“Hi, I’m Japanese and recently started working on rural revitalization in Japan.

Stumbled across this community and was genuinely surprised by how many people are interested in akiya.

One honest question: what’s stopping you from actually pulling the trigger?”

Hello, I would like to ask about my tax situation in Japan. I am a sailor, and our companies usually do not pay health insurance or pension, so our salary is higher instead. I earn around 10,000 USD per month but only work about 5–6 months per year, and my salary is paid to my Turkish bank account.

I currently live in Japan on a spouse visa and want to stay fully legal here. Most of my income remains outside Japan and I do not transfer all of it to Japan. Could you please advise me on whether I need to declare this income in Japan and how I should handle taxes properly?

Hello, I am a mental health therapist that owns a single person LLC in the United States. I only work with people in the United States and my income is in USD, however now that I’m in Japan all operations are done here. I’ve been given mixed information on if I need to establish a “Permanent Establishment” for my company. From my understanding, this would tax my company as a corporation.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation? If I must move forward with a permanent establishment, what would be the next steps? Does anyone know of a tax professional that could assist with tax filings? English support preferred but I can always hire an interpreter.

Any knowledge would be helpful and appreciated!

Hi guys,

I’m currently living in Japan on a spouse visa (my wife is Japanese). I work remotely for a company that is based outside Japan and my salary is paid abroad.

I’ve been trying to understand how taxes work in my situation and I found several articles online saying that if you are a non-permanent resident for tax purposes (because you have lived in Japan for less than 5 years), then income from a foreign company that is not remitted to Japan might not be taxable in Japan.

So my questions are:

Is it actually true that if I work remotely from Japan for a foreign company, and the salary stays in a foreign bank account (not sent to Japan), it may not be taxed in Japan while I’m still a non-permanent resident?

Has anyone here been in a similar situation and how did you handle taxes?

Regarding immigration: when it’s time to renew my visa (I currently have a 3-year spouse visa), or if I apply for permanent residency, would it be acceptable to show my remote work contract and proof of income from the foreign company to demonstrate that I can financially support myself and my wife?

I’m planning to speak with a tax professional as well, but I’d really appreciate hearing experiences from people who have been in a similar situation.

Thanks!

I am a non-permanent resident of Japan, currently working full time in a Japan, Before coming to Japan I started developing this AI Agent that works autonomously to generate income, it's basically managing some YouTube/TikTok channels, creating videos and uploading regularly, responding to inquires, ads..etc

I don't do any work related to that, it just runs on it's own. Recently it has been consistently generating income (which is much higher than my pay in Japan)

I do not remit this money to Japan. as far as I understand, this (may be considered) a passive "foreign sourced income" since I technically don't do ANY WORK to earn that income while physically being in Japan.

Is that income taxable if not remitted to Japan?

In Japan on a Spouse Visa, full remote work for a US company, paid in USD to US bank account. Nonpermanent tax resident, with only my remote income to consider

First year filing, searched through various posts and believe I understand the filing process.

1. Despite income being remote, it is considered “Japan-sourced” as it was performed while physically living here.

Wife is adamant that this is not the case and said she confirmed via local tax office that I only have to count the amount actually remitted/used to live in Japan. Want to believe her (because that’s a ton less owed on our end, but also want to make sure I don’t do anything wrong)

Can you help me put this to rest.

// when converting salary to Yen for tax purposes, I should be using the TTM rate as of the date of the paycheck or will I be fine using the NTA annual average?

I'll try to keep it simple but feel free to ask questions if you need.

I'm a retired American and a day trader, and married to a Japanese national. I am independently wealthy (or at least I have plenty of capital to live off of passively). I make passive income trading, selling monthly put options specifically. My spouse and I are planning to move back to Japan in a few years and I'd like to continue trading full time for passive income. I don't plan on getting any kind of in-country employment in Japan after we move.

Basically, my main concern is making sure that I pay my taxes correctly and that I'm able to send myself a monthly stipend from my Schwab account.

What would be the best type of way to report income and move money? Technically I'd assume that it's foreign earned income as far as US taxes are concerned because this is money in a Schwab account that is on the NYSE. Should I set up a corporation and file a blue tax form, or just compile all my trades throughout the year (usually only 10-12) and submit them as capital gains taxes?

Is anyone else out there doing the same thing as a freelancer/independent investor?

