Japan Figured Out

Buying or Maintaining a Car in Japan? How Foreigners Save ¥100,000+ on Shaken Inspections & Car Taxes "My first Shaken in Japan came up two years after I bought my car. I had no idea what to expect, so I just took it to the Toyota dealer where I'd bought it. The quote came back at ¥210,000. I paid it without question because I assumed that was just how much it cost. A Japanese coworker saw the receipt and stared at me. He'd done his Shaken at a discount chain the same month for ¥68,000. I'd overpaid by nearly ¥150,000 on my very first inspection simply because I didn't know other options existed." Updated September 2026  |  Written by Luna H Owning a car in Japan provides incredible freedom for exploring beyond major cities, but the ongoing maintenance costs can quickly shock foreign residents. The single biggest expense for any vehicle owner in Japan is the mandatory biennial vehicle inspection known as Shaken (車検) . Dealerships and official garages frequ...

Facing Huge Medical Bills in Japan? How Foreigners Use High-Cost Medical Expense Caps & Avoid Hospital Surprises "I had an emergency appendectomy in Osaka and spent five days in the hospital. When the final bill came, it was ¥380,000. I paid it in full because I had no idea there was a monthly cap on out-of-pocket medical costs. A month later a friend mentioned the Kougaku Ryouhouhi system. I looked it up and realized my actual cap for my income bracket was around ¥80,000. I had overpaid by ¥300,000 and didn't even know I could have applied for a reimbursement within two years. I filed the claim and got most of it back — but only because I found out in time." Updated September 2026  |  Written by Luna H While Japanese National Health Insurance (NHI) or Employee Health Insurance covers 70% of standard medical fees, unexpected surgeries, long-term hospital stays, or specialized scans (MRI/CT) can still result in daunting out-of-pocket bills. Many foreign residents are u...

Sending Money Home? How Foreigners Claim Overseas Dependent Tax Deductions (Fuyo Kojo) in Japan "I'd been sending money home to my parents in the Philippines every month for two years without knowing I could claim them as overseas dependents on my Japanese taxes. A coworker mentioned it during a lunch break. I went back and calculated what I'd missed — roughly ¥180,000 in unclaimed deductions over two years. I filed a retroactive claim at the tax office and got most of it refunded. The only problem was I'd been sending one bulk transfer to my father's account to cover both parents. The tax office rejected half the claim because the transfers weren't in each parent's individual name." Updated September 2026  |  Written by Luna H If you support family members living outside Japan by sending regular financial remittances, Japanese tax law allows you to claim them as overseas dependents (国外扶養親族). Claiming the Dependent Exemption (扶養控除 - Fuyo Kojo ) reduce...

NHK Fee Collectors at Your Door in Japan? How Foreigners Deal With Contracts, Refuse Legally & Cancel "Three weeks after moving into my Tokyo apartment, someone rang my doorbell holding an official-looking clipboard. My Japanese was basic at best. He spoke fast, pointed at a form, and I signed it — I genuinely had no idea what I was agreeing to. Two months later I realized I'd signed an NHK contract and was being billed ¥1,950 a month for satellite service. I didn't even own a TV. I had a laptop and a tunerless monitor for streaming. I'd signed a contract I was never legally required to sign, and it took three phone calls to cancel it." Updated September 2026  |  Written by Luna H Shortly after moving into a new apartment in Japan, almost every foreign resident experiences a ring at their doorbell from an official-looking representative. This is the NHK collector (NHK訪問員) , requesting that you sign a receiving contract and pay monthly broadcast receiving fees ...

Freelancing in Japan? How Foreigners Open a Sole Proprietorship (Kojin Jigyo) & Save on Taxes Legally "I spent my first two years in Japan doing freelance translation work on the side and declaring it all as miscellaneous income. At tax time I paid full rate on every yen with zero deductions. A fellow expat asked if I'd registered as a Kojin Jigyo. I hadn't even heard the term. I looked into it and realized I could have been deducting my laptop, internet bill, and a portion of my rent the entire time — plus claiming a ¥650,000 Blue Return deduction. The registration took 20 minutes at the tax office and cost nothing. I'd been overpaying for two full years." Updated September 2026  |  Written by Luna H If you are earning extra income as a freelancer, consultant, content creator, or side-hustler in Japan, registering as a Sole Proprietorship (個人事業 - Kojin Jigyo ) is the most effective legal way to minimize your tax burden. While many foreign residents worry that...

Moving in Japan (2026): How Foreigners Complete Address Changes via Mynaportal & Avoid Visa Penalty Traps "I moved from Osaka to Tokyo for a new job and assumed I could sort out the address change paperwork whenever I had time. Three weeks after moving in I still hadn't done it. Then my bank app locked my account because my registered address didn't match my new location. I went to the new ward office the next morning and found out I'd already missed the 14-day deadline. The clerk flagged it on my record. It didn't cause immediate problems, but when my visa renewal came up six months later the immigration officer asked me to explain the late registration. It was a stressful conversation that was completely avoidable." Updated September 2026  |  Written by Luna H Moving to a new apartment or changing cities in Japan is an exciting milestone, but it comes with strict legal administrative requirements. Under Japanese immigration law, mid-to-long-term foreign ...

Selling Used Goods in Japan? How Foreigners Fix Mercari eKYC Locks & Avoid Furniture Dump Fees "When I was moving out of my Tokyo apartment I had a bed frame, desk, washing machine and two bookshelves to get rid of. I called the municipal office to book pickup and found out I needed separate disposal stickers for each item totaling over ¥8,000. I paid it. Two days later a coworker told me about Jimoty — she'd listed her entire apartment contents for free and had strangers come collect everything within 48 hours. I'd paid disposal fees for items someone would have happily taken off my hands for nothing." Updated September 2026  |  Written by Luna H When moving out of an apartment or preparing to leave Japan permanently, selling your second-hand appliances, electronics, and daily goods is the best way to recoup cash. Japan's second-hand marketplace is massive, dominated by flea market apps like Mercari (メルカリ) and local community bulletin boards like Jimoty (ジモテ...