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    Question for those living in Japan

    Hi all,

    I have been offered the position near Hiroshima that I applied for. I don't have any comprehension of salaries etc in Japan. So am looking for a little help.

    My package is:

    Salary 7 million yen (I assume before tax)
    Housing provided by school
    Meal allowance 25,000 yen month

    Is this a good package?

    The job is as a classroom teacher but I will be living at school as all the students are boarders so I imagine its a full on position. Its in the moutons, very isolated, 90 minutes from Hiroshima. Looks amazing. But I don't know anything about the salary. Its less than I earned in Singapore by some margin.


    Thanks in advance for any assistance.
    Last edited by Jaz; 20-12-2020, 23:58.

    #2
    I've no idea if that's a decent salary in relation to the local going rate, but a quick conversion shows that's just shy of 50k GBP, so considering you wouldn't have accommodation costs and the meal allowance would cover a good chunk of your monthly outgoings on food, you must be able to work out if it's enough to be worth you taking the job.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by endo View Post
      I've no idea if that's a decent salary in relation to the local going rate.
      That's what I'm asking about. I'm not from the UK so pounds mean nothing to me.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Jaz View Post
        Hi all,

        I have been offered the position near Hiroshima that I applied for. I don't have any comprehension of salaries etc in Japan. So am looking for a little help.

        My package is:

        Salary 7 million yen (I assume before tax)
        Housing provided by school
        Meal allowance 25,000 yen month

        Is this a good package?

        The job is as a classroom teacher but I will be living at school as all the students are boarders so I imagine its a full on position. Its in the moutons, very isolated, 90 minutes from Hiroshima. Looks amazing. But I don't know anything about the salary. Its less than I earned in Singapore by some margin.


        Thanks in advance for any assistance.
        That sounds like a Mega deal. Most English teachers are on 3 million yen a year or just less. They don't get meal allowance either. They do get transport allowance though.

        Are you sure 7 million is right? That seems a lot for a teacher. Or will you be working in some uni or as a private full time educator?

        Anyway, that is a good deal.

        As for food, we spend only 2000 yen a day (week days) on our food budget for 3 people. Keep in mind I own my own house so cooking isn't an issue. Often apartments have crappy cooking facilities. No ovens in Japanese apartments for example.

        Comment


          #5
          On JET in the 2000s I was paid a salary that translated to around £20k GBP a year, I seem to recall a figure of 3.6 million yen, but the exchange rates are different today.

          Unlike you @Jaz, my rent had to come out of that (though it was part-subsidised by the city), but it was in an urban location so it was a fair chunk. I understood this to be the standard national rate for that position, though somewhat infamously it had been the same yen value since JET started, I think in the 80s? So we used to reflect on how those doing it in the early 90s must've had it really good.

          That being said, JET is known as being one of the the higher paid options for English ALTs and similar jobs. That's because if you're with one of the other companies, the city will basically pay the same as a JET person, but the company will skim a % of that salary as their commission (which can be a significant amount of your wage, though the flipside is that you get a case worker for that who is meant to help you out).

          @Jaz, compared to JET, what you're being offered is very good. It's definitely more than enough to live on, and I did pretty well with that amount - but I was in a busy city, so it was a different situation to what you're facing.
          Last edited by Asura; 21-12-2020, 10:53.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Yakumo View Post
            That sounds like a Mega deal. Most English teachers are on 3 million yen a year or just less. They don't get meal allowance either. They do get transport allowance though.

            Are you sure 7 million is right? That seems a lot for a teacher. Or will you be working in some uni or as a private full time educator?

            Anyway, that is a good deal.

            As for food, we spend only 2000 yen a day (week days) on our food budget for 3 people. Keep in mind I own my own house so cooking isn't an issue. Often apartments have crappy cooking facilities. No ovens in Japanese apartments for example.
            Thanks for the reply mate.

            Ill be a classroom teacher at an International school, so teaching the IB curriculum rather than EAL. The school fees are also 7 million a year plus extras. That's expensive.

            The meal allowance is actually a deduction as it turns out. Ill be living in the mountains at the school and they will provide all meals. They are taking this monthly to cover the food costs.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Asura View Post
              On JET in the 2000s I was paid a salary that translated to around £20k GBP a year, I seem to recall a figure of 3.6 million yen, but the exchange rates are different today.

              Unlike you @Jaz, my rent had to come out of that (though it was part-subsidised by the city), but it was in an urban location so it was a fair chunk. I understood this to be the standard national rate for that position, though somewhat infamously it had been the same yen value since JET started, I think in the 80s? So we used to reflect on how those doing it in the early 90s must've had it really good.