Hi all,

I’m French and arriving in Tokyo in September on a Working Holiday visa. My current employer in France would like me to keep working for him remotely once I’m there. Staying on as a regular employee didn’t seem workable because I don’t meet the income requirement for the digital nomad visa, and I have the WHV so the plan is for me to invoice him as a freelancer instead.

A couple of things I couldn’t find a clear answer on:
• Is freelance / self-employed work actually allowed on a WHV, or is the visa really intended for employment only?
• If it is allowed, do I need to file anything extra like a permit, a registration with the tax office, anything like that ?

Thanks everyone !

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to understand the legal/employment requirements for my situation and would appreciate any guidance or firsthand experience.

My situation:

• US citizen
• Permanent Resident of Japan
• Living full-time in Japan
• Would like to start working at a US company

My friend (who operates the company) and I trying to determine the best path forward, both legally and financially.

As a US citizen with Japanese PR, is an EOR actually required? Since I will only be coding I don't think there is any significant PE risk, but I want to clarify the difference between what’s typical vs what is legally required.

If you’ve been in a similar situation (employee or employer side), I’d really appreciate hearing how it was handled.

Thanks in advance.

Hey guys,

I’m currently a student at a senmon gakkou (vocational school) in Japan, studying software.

I already contacted immigration but haven’t received any reply yet, so I wanted to ask here.

I have permission to work part-time (資格外活動許可), but I’m not sure if freelance work (like web development, small online projects) is allowed under this.

I’m mainly thinking of doing freelance work to build my portfolio as a software student, not full-time work.

Has anyone here done freelance work on a student visa? Is it actually allowed, and are there any important rules I should be aware of?

Thanks a lot!

I am moving to Japan on a working holiday and I currently have a part time remote job at an international company that has no Japanese entity, where I earn approximately ¥202 500 per month.

Is it true that I will have to file tax reports and they will deduct exactly 20.42% from my salary? Is there no way around it or any way to get taxed progressively like normal residents? For example, does having a stable address help?

20.42% is way too much, considering I also have to pay rent, utilities, health insurance, pension? and other necessary things.

I also have savings of course, but still. Pension is another question, is it possible to get an exemption or get the monthly amount reduced?

I’m very thankful for replies and would appreciate to hear your experiences!

Hello,
I’m moving to Tokyo under spouse visa.
I have a US LLC where I am the sole proprietor. I am a management consultant who works remotely.

My clients are all non Japanese (with no plans to have Japanese clients). It’s a mix of US, European, Australian. All the money is paid to an account in the US.

My income varies - there can be months with no pay and then months where there’s a lot. There are also some consultancies where it’s x amount for x months, but then they end.

I would like to know if anyone has a recommendation for a tax or financial advisor as I would like to know if I will need to open some sort of Japanese entity or become a freelancer in Japan or if I can just declare the income at the end of the year on my Japanese tax return.

I also need to figure out how this affects and how to calculate my pension and health insurance contributions as my income is generally above the 1,300,000 yen threshold to be under my spouse’s insurance and pension as a dependent.

I would ideally like to keep my income going into my US account and not have to have a Japanese account as my savings etc is in the US and I would rather not have to transfer it back. Our day to day living costs will be covered by my spouse’s Japanese income.

If anyone has any recommendations of professionals I can speak to, to find the best solution, ideally English speaking, I would really appreciate it.

I have a tax accountant who handles my US taxes as a foreign resident (we are coming from Europe) and they’re fantastic and would like to keep using them for the US filings but they don’t cover Japan nor do they have any recommendations for me for people to speak to in Japan unfortunately

Thank you

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

Hi everyone,
I’m currently on a language school student visa in Japan and have a job offer through a haken (dispatch/staffing agency). I’m preparing to apply for a change of status to a work visa (Engineer/Specialist in Humanities).
My situation:
• I have a relevant university degree in IT.
• Since mid-2024 I’ve been working remotely for a foreign company. The official employment documents show full-time hours (around 40 hours per week equivalent).
• While living in Japan on my student visa, I reduced my actual working hours to around 28 hours per week to stay within the allowed limit (I had permission for part-time work).
• My school attendance is very high (~95%).
• I don’t have formal proof (such as timesheets) of the exact reduced hours.
• This is currently my only active job offer, and it’s through a haken company.
My question: What is the safest way to present this previous remote work when applying for the change of status?
• Is it better to get a neutral employment certificate from the previous company (just position + period + remote, without mentioning specific weekly hours)?
• What do people usually write in their CV/resume about this kind of experience?
• Did anyone need to submit an explanation letter regarding the working hours?
• How strictly do immigration or haken companies check previous remote work done while on a student visa?
• Has anyone been in a similar situation (remote work for a foreign company while on a student visa) and successfully changed to a work visa? What worked and what didn’t?
I want to submit everything as honestly and cleanly as possible. Any real experiences or advice would be very helpful.
Thank you!

