If you’ve been working in Japan for a while, you’ve probably noticed a flurry of emails from HR as the year winds down about nenmatsu chosei (年末調整). Nenmatsu chosei is a year-end tax procedure in Japan where your employer calculates your final income tax for the year and adjusts for any overpaid or underpaid amounts. […]

Now that you have landed a job interview in Japan, you must be wondering what manners you need to know. Understandably, you might be nervous since interviews are when you need to put your best foot forward. So, how should you present yourself in front of your potential employers? As you may know, Japan places […]

While you might not believe in the otherworldly and mythology, it’s best to avoid going against Japanese superstitions.

While Japan is known to be one of the safest countries in the world, it is also a very natural disaster-prone country. In fact, according to Statistica, the country experiences 1,500 earthquakes each year. When you’re in Japan and an unfortunate event occurs, what Japanese phrases should you know to ask for help or find […]

For many foreign residents in Japan, permanent residency (PR), or 永住 (eijuu), is one of the main goal of their long-term plans. It ends the need to renew a residence permit on certain visa types. But new guidelines starting in April 2027 will make applications and screening tighter than before.  Japan’s Immigration Services Agency revised […]

Part of what makes Japan so clean and environmentally friendly is how people throw away garbage, so there are many rules to follow just to get rid of your trash. In fact, Japan takes the environment so seriously that there is even a national holiday, Greenery Day, which celebrates the Earth. Japan reports an 87% […]

If you are a resident in Japan planning to renew your visa or change your status of residence anytime soon, there’s a change coming that’s worth noting. On Tuesday, August 25, 2026, the Japanese government decided to raise fees for foreign nationals who renew or change their status of residence in Japan. The renewal fee […]

When you find yourself preparing to attend a funeral in Japan, how do you express condolences in Japanese