cost of living in japan....please help.

[Evo_Lee]

Frank, also remembered starting this year Bonus is applicable to pension contribution.

Companies commonly gave lower monthly salaries to escape hugh Pension contribution, but this year the J-Govt got smart and made Bonus applicable to the Pension scheme. It's a killer...a percentage of a hugh lump sum is alot of money ...nobody is happy about that.

edit: good point by Scriby, but commonly overlooked...for all you know you may absolutely hate it over here. I know heaps of guys who couldn't wait to leave after their contract ended...they were kinda in an internship. Make sure you have a clause to allow you to get the fark out (breaking the contract with no consequences) when you feel you can't hack the pressure no more.

[franks]

just before i forget.....whats the personal income tax rate there?

[Evo_Lee]

Last time I worked it out was like 4-5% or something and pension is like 7%...

[Evo_Lee]

Last time I worked it out was like 4-5% or something and pension is like 7%...but don't quote me.

[akeenan]

i think im paying around 7% income tax.... students always complain that they are paying around 20% or something...

[Evo_Lee]

Here's a report from today, basically the young is contributing to the pension scheme which supports the elderly. Many of the young people now already feel when they become old the next generation will not be able to support, thus there will be no pension support for them in 35 years time.

I have been here long enough to see this is already the case for those retiring in 15-20 years as they take more and more out of my pay pack. As the article says this is the current debate in Parliment to see what changes will be made to the current Pension policy. Unlike Australia we are being made to save, if you don't save for your own retirement...tough!

One in five Japanese aged 65 or older -- report

08 Jun 2004 05:10:04 GMT

TOKYO, June 8 (Reuters) - Nearly one in five Japanese is aged 65 or older and the figure will jump to one in four over the next decade or so, reflecting the country's rapidly ageing population, a Japanese government report released on Tuesday showed.

The report underscores the challenges Japan's low birthrate and lengthy lifespan pose for the nation's creaking pension system, a topic of heated political debate ahead of an election in July.

There were 24.31 million Japanese citizens aged 65 or older as of last October, 19 percent of the population, according to the report released by the Cabinet Office. Japan's population totalled 127.62 million as of October 1, 2003.

The number of men aged 65 or older stood at 10.26 million, surpassing the 10 million mark for the first time, it said.

The report warned that the number of people aged 65 or older would continue to grow quickly, accounting for 26 percent of the population in 2015 and 35.7 percent in 2050.

The number of Japanese aged 100 or older had doubled in the five years since 1998, topping 20,000 in late September, the report added.

Japan has the world's highest life expectancy, at 78.07 years for men and 84.93 for women.

According to some estimates, Japan will have roughly one person over 65 for every two of working age by 2025, a higher dependency ratio than any other major industrialised country.

The rapid ageing of society and a tumbling birthrate have raised concerns that young people paying into the state pension system will receive severely reduced benefits when they retire.

Japan's parliament on Saturday enacted a pension reform law that will raise premiums and cut benefits, despite a raucous struggle by the opposition -- who favour more sweeping reforms -- to kill the legislation.

Pension policy looks set to be a hot topic in elections for parliament's Upper House, expected on July 11.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/T170411.htm

[Evo_Lee]

i think im paying around 7% income tax.... students always complain that they are paying around 20% or something...

Yeah I could be out of date, those were the figures I calculated ages ago. These days I don't know what the hell they take out...all I know is a couple of grand disappears before I see anything

[Sciby]

Oh no oh no.. 20% income tax... *cries about 48% aus income tax*

[Evo_Lee]

hehehe...tax is low but living is high.

There is no win-win situation...Japan is not the goldmine everyone thinks.

[franks]

is 28% income flat rate or is it a sliding scale???

resume goes in tomorrow! *fingers crossed*

[4150]

i pay around 67 or 76 thousand yen per month for rent.. but i guarantee the other japanese residents in my building arent paying that much......

That's very true, the Japanese are famous for jacking the price up for Gaijin, when I was living up in northern Japan the usual price increase over a Japanese was an additional 20,000-30,000 Yen. Down here in Yokohama I'm paying 169,000 Yen a month in rent on a new three bedroom house. Cheap housing can be had though if you look around, of course you usually get what you pay for though. My employer reimburses me the money I pay for rent so I wasn't overly concerned with finding a cheap place to live, rather I found the nicest place I could for the maximum price they would reimburse me for.

As far as food if you know where to shop you can get by quite cheaply, my wife is an extreme penny pincher and knows when everything is going to be on sale at whichever markets. Buying certain fruits and vegetables out of season is a big no-no.

Transportation for me is pretty simple since I'm only about 5 km's from work, the screwed up thing is that it takes me 5-10 minutes to drive there in the morning(leave at 5:30am) and about 20-30 minutes to get home depending on what time I leave work. I should probably just ride a bike but I'm too lazy, that and I'm a late riser. When I was living in Yokohama the first time(got here in '95) I'd either take the bus or sometimes use the train, either way it came out to around 700 Yen for a round trip since I really didn't live too far away.

What made me come over here? no choice really. I joined the US Navy in '94 and got stationed in Japan in Jan '95, hated it at first but then I met my wife and decided to stay. I spent my first four years in Yokohama and then I moved up by Aomori in northern Japan, I just moved back to the Yokohama area a little over a year ago. I'll probably be leaving here in '06 or '07, not by choice however.

[Demon Dave]

 Down here in Yokohama I'm paying 169,000 Yen a month in rent on a new three bedroom house.  

Damn that's expensive!

And I thought my 50,000 yen a month was steep (for 7 room house, 3 room out building, 2 car garage, garden and driveway parking for 3 or 4 cars ) Of course, the downside being the house is as old as I am and the neighbourhood consists of elderly Kei truck driving farmers

[Sciby]

4150, are you still in the Navy, or do you have a civvy job? Just wondering what civvy jobs pay your rent in Japan?

[4150]

I'm still in the Navy, it's a good stable job and I have a family I need to support. That and it's given me the chance to stay in Japan for so long

Yeah my rents pretty damn expensive, we love our house though. Our neighbourhood consists mainly of old people as well and a few young couples, we've done our best to try and get away from all the other Gaijin in the area. I wish I had a garage ah well at least I have my own driveway, some people don't even have that.

[Evo_Lee]

Go away Dave you can't be considered, your a Hill Billy

OK my place ain't big 2DK but relatively new less then 10 years and 20mins train from town. Rent is less then what I use to pay for my bachelor pad in North Sydney 35,500Yen/month subsidised. In fact I was paying half that till earlier this year with my misses who has gone backed to Aust...who bloody pays $222/month on an apartment in Japan .

[Demon Dave]

Go away Dave you can't be considered, your a Hill Billy

Aye, gotta have plenty of for the livestock