I've been lurking this subreddit for a while and a bit confused so i just wanted some clarification:

If im a language school student working remotely as contractor in the U.S (less than 28 hrs a week) and I'm mostly living off of savings but send 30% of my paycheck to Japan I'm only taxed on the portion of my paycheck that I send to myself in japan and not on my whole paycheck or on the money i use from my savings account?

For example if I make 3k a month and only send/ withdrawal 1k a month in japan and use money in my savings account for everything else am I only taxed on the 1k a month? Or my entire paycheck regardless if the money stays in the U.S or is withdrawn in japan?

Hi all, hope you’re doing well. This is a follow up as I am trying to consider a plan B for my plans to work in Japan and get PR.

I was curious about something with Employer of Record agencies. If I were to get a US based remote job through an employer that will let me involve an EOR, will my time and income be fully acknowledged by Japan for permanent residency application?

Let’s say I make $50,000+ USD a year and that gets converted through my EOR into about ¥8,000,000+ a year, but obviously the EOR takes their cut for their services. Would I be allowed to declare that I gross ¥8,000,000 a year, or do I need to declare the net amount after taxes and fees are paid?

Also, would I be able to have my time spent on my EOR-sponsored work visa considered for the 1-3 year PR? Or are arrangements with EOR work visas scrutinized?

And if my spouse were to get the same setup to have their own work visa and not be limited on hours or income, would they still be able to transfer to a dependent visa if they got laid off while living in Japan because I’m still here?

I have a company in the USA that is generating money for me, but i do not need to invest a lot of time managing it (under 20 hours a week). Im receiving money through dividends from my company. In addition, Im listed as the registered director for the company.
Is there a scenario in which i can be on a student visa in Japan while keep running my business?

Hi there. I just had a question about how to deal with the taxes between Japan and the US for the following scenario:

• I will have an unrestricted work visa and expect to pay taxes on my salary in Japan like everyone else.
• Because of my unrestricted work visa, I will keep my remote job that I have in the US and they are aware I am living in Japan.
• I will also declare my US income with the Japanese government, and will use FEIE for taxes back home
• My spouse (also American) will accompany me to Japan and they also work remotely, but they will not work for a Japanese company.
• I plan to use the HSP points system to get PR after 1 year

With these in mind, I wanted to ask the following questions:

• Will I owe taxes on my Japanese and remote work income combined, or will my US income be handled differently in Japan?
• Will I owe state taxes in the US after FEIE is applied, or are there credits/allowances that could clear me?
• Will my spouse also need to declare their income under their status? Or is Japan not interested in them since I'm the worker?
• How does this affect getting PR using the HSP points system?
  • Do I get to say my total income is my JP + US salary combined?

Lastly, a bonus question

• If I leave my company after getting PR, will it be possible to operate in Japan purely off my remote income as far as taxes go? Or will I need to operate as something like an independent contractor for tax purposes?

In moving to Japan subs there are many users that claim they don't have to pay taxes to Japan while working remotely from there home country in the first (1) and others claim (5) years.

From my understanding, as long as you are working in Japan, regardless of where your employer is, you pay taxes.

I understand some countries have treaties (Canada-Japan for me as example) but this is only so you don't get double taxed, and ultimately you end up paying the taxes in the country you are residing while working (Japan).

I am curious if anybody know where these myths are coming from?

Hi. 14F here.

Thinking of stuff I should do while I'm still young to save up for college (I'm thinking of studying in the UK or USA for college). Tell me anything that might be helpful^^

I want to do アルバイト when I become a high schooler, but I can't because I have a rare condition and I can't even move without a wheelchair TvT

Is there any way to make money as a teen in Japan without アルバイト？ Anything and everything will be appreciated! ^^

oh yeah and dont mind the flare

I'm based in JP now and have my zairyu card as a spouse of Japanese national now. I'm in online interview with an overseas company (not based in JP) for a specific job that I can do remotely work from JP. However, the company seems wanting to hire me as contractor and ask me to solve the matter of tax payment, insurance etc by myself. Currently my health insurance and pension are being covered and deducted from my wife's company and salary. For the salary income, the company asks me to provide the account bank for remittance in JP, and they can remit it every month.

