plan a lot about separate (private) pensions or other kind of income, probably established overseas, to supplement retirement income.
Otherwise I think you are incorrect about Japan and natural resources; your positiveness about that relies on your own ideas of what the Japanese government might do in the future, which is not my experience of government in 33 years here. The reasons you give for not staying in Japan are based more on individual circumstance rather than anything to do with Japan itself. I agree that being reasonably fluent in Japanese helps a lot, but people do get by as long as they have help for certain official matters, and many government offices now offer help in a number of languages. You also forgot to mention that some people might wish to stay because they have a Japanese side of the family. I am at a lower/intermediate level in the Japanese language, but have nevertheless managed to buy two houses, several cars, do my taxation, deal with insurance and many other aspects of living here with no problem. If I get stuck when unable to fathom out an official letter I simply ask a friend for help, All my family are overseas, but we can communicate through video chatting etc, and occasional visits in either direction. It is a similar situation for many people, not just in Japan. Living here has huge pluses compared to other countries, which you mentioned (eg healthcare, safety). I have permanent residence of Japan. I am British but also an Australian citizen; I cannot imagine returning to either country because the benefits of being in Japan far outweigh returning to either of those countries though I dearly miss aspects of life in Australia in particular. However, I do visit often to see my children and grandchildren. Indeed, Japan is in a great position being not so far from either country (relatively speaking). Best wishes from the mountains of southern Nagano-ken.
Is it possible to retire to Japan like American move to Portugal after 60?
No, you would need to get some kind of visa in order to be allowed to live in Japan. There are no retirement visas here currently.
You are ramping up the videos recently. For us we are 1/2 the yr in JP and 1/2 other for now. One more negative that would hold us back committing to JP 100% other than family is taxes. Big increase 30% cap gains (20% + 10%), depending on your retirement income and what country you are coming from (where as US is tax free up to a certain amount for cap gains and social security). Perhaps you could say that it would then be a “wash” with cost of living differences and tax. So in that case it comes down to quality of life which JP has the edge in. Or just continue to choose multiple places thru the year :).
I think our base will be here, but we are definitely thinking about having regular longer visits abroad.
Are you talking about capital gains on property?
I think staying here is a good idea. What about the increasing tax burden from demographic changes?
That is also a worry. Most worrying for retirees would be changes to how capital gains and dividends are taxed.
I'll be here till the end, but I heard that nursing homes are really expensive.
Some are, some aren't. I'm hoping to avoid that one entirely 😅
Hoping to stay here for good, but need to reskill and move into a career with a salary that will allow for that. I definitely want to avoid returning to the UK at all costs, though, so hoping this reskilling works out!
Good luck! I am thinking about how to increase our income myself ^-^
Ben, with reference to applying for PR status, is there an upper age limit like Australia, where it is 45?
I don't think so, but I believe you have to demonstrate an ability to support yourself financially and contribute to society.
Thank you for your reply Ben.
My pleasure!
Reason 10 - The rest of the first world is... not doing too well. This is unfortunate but true. Japan looks increasingly better by comparison in spite of its (many) shortcomings.
Regarding language, the new generations are more versed due to internet exposure.
Very tough to see how things will turn out so all we can do is make the best decision possible and keep some options open.
You are making it now. You won’t up back and live in IK anymore?
I think there is close to no chance I will ever live in the UK again.
Yes, I agree with your analysis, and thank you for reminding us about the Visa situation.
When you said you spent 4 weeks in a hospital last year, do you have any idea how much that would cost here in the US? Yikes! It's the #1 reason for bankruptcy here. (And probably homelessness)
Let's keep an eye on AI. I can't see past the event horizon on this. Will money even exist? Education? Purpose? Maybe the governments of the world will come to their senses and shut it down. Or maybe it's too late for that already.
Money not existing is one of my esoteric fears. Kind of makes me want to spend more of ours before it is too late!
The four weeks in hospital cost about $400 US
😉
Largely thanks to the high cost medical expenses cap: ruclips.net/video/sUc-t0cTp6k/видео.html
Maybe one day I will need care and then there won't be enough nurses in Japan.
Im turning 40 next year. I have just bought a house and am eligible to apply for PR soon. Im hoping that the government in Japan will change from the LDP who just provide resources for their elderly voters. I hope more women and young people get involved in politics and that they help families and encourage people to have kids, companies to increase wages and to allow more immigration.
8 yrs here and with my (Japanese) wife we want to get out asap . I agree with most of what you said but not with the responsible government. Japan’s politicians are bred to do 2 things: keep their party dominant and follow the US (meaning consume their surpluses, vote aligned on the international stage and ofc provide military bases). As such, none of the really important decisions such as moving jpn to net-zero, modernizing the educational system, boosting natality (recently done but too little too late) are taken which makes the long term for my hafu child a no-no.
Fair enough! If that is how you feel probably best to make the move soon -I see a lot of people end up stuck here because they can no longer make the move to another country career-wise or financially.
Good luck!
Moving to Japan from the US and coming back in a coffin.
The best reason are stonks : v
Ha, ha, bien sur 😆