English

Social Media for Foreigners in Japan 2026: X, Instagram and LinkedIn (You Don’t Have to Monetise)

Social media arrives fast; a blog gets found later by search. Use both. You do not need to monetise, and not doing so keeps your residence status out of it. But 42% of mid-career recruiters check applicants' social media.

2026.08.07

EarnEnglish

Claiming Overseas Family as Dependents on Your Japanese Tax 2026

If you send money home, you can claim those relatives as dependents and pay less tax. But since January 2023 relatives aged 30 to 69 are excluded by default, and one lump sum to one person only counts for that person.

2026.08.06

EnglishSave

NISA and Brokerage Accounts for Foreigners in Japan 2026: How to Open One, and What Happens When You Leave

You can open a Japanese brokerage account whatever your nationality, as long as you live here. But NISA only works while you are a resident, and the rule that lets you keep holding tax-free after leaving covers only employer transfers, not students going home.

2026.08.05

EnglishGrow

Permanent Residency in Japan 2026: Requirements and the Two Changes Coming in April 2027

Ten years is the standard, but from April 2027 your residence card must show a 5-year period of stay, and permanent residence becomes revocable. What changed is not how long you have lived here. Decided rules and undecided proposals, separated.

2026.08.04

EnglishProtect

Learn Kanji With Japanese School Drills 2026: 1,026 Characters, Free to Print

Living in Japan but still cannot read the paperwork? Use the drill books Japanese children use, from grade 1. Six grades is 1,026 kanji, close to JLPT N2, and you can print them free.

2026.08.03

EarnEnglish

Work in Japan Without a Degree 2026: The Three Visa Routes

A degree does not decide whether you can work in Japan, only which route you take. Specified Skilled Worker asks for tests instead of schooling. Includes the dispatch rule that catches people out.

2026.08.02

EarnEnglish

Japanese Language School Cost 2026: The Real 2 Million Yen Breakdown

One year at a Japanese language school costs about 2,000,000 yen once living costs are added. But applications fail on where the money came from, not the amount. Includes the 2026 rule changes.

2026.08.01

EnglishProtect

Getting a Driving Licence in Japan as a Foreigner (2026)

Converting a licence costs 4,850 yen; starting from zero costs 200,000 to 400,000. The price swings over 100,000 yen with timing, workers can reach the cheap season, and Japanese is the real gate.

2026.07.31

EarnEnglish

Medicine in Japan 2026: What You Cannot Bring, and the New Rules

Cold medicine with pseudoephedrine cannot enter Japan, prescription or not. Since May 2026 under 18s get one small pack and ID is checked. What to buy, what to bring, and when a clinic is cheaper.

2026.07.31

EnglishProtect

Converting Your Foreign Driving Licence in Japan (2026)

A Nepali licence does not work in Japan even with an IDP. Sri Lankan and Indian ones do, until the three month rule cancels them. The conversion requirements, the October 2025 tightening, and the real cost.

2026.07.30

EnglishProtect

Start a Blog in Japan: Practice Japanese, Build a Portfolio

Japanese practice arrives in weeks, a portfolio in months, income maybe never. Why a visible body of work helps your job hunt and your student-to-work visa change, and why publishing is free but earning depends on your visa.

2026.07.30

EarnEnglish

Japanese New Year: What Closes and What to Eat (Osechi)

City offices close December 29 to January 3 and bank counters December 31 to January 3. What to finish before the shutdown, what stays open, and why osechi is food built to survive three days without cooking.

2026.07.29

EnglishSpend Well

Buying a Laptop in Japan 2026: Keyboards, Tax and Where to Buy

Pick the keyboard layout first, because it is the only part you cannot change later. And if you live here on a residence card, you do not qualify for tax-free shopping. What to use instead, and how much to actually spend.

2026.07.29

EnglishSave

Keigo vs Casual Japanese 2026: What to Say at Work

You can work a Japanese part-time job with only desu and masu plus eight set phrases. The direction trick that makes sonkeigo and kenjougo click, and the mistake guides skip: being too formal with friends keeps people at a distance.

2026.07.29

EarnEnglish

Share House in Japan 2026: No Guarantor, Under 100,000 Yen

A standard Japanese apartment costs 4 to 6 months of rent up front. A share house skips the deposit and guarantor for under 100,000 yen. Oakhouse vs X-House compared, including Nepali and Sinhala phone support.

2026.07.28

EnglishSave

Income Tax in Japan for Foreigners 2026: Get Your Refund

Income tax gets withheld automatically, but most student workers overpay and can get it back. The income walls (1.1 million and 1.6 million yen), the 270,000 yen student deduction almost nobody explains in English, and how to claim it all back.