              That being said, JET is known as being one of the the higher paid options for English ALTs and similar jobs. That's because if you're with one of the other companies, the city will basically pay the same as a JET person, but the company will skim a % of that salary as their commission (which can be a significant amount of your wage, though the flipside is that you get a case worker for that who is meant to help you out).

              @Jaz, compared to JET, what you're being offered is very good. It's definitely more than enough to live on, and I did pretty well with that amount - but I was in a busy city, so it was a different situation to what you're facing.
              Thanks for the reply.

              Im going o ask them a bunch of questions because I need to get my head around taxation and the pension scheme too.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Jaz View Post
                Thanks for the reply.

                Im going o ask them a bunch of questions because I need to get my head around taxation and the pension scheme too.
                There are two insurance systems, National and Social. Basically, if you work more than 7 hours a day, you must be on Social health insurance. This includes the national pension payments and unemployment benefits. National does not but is also cheaper. You can't choose which you belong to. It all depends upon your work hours. Both systems have the same health coverage.

                Comment


                  #9
                  7 million sounds like a very good wage, although I have an inkling that while the kids are there, you'll be working 24/7.
                  I could live very comfortably just outside Tokyo on 3.6 million/year, even supporting my then wife as well.

                  That will be before tax, and expect a tax bill to arrive separately the following year of about half a months pay. It is based on location, so you might be better off than I was in Chiba.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    That’s a great salary; you’ll be fine, especially if you’re not supporting a family by yourself.

                    My wife and I earn 6m each and we live in Tokyo. We don’t have kids(yet) so we have plenty of money left over after bills for Xboxes and whatnot.

                    Your housing is taken care of but you’d still be able to enjoy yourself regardless. Even if it’s lower than what you were getting in Singapore, I guess the living costs were also higher over there?

                    Don’t worry about health insurance and the rest of it. You clearly won’t be an ALT so you won’t have to deal with any tax avoidance nonsense. I’m in IT so I don’t know how proper teaching jobs work here but I expect you’ll have an annual contract or be permanent staff - either way it’ll just come out of your salary like any other regular job.

                    Welcome to the motherland, Jaz

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by randombs View Post
                      Don’t worry about health insurance and the rest of it. You clearly won’t be an ALT so you won’t have to deal with any tax avoidance nonsense.
                      Yep, that's a thing for ALTs. Main one being that if you're coming from the UK, you really have to stay 2 years or you get whacked by a big tax bill. I don't recall the exact reasons but it's to do with how, due to the calendar/financial year, you don't clear non-residency status if you stay for 1.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by randombs View Post
                        That’s a great salary; you’ll be fine, especially if you’re not supporting a family by yourself.

                        My wife and I earn 6m each and we live in Tokyo. We don’t have kids(yet) so we have plenty of money left over after bills for Xboxes and whatnot.

                        Your housing is taken care of but you’d still be able to enjoy yourself regardless. Even if it’s lower than what you were getting in Singapore, I guess the living costs were also higher over there?

                        Don’t worry about health insurance and the rest of it. You clearly won’t be an ALT so you won’t have to deal with any tax avoidance nonsense. I’m in IT so I don’t know how proper teaching jobs work here but I expect you’ll have an annual contract or be permanent staff - either way it’ll just come out of your salary like any other regular job.

                        Welcome to the motherland, Jaz
                        He'll still need to do the Nenmatsuchosei (year end tax adjustment) form B at least but that maybe about it.
                        Still, 7 million for a teaching job sounds way too much. Even university teachers don't get that much.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Asura View Post
                          Yep, that's a thing for ALTs. Main one being that if you're coming from the UK, you really have to stay 2 years or you get whacked by a big tax bill. I don't recall the exact reasons but it's to do with how, due to the calendar/financial year, you don't clear non-residency status if you stay for 1.
                          Tax is connected to insurance in a way. It is based upon the previous years income I work in HR so its one of my jobs a long with visas and stuff.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Yakumo View Post
                            He'll still need to do the Nenmatsuchosei (year end tax adjustment) form B at least but that maybe about it.
                            Still, 7 million for a teaching job sounds way too much. Even university teachers don't get that much.
                            My brother in law is a teacher in a public elementary school, and my wife describes how much work he has to put in. 7 day weeks with supervising club activities on weekends.
                            Private schools employing the foreigners would probably (?) offer better conditions in order to keep them, but don't quote me. Have you already looked up testimonials about the school from previous teachers?

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by Yakumo View Post
                              He'll still need to do the Nenmatsuchosei (year end tax adjustment) form B at least but that maybe about it.
                              Still, 7 million for a teaching job sounds way too much. Even university teachers don't get that much.
                              True, but I’m pretty sure there’ll be someone who can help Jaz fill out his tax paperwork.

                              As for the salary, it could be a huge scam but perhaps it’s just a good school.

                              You work in HR? Cool! I’m always bending the rules at work so I’d probably drive you mad

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