Working in Japan,
the parts that trip people up.
The employment admin that actually matters — your work status and what to file when you change jobs, the shakai hoken deductions from your payslip, and the safety net if you lose your job — explained in plain English, backed by official sources.
In this section
Work status & changing jobs
How a work residence status limits what you can do, and what you must file with immigration when you change employer. Based on the Immigration Services Agency.
Read more →Digital nomad visa, explained
The 6-month non-renewable remote-work status: the ¥10 million income and insurance rules, who you can work for, family, and no residence card. Based on ISA and MOFA.
Read more →Social insurance (shakai hoken)
Employees’ health insurance + pension via your employer: how enrolment and the roughly 50/50 premium split work, and how it differs from the national schemes. Based on JPS and Kyokai Kenpo.
Read more →Employment insurance & job loss
Who’s covered by employment insurance, what’s deducted, and the unemployment benefit you can claim at Hello Work if you lose your job. Based on MHLW and Hello Work.
Read more →Working hours, overtime & paid leave
The 8-hour/40-hour limits, the 36 Agreement for overtime, premium pay rates, and how paid annual leave is earned — and that these rights apply to foreign workers. Based on MHLW.
Read more →Understanding your payslip
What each deduction means — health insurance, pension, employment & nursing-care insurance, income tax and residence tax — and why your first year looks different. Based on JPS, MHLW and NTA.
Read more →Year-end tax adjustment (nenmatsu chosei)
How your employer reconciles the year’s income tax, who must file a return instead, the forms you submit, and how it differs from residence tax. Based on the NTA.
Read more →Freelancing as a sole proprietor
The business-commencement notification, blue vs white tax returns, National Health Insurance & Pension, the invoice system, and visa limits. Based on the NTA, JPS and Immigration.
Read more →How we research this
We rely on official sources — the Immigration Services Agency, the Japan Pension Service, the Health Insurance Association and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare — and cite them on each page. Rules change and depend on your situation, so we date what we publish and point you to the official body for the final word. About this site & disclaimer