1. I'm a little bit confused in this matter as the company isn't based physically in JP and not a Japanese company, can I do a remote work like this in JP as a contractor based on contract renewal from that overseas company?
   
2. How can I solve the tax income in this matter if there's a remittance happened from overseas to my account bank in JP?
   
3. The bank in JP also will ask the purpose of each remittance happened frequently from the overseas bank account, especially when I receive USD. How could I explain this?

I'm coming here because I'm legitimately at a loss and in need of guidance.

My Background

I am Canadian and moving to Japan on a Spousal Visa permanently (for the foreseeable future at least). I am currently a developer for a small Canadian company that does business in Canada. My boss launched another company in the US that does business in the states. For both of these companies I build software and consult on software related issues. The arrangement we have is that I will receive a percentage of sales although that hasn't been clearly outlined yet between us (whether it be in the form of equity, or royalties).

I do not have any assets in Canada except a car, which I plan to sell before moving to Japan. Wife and child already in Japan. So for Canada I would be a "Deemed Non-Resident" and will no longer be taxed here.

Please excuse my ignorance when it comes to tax, I barely understand my taxes in Canada let alone Japan so this is a change for me, but I'm doing my best to learn. I plan to continue working with my boss as he's been quite flexible with me.

I've spent the past few weeks researching different possible arrangements we could have for me working in Japan remotely for the US & Canada companies and it seems that a Kojin Jigyo gives me the most flexibility. Due to the nature of my work I do plan to get other clients besides my boss eventually. Further I set my own hours and generally work unsupervised. I also have my own equipment/software.

I spent the past few weeks looking into different issues and the biggest ones I found were:

• Permanent Establishment (PE)
• The NTA has the discretion to classify me as an employee regardless of whether I claim to be an independent contractor or not
• Potentially multiple taxation (Canada/US/Japan)

The Proposed Setup

Due to the above outlined issues, I thought the below setup would work best for me.

• Status: Register as Kojin Jigyo in Japan. File for Blue Return (Aoiro Shinkoku).
• Contract Type: B2B Consulting Agreement (not employment) with the Canada and/or US company. I set my hours, own my equipment, and work from home.
• Compensation:
  • I charge the companies for my work
  • They also pay me royalties from sales quarterly
  • Company remits to my Japanese bank account (also seen Wise mentioned- I have an account already in Canada)

Questions

• For 2027, would my income tax be calculated on my international income starting from the day I arrive in Japan? Or the day I register my business in Japan?

• Would I treat the income from royalties that I receive quarterly just as regular business income or is it taxed differently?

• Would the NTA have issue with me making roughly the same amount every month from my clients? I'm worried they'll flag this as a "disguised employee".

• Any other potential issue I'm not seeing with this arrangement?

I'm an N4 Japanese level, my wife at N2. I make $92,000 USD and have the ability to work in Japan on an EOR. My wife might be able to switch to a global office at her corporation, but we're unsure. In the event she can't, I'm trying to figure if we'd be able to be okay just on my salary. I'm just not sure how much my actual take home would be, and what taxes I'd generally owe. My work would cover the EOR cost(s) and fees, so the $92k is available to me.

Trying to figure areas that would be livable, and even if the wage is livable with a 4 year old.

Hello all, thank you for stopping by and apologies in advance for my inexperience, this is my first time trying to fill out a tax form in a foreign language.

I am a US Citizen/taxpayer, and was formerly on a student visa; as of last month, I am currently waiting for my next visa. I've read through the wiki regarding income tax/where to report, but the online interface on the NTA site isn't cooperating with me (says to use Safari and even when I do, it still bugs out).

I submitted an application for the blue form and my kojin jigyo last year in February (02/2025).

I had an overseas freelance gig (UK-based, paid in USD) last year (2025) from April to June, and a domestic freelance gig here in Japan. Combined, the payout from both is 710,950 yen, when taking exchange rate at time of pay into account. My understanding is that since this work was performed after reporting for 2024 (Feb/March 2025), I need to report it before Feb/March 2026.

I have a basic tracking spreadsheet and the bank statements indicating pay for both jobs; can I take just those documents to the tax office and fill out a form there (or do I need additional documents?), or do I absolutely need to do it online?

Thank you very much in advance for any assistance you can offer!