Money

Most Saga JETs have an account set up by their BoE with Saga Bank. Your account will be set up once you have received your inkan (personal stamp) and residence card. Your salary will be directly deposited into your account, and it will be possible to have the majority of your regular monthly expenses automatically debited. You will receive a cash card (to withdraw from ATMs) but will need to apply separately for a debit card if you so wish.

Some JETs may also choose to open a Post Office Bank Account which will function in much the same way but has the added benefit of being accessible at all post offices throughout the country, and allowing international money transfers.

Accessing Your Money

Credit/debit cards may be accepted in many stores and restaurants in larger cities, but many places are also cash only. It is not uncommon to walk around with a lot of cash on you each day. This may take some getting used to but it will save you trips to the bank and constant ATM fees.

ATMs

ATMs will have “business hours” and are not necessarily open 24 hours a day. Depending on the time of day you use an ATM there may also be a service charge.

Saga Banks ATMs are “open” from 8:00am – 9:00pm on weekdays and from 9:00am -7:00pm on weekends and holidays. There is no service charge for withdrawing your money between 8:45am – 6:00pm on weekdays and there is never a service charge for depositing your money. There will be a service charge if you withdraw money from an ATM belonging to a different bank and some banks may not accept Saga Bank.

When traveling it’s wise to research your bank’s branches and ATMs before you leave. Saga Bank has an app for cell phones, smart phones, and tablets that makes finding a branch office or ATM very easy. It is free and requires no registration.

There are ATMs operated by 7/11, Family Mart, and Lawson, which will allow access to most bank accounts (and definitely Saga bank). These machines operate 24 hours a day, but even if the ATM is open, your bank still may not allow access to your account. This is especially true late at night, and on weekends and national holidays. During long holidays such as Golden Week and New Year’s, you may not be able to withdraw money for several days. Please plan accordingly.

In you need to access money from a foreign bank account convenience store and postal ATMs allow for withdrawals using certain foreign cards and cash advances with credit cards. If your home card has a symbol such as the Cirrus one you can often use it in Japan.

For information about Postal International ATM Service (English). For information about 7/11 International ATM Service (English).

Home Country Credit/Debit Cards

If you don’t advise the credit companies about the move beforehand, you run a great risk of having your account locked as a form of protection. Please warn the issuing bank BEFORE traveling abroad and be sure to inform them of the duration of your stay. Most local stores within Saga will not accept credit cards, but larger department stores and the like will offer you two options, payment plan (bun-katsu) or one time (ikkatsu).

Japanese Cards

While Japanese credit cards have a reputation as being very hard for foreigners to get, there are some that are more “available” than others. The card viewed as the “easiest” to obtain is the Rakuten Card.

During the application process they will call the work number you marked down to confirm that you are in fact employed. Japanese credit cards in general don’t seem to offer the flexibility in choosing when to make payments that may be offered by credit card companies back home. You can set up automatic payments from your bank, but you won’t be billed until over a month after your purchases, so make sure you keep track and have enough money in the bank. You can also keep track of purchases and upcoming bills with the Rakuten Phone App 「楽天カード」.

It is possible to add Debit Card functionality to the cash card you get with a Post Bank Account

Things To Bring With You

If you plan to use any international transfer services or just check on your balances, you will possibly need your bank account number, your bank’s routing number, and your bank’s address and telephone number.

It is best to check with your home country banks to see if there are any special procedures for sending money home, accessing your money abroad, or other relevant money matters. For some banks, internet banking services now require security tokens to facilitate some or all transactions. This is a physical piece of hardware from which you receive a code to input on the website. If you are planning on using internet banking services, you should check with your local institution as to whether you will require such a token. Although it can be posted to you in Japan, this will take some time, so its best to acquire one before you leave if necessary.

Sending Money Home

If you have a Saga Bank account you can make international payments directly from your account to another foreign account. Go to your local branch to find out more, or click here to see Saga Bank’s web page about what foreign currency transfer services (外国送金サービス) There is no English language option unfortunately.

Go Remit – Operated by Shinsei Bank. Allows you to open a separate account to use for money transfers. Any deposited money will automatically be routed to the international bank account you have designated. This is a popular service as after an initial registration period money can be remitted in 1-3 days. Each transfer will incur a domestic wire charge by Saga Bank (around ￥500-600) as well as a commission by Shinsei Bank (￥2000 regardless of the amount you remit). Note that your home bank may also charge a fee, so the total fees paid per transfer will vary. After your first transfer, Saga Bank ATMs give the option of printing a furikomiken (振り込み券), a small card that stores your account information and allows you to skip entering it each time you make a transfer. GoRemit also requests your “My Number” (マイナンバー) when filling the application form, so without it you will unfortunately not be able to use the service. Click here for more information.

Postal Transfer – You can also transfer money using a kokusai soukin (国際送金) service at your local post office. You fill out the form with your home country bank account information and can pay in cash or with funds from your Post Bank Account. Each transfer costs 2500 yen and the number of post office branches makes this a widely available option. If you will be making international money transfers frequently, they offer a service where they will print out forms with your bank information already written so you don’t have to write it each time.

7/11 – 7Eleven has a partnership with Western Union that also now offers an option to send money to your home country. See here for more information.

Wise – Wise is a relatively new transfer service that is popular with JETs for ease of use. Some of us transfer money into Wise so we can use a debit card rather than cash when out and about.

Currency Exchange – Airports, large banks, and hotels catering to tourists will provide these services for most currencies. You will need a form of photo ID (passport or Residence Card) handy for this process. Banks will tend to give you the best exchange rate, so planning ahead is advised. There are six branches of Saga Bank that provide currency exchange. The Main branch (Saga City), Tosu Branch, Taku Branch, Karatsu Branch, Kashima Branch, and Imari Branch.

Taxes

There are plenty of online resources relating to filing taxes on foreign income, and your CO can be a great source of information about taxes in Japan. Note the hosted link to the Akita Tax Guide in the black sidebar on the left.

US JETs

ALTs hailing from the United States do not pay any tax on income earned during their first two years on the JET Program. CIRs, however, have income tax taken automatically from their monthly paycheck. American CIRs must also pay a “local inhabitant tax” once a year.

All Americans are still required to file a tax return form with the IRS and declare financial information like JET salary, outstanding student loans, and income earned in the United States. Even though you can claim a foreign earned income exclusion for your first two years in Japan, you must still file your taxes. Note that you must also pay taxes on any income you earned in the year leading up to JET.

The following timeline may be helpful for American JETs:

Pre-Departure: File Form 8802 to establish your status as a United States resident for tax purposes. (Note: NOT applicable to CIRs.)

Upon Arrival: File Forms 8822 and 4868. Form 8822 is a change-of-address form, and Form 4868 allows you to file your tax return form up to six months after the regular April 15 deadline.

After 330 days in Japan: File Form 1040, your individual income tax return. Include Form 2555-EZ, your Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, and a photocopy of your 源泉徴収票, or gensen choshu hyo. This is a statement of your earnings in Japan and can be requested from your contracting organization. Those paying interest on student loans must also file Publication.

Since the loss of the Kumamoto JET guide, check out the one on the Akita Wiki instead. For individual state taxes, consider asking other JETs from your state or consulting websites dedicated to expatriate taxes.

 

Non-US JETs

JETs from countries other than the United States will have income tax taken automatically from their paychecks. They must also pay a “local inhabitant tax” to their municipalities once a year. For Ken-ALTs we discuss this at our monthly meeting around May/June. It can be paid either as an annual lump sum, or in monthly installments. JETs should check with their home country’s tax authority for more information on paperwork required and money owed.