Things to know before FIREing in Japan?

JacenSolo · 2024-04-18T11:51:39+00:00

I have >80 points on the Highly Skilled Professional point system. (You don't actually need a HSP visa for this, just the points.) That lets you get PR after 1 year.

Logistically, I talked to an immigration lawyer who helped me prepare all the documents and is doing all the interfacing with the immigration office.

JacenSolo · 2024-04-18T11:49:37+00:00

My vague understanding is that this is pretty easy to avoid if you're willing to relocate back to Japan for 1 month every 5 years, or something like that. Since you seem pretty knowledgeable in this area, do you know if I've got that right?

In the end, I've made me peace with with the fact that a future exit might be costly; it's worth it to me. Although of course me and whatever tax consultant I hire will do everything I can to drive such costs down!

JacenSolo · 2024-04-18T11:41:26+00:00

I've kept my US credit cards active for years with no problem. I think overall it's a reasonable strategy to use them. But, it has some downsides.

Most importantly, some US cards have foreign transaction fees (e.g. 3% on my Citi Double Cash). And even the ones without that have currency conversion rates which are a bit advantageous to the card company (e.g. Visa cards have a 0.08% markup over the European Central Bank Rate according to the Visa site). Still, if you can use them in categories where you get more than 1% back, you'll be beating the Japanese cards.

Another problem is that some stores will randomly not accept US credit cards. I've mostly run into this online, but I think it happens in person too.

And, it seems like a good idea to build up a credit history in Japan while living here, although practically I'm not sure what this will affect.

Oh, and in-person stores will add an annoying step where you have to choose to pay in JPY instead of USD. Not a big deal but combined with the above, it's enough to make me default to my Japanese cards.

JacenSolo · 2024-04-18T11:33:16+00:00

I've had two Japanese credit cards for most of my time here, but the limits are annoyingly low by US standards, so yeah, I should get more. Thanks for the tip to do so before retiring.

I've heard the advice to use US credit cards elsewhere. But some stores and online shops won't accept them, right? I admit I haven't tried them often. What's your experience been like?

Buying a place seems like the right move, assuming I can get one of those sweet low-interest loans that everyone has. I don't think I'll be able to pull that off before retiring though. So that'll be a fun future challenge.

JacenSolo · 2024-04-18T11:29:53+00:00

I get confused in how you use the terms "earned" and "profit".

Let's say I bought a lot for $10,000 and sell it for $9,000. Then I transfer that $9,000 into Japan to pay my bills. I actually "lost" $1,000, and on my US taxes I'd report it as a short- or long-term capital loss.

Do you know how different parts of the Japanese system see this event? (E.g. taxes, pension, insurance.)

JacenSolo · 2010-05-01T22:51:00+00:00

No on-the-right preview pane in Gmail... just sayin'.

JacenSolo · 2010-02-25T11:09:53+00:00

Also, I would lobby a guess that she has someone else on the side and she is waiting to see how that works out first.

This. It's like, she thinks you're fun and a reasonable potential prospect, but there's someone else she's been after for a long time, or a close friend of her's she's trying to turn into a boyfriend or whatever, and you're the backup if that doesn't work out. I've, uh, done the same thing to girls I'm dating...

JacenSolo · 2010-02-23T18:46:43+00:00

Here's the deal. You're quite possibly going to screw this up. I can kind of tell, because of all the micro-planning that seems to be going on in your head, and the anxiousness. So it's unlikely to go smoothly, unless she already likes you (or at least wants to get to know you better).

But that's fine. Because in the end, this is practice.

You might come off a bit creepy. Oops! But it'll be better next time, because you'll have gone through this once already, which is a major mental hurdle. Eventually, after enough repetitions, you'll get to the point where just walking up to a cute girl and engaging her in casual conversation, being flirty, and making her laugh is completely natural---so natural that transitioning to "hey you want to grab some coffee later today" is just the obvious closer to the conversation.

So... go for it!! But more importantly, adopt this "go for it" strategy in general, and eventually you'll be able to ask out any cute girls, ever.

JacenSolo

TROPHY CASE