How to Move to Japan

Dreaming of Moving to Japan? You first need a long-term visa. Here are some options

EXPAT LIFE

Andrew Haley

9/6/20243 min read

Japan...Land of the Rising Sun

An advanced society with a high quality of life

But how can Americans move there?

Short answer: It's not easy

But often the most challenging things in life are the most rewarding

Let me teach you more...

There are five main paths for Americans

  • Family Connection (Spouse/Child)

  • Digital Nomad Visa

  • Business Manager Visa

  • Residency via Real Estate Investing

  • Work for American Organization in Japan

(1) Family Connection

By far the easiest way

Having a spouse or child that is a Japanese citizen unlocks the country to foreigners

  • Get long-term, renewable visa

  • Bring Family members (Y/N): Y

  • Potentially live in Japan rest of your life

Having a Japanese speaking family member is a cheat code to daily life!

It makes it infinitely easier to navigate renting an apartment, opening a bank account etc

Many Japanese speak English, but it’s never guaranteed! English ability varies widely

(2) Digital Nomad Visa

Just started in 2024

  • A six-month, non-renewable visa

  • Proof of health/life insurance

  • +$75K/yr annual income

  • Bring Family members (Y/N): Y

I am skeptical about the future of this new program

Seems like they are setting up foreigners for failure

How do you rent an apartment for only 6 months? (Japanese landlords were already hesitant to rent to foreigners with 12 mo lease)

How do you handle daily life if you don't speak Japanese? I think the foreigner would have a terrible time getting started...bank account, utilities, etc, without a decent ability to speak/understand the language

Curious to see how this evolves over time

(3) Startup + Business Manager Visa

  • Start a business within 14 designated cities

  • Begin with 1 year Startup Visa then convert to multi-year, renewable visa

  • Bring Family members (Y/N): Y

Existing business from USA doesn't count, unless it's a proper registered Japanese branch

This path would also be quite hard for foreigners. You can't just have a website; you need a physical location

Seems like even the most basic business such as selling apparel/coffee mugs could cause you to lose big $$$

Plus the challenges of navigating Japanese business bureaucracy and tax

You will need to register your LLC (called a LTD in Japan) and pay Japanese income tax on your business earnings

(4) Residency via Real Estate Investing

Technically called Business Investor visa

  • Must make +$40K investment in Japan

  • Long-term visa

  • Bring Family members (Y/N): Y

Because it's hard to invest in Japanese companies, you can buy real estate + start your own rental property LLC

I would also approach this with great caution

Real Estate in Japan is not like in the USA

There should be no expectation of rising prices for investors

Also, tenants have expectation of static rental prices, and landlords often cave in

Foreigners don't understand how to navigate the real estate market and associated bureaucracy

Lack of Japanese language ability would hold you back here big time as well

You could lose big $$$ here

(5) Work for American Organization in Japan

Another easy path...

Whoever you work for already has an office in Japan and is willing to sponsor you plus family members

Might even assist with getting settled like advice with housing, utilities, and Japanese income taxes

This is how I lived in Japan the first time (US Navy) and life was relatively painless

But these opportunities are often hard to come by...not everyone works for a global organization

I would probably stick with

  • Family Connection type visa

  • International Employer type visa

Everything else seems too challenging to me

But what do I know? I could be too cautious

Have you used any of these visas on this list?

How did it go?

I'd love to hear more about it!