RetireJapan

I will be leaving Japan this year to return to the UK.

I have ~¥4,000,000 in Japan bank accounts. What should I do with it?

A little more detail:
- Will be moving to UK with partner and 2 kids. Expecting to buy a house in Hampshire (i.e. more expensive region of UK to buy house)
- I have ~£40,000 in UK bank accounts.
- Despite following this website for over 1 year I haven`t invested any money yet as life was too unpredictable. Life will be more settled in the UK - permanent job etc. - so will look to start investing then.
- Will return to Japan on holidays and to visit Japan family etc.
- Returning to Japan permanently is more of a dream than a reality (I love life here, but work is better for me in the UK). Dream would be buy a house in future for retirement (will retire in >15 years).

My view is I will probably need the ¥4,000,000 for a deposit on a house in the UK. Anyone have any other suggestions? Any decent way to keep money in Japan and have it build over time?

I don’t know of any way to make decent returns with that 4 million yen if you are non-resident in Japan. As I understand it you will not be able to invest it in stocks, and bank accounts obviously pay paltry interest.

As your timescale is 15 years plus and you are not sure if you will return to Japan, and you may need the cash for a deposit, sending it to the U.K. would seem to make sense. Investing it in equities is a possibility if you don’t end up needing it for a deposit, and bank accounts in the U.K. are paying 3 to 4% at the moment. Obviously shift your £40k in the U.K. to a high interest account once you are there if it is not in one already.

For sending the cash over, for that amount a bank like Sony (there are others but not sure which ones) would likely be your best bet. They have multi currency accounts and can do the conversion for you at a good rate. Someone who has done it recently may be along to advise on the absolute best current option…