Year: 2016

Other People’s Money

Bait and Switch A couple of months ago I read something about rental properties in Japan, which made me start thinking about loans, which made me take a look at some loan comparison sites, which led me to the Tokyo Star Bank Mortgage Secured Loan. On paper, this loan looks incredible. You can borrow up […]

Mobile Phones in Japan

It pays to do your research In personal finance it pays to focus on the big wins. For most people, the biggest expenses are accommodation, transport, insurance. In Japan for a lot of people mobile phones are expensive enough to make it into the ‘big cost’ category. Most people are aware of the ‘big three’ […]

RetireJapan Workshop: Yamagata City

Yamagata JALT on October 22nd I’m happy to announce another RetireJapan workshop, this time in Yamagata City hosted by Yamagata JALT. This will be a new version of Perosonal Finance 101, and the workshop will serve as a rehearsal before the JALT National sessions. Date and Time: October 22nd, 13:30-15:30Yamagata UniversityFree for JALT members and […]

How’s Your Pension Doing?

If you have been paying into it, that is… Ever since 1986 it has been compulsory for people living in Japan to pay into the national pension scheme. Compulsory but not enforced. That seems to be changing, and one of the aims of the My Number system is clearly to track social security, income, and […]

Reader Profile: John

Saving for Two? RetireJapan: I’m really pleased to have another reader profile for you today. John very kindly shares his story with us below, and seems to be making an excellent start on saving and investing for retirement. ​1. Tell us a little bit about yourself I’ve been in Japan for about 10 years. Originally […]

Review: Margin Call

Amazing cast, engrossing film, very cynical Last month’s review of The Big Short reminded me of another great film about the 2008 financial crisis: Margin Call. It is is kind of a cross between 24 and the financial news. The film feels like a thriller and is very fast-paced. The mood is cynical, and the […]

RetireJapan Forum

Ask and answer questions, comment The RetireJapan Forum is a free space to discuss personal finance and life in Japan. You can register easily with Weebly, or log in with your existing account (Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). The forum is the best place to get answers to your questions, or to read about others’ ideas. We’ve […]

Japanese Government Debt

Up and up There was an article last month about the latest government debt figures. Seems like it’s still going up at just over 1% a year and is now over 8 million yen per inhabitant. Now, I don’t pretend to understand what it means, but I intend to continue diversifying my investments by holding […]

Travel Hacking to Europe

The good life, for less Lufthansa business class, where I am (hopefully) currently sitting 🙂 I’m taking a trip to Europe this month to see family and friends. Here’s my itinerary: Fly Sendai-Tokyo-Munich-Nuremberg (business)Fly Nuremberg-Frankfurt-London (economy)Rent car, drive London-Bristol-Liverpool-Leeds-LondonFly London-Santiago de Compostela (economy)Fly Vigo-Bilbao (economy)Fly Bilbao-Frankfurt-Beijing-Tokyo-Sendai (business) I’ll mostly be staying with friends, with one […]