2026.07.28

EnglishProtect

Rent Increase in Japan: Why You Can Say No (Tenant Rights 2026)

Your landlord cannot raise your rent without your agreement under a standard lease. What the Act on Land and Building Leases actually protects, the 5 steps to take when a notice arrives, and when accepting is the smarter move.

2026.07.28

EnglishProtect

Part-Time Jobs in Japan for Students 2026: The 28-Hour Rule

Working part-time as a student needs a free permit and staying under 28 hours a week total across every job. Banned jobs, dark part-time job scams, safe ways to find work, and typical pay by job type.

2026.07.28

EarnEnglish

Student Visa to Work Visa in Japan: 97% Are Approved — Why Some Are Not

In 2024, 96.7% of applications to change from a student visa to a work visa were approved. Refusals are about 1 in 30 — but whether you are that one is decided long before you apply. The 28-hour rule, attendance, and matching your major to the job.

2026.07.27

EarnEnglish

Spend Well — family, culture and the life you build in Japan (Skill 5)

The last of the five skills, and the reason for the other four. Some things money can replace and some it cannot — your years in Japan are the second kind. Spend first on what does not come back.

2026.07.27

English

Leaving Japan for Good: The Checklist That Saves You Money

Leaving Japan permanently? The moving-out notice unlocks your pension refund and stops your bills. Resident tax follows you home, and an abandoned bank account can block your re-entry. The order that saves you money.

2026.07.26

EnglishProtect

Opening a Bank Account in Japan as a Foreigner: The Fastest Route

How foreigners open a bank account in Japan: the 6-month residence rule, Japan Post Bank accepting just 3 months, online banks with no hanko, required documents, and closing the account when you leave.

2026.07.26

EnglishSave

Lump-Sum Withdrawal Payment from Japan: How Much You Get Back

Japan pension lump-sum withdrawal payment explained: who qualifies, the 5-year payout cap, the unconfirmed 8-year reform, claim deadlines, and how to reclaim the 20.42% withheld tax.

2026.07.25

EnglishGrow

How to Make Money in Japan as a Foreigner: What Your Visa Allows

What your visa really allows in Japan: side jobs on a work visa, the 28-hour rule for students, full freedom for spouses and permanent residents - and the two things that are always legal.

2026.07.25

EarnEnglish

Seeing a Doctor in Japan: Clinics, Hospitals and Emergencies

How to see a doctor in Japan: clinic or hospital, the 5 steps of a visit, Japanese phrases that work, and emergencies - call 119 (free) or #7119 when unsure. A guide for foreign residents.

2026.07.25

EnglishProtect

Grow — investing and pensions as a foreigner in Japan (Skill 4)

The fourth of the five skills. NISA only exists while you live in Japan, and part of your pension comes back when you go. But start early, keep fees low and don't sell on the way down — those work in any country.

2026.07.25

English

Save — cut your costs in Japan (Skill 2)

The second of the five skills: keep a part of what you earn. The biggest wins for foreigners are simple switches — a cheaper SIM, a smarter way to send money home, the right card, the right home internet.

2026.07.24

English

Protect — visa, contracts and health in Japan (Skill 1)

The first of the five skills for living in Japan: protect your visa, your contracts and your health. If this foundation cracks, everything else falls. Guides on health insurance, residence registration, renting and move-out costs.

2026.07.24

English

The Five Skills — timeless principles of money and life in Japan

Money and life follow principles that do not change with country or century. Learn the five skills — protect, save, earn, grow, spend — and how to practise them as a foreigner living in Japan.

2026.07.24

English

Earn — work, Japanese and your visa in Japan (Skill 3)

The third of the five skills. What you earn is what you can do, times the hours you may work, times the rules that allow it — and for a foreigner that third one is your residence status. Raise your rate, not your hours.

2026.07.23

English

About lazy-lazy — Life in Japan School

Living in Japan is hard when nobody tells you the rules. lazy-lazy is the senpai you don't have yet — practical, honest guides on visa, housing, money and health for people from Nepal, Sri Lanka and beyond.

2026.07.23

English

Moving House in Japan 2026: Why March Costs Double

A single person pays about 142,000 yen to move in March and 60,000 to 70,000 from May. How to make companies compete, the honest problem with comparison sites, and the paperwork deadlines nobody warns you about.

2026.07.23

EnglishSave

Move-Out Costs in Japan: What You Really Owe (and What You Don’t)

Move-out costs in Japan explained. Normal wear is the landlord responsibility; you pay only for damage you caused. How foreigners avoid being overcharged and how to push back.

2026.07.22

EnglishProtect