RetireJapan

Great - thanks!

Thanks, very interesting. I'm also thinking about taking J-citizenship at some point. I will probably try to pay into the UK pension for as long as possible before doing so, just in case. I don't expect to have problems receiving the eventual pension. I see. So, am I correct that it’d still be worth...

Just a thought - can you still claim a UK pension if you take Japanese citizenship and therefore renounce British citizenship? Can you still pay in to the system? I think the answer to the former is yes (foreign workers who've paid in can claim, right?) but I'm less sure about the latter. I am not y...

The deadline has been extended to the end of July https://www.gov.uk/government/news/taxpayers-given-more-time-for-voluntary-national-insurance-contributions Thanks for sharing this! Just FYI, the UK pension site is still telling me I only have until April to pay, but I'm guessing the system just h...

Ah, good to know! Thank you!

Thanks a lot. Good to know! Also, I just found this link for applying for an IDP in Kanagawa and it says similar to what you said, captainspoke. You need a: A document that shows you are going abroad (such as a passport, receipt of passport application, sailor's passport, etc.) https://www.police.pr...

To be clear: I have a passport but it runs out in July next year. So, I'd like to renew it, but I've also just joined a driving school in Kanagawa. To renew my passport, I need to send it back to the UK and may be without it for up to three months. In the sign up process to join the school, all I ne...

Ah, thanks a lot! That makes sense. I guess I should have looked more closely at that list

Hi all, I finally got my iDeCo set up and am a bit confused (I'm using Rakuten, btw). I have decided to go 100% in the 楽天・全世界株式インデックス・ファンド for the time being but after selecting a "100%" allocation to this fund, I am then taken to this screen: https://i.ibb.co/KhzSznp/ideco.png I assume th...

Thanks. Ugh. I was kind of hoping to be done with that place. When you say "quick" how long are we talking compared to visa renewal? From what I can tell Shinagawa is always absolutely packed, it took me over two hours today. I guess I don't need think about it will 2026. Think I'll try th...