Leaving Japan

Is this your last year on JET? Are you leaving this summer? If yes, here is a list of things you’ll want to make sure you do before boarding your flight home.

Claim your pension and tax refund

If you are leaving Japan, you most likely qualify for the pension and tax refund. And great news! As of April 1st 2021, the upper limit for Pension Lump-sum Withdrawal has increased from 3 years to 5 years. (Hooray for more money!) However, there is a long process that requires a lot of paperwork and patience before seeing a single yen of that money, so to avoid significant delays and headaches, make sure to prepare all the necessary documents and to nominate a tax agent ahead of time. For more details on how to proceed, please consult pg.177-183 of the 2023 General Information Handbook.

Ask about your residence taxes

Your local residence taxes are calculated every June based on your salary in the previous year and are typically paid through monthly or lump-sum payments. As a leaving JET, however, you will be required to pay the remainder of your taxes in one large payment. Make sure to discuss this payment with your school/BOE and to plan accordingly. The last thing you’d need before leaving is a budget torn to shreds by an unexpected massive bill.  It’s always a safe bet to have a little extra money saved up for any surprise expenses.

If you want more information on residence taxes, please consult this link.

Cancel your utilities and pay your bills

Make sure to inform all your service providers that you are leaving and to cancel all ongoing subscriptions. Have a plan for those last few transition days where you may be without a phone, internet, bank account, or other utilities.

 

Figure out how you are getting your things home

Channel your inner Marie Kondo and go through all of your things and organize them into categories that you want to keep, gift, donate, sell, leave for your successor, or trash. Make sure not to go too crazy with clearing out your place as your school/BOE may be the owners of some furniture and appliances. Once you have decided on all the things you want to take with you, you will want to figure out how to send them to your next destination. (Please note that some countries don’t allow the shipping of some things like books or used clothing!)

 

Obtain a Certificate of Employment and/or reference letters

If you think you’ll need reference letters or a Certificate of Employment to help with your future job search, we recommend obtaining both while you are still in Japan. Please be aware that your employer might not be used to writing reference letters and might need some extra time to produce them. Templates are provided on the JET Programme Website, in the After JET Guide section.

 

Join an Alumni association

JET Alumni Associations provide their members with networking opportunities and job postings, in addition to offering support in dealing with reverse culture shock and organizing fun get-togethers in your area. If you haven’t done so already, we highly recommend joining your local JET Alumni Association.

 

Attend Career Fairs

Every year CLAIR organizes a series of career fairs all over the country. They are great opportunity to find continuing employment if you want to stay in Japan. Even if you don’t want to stay in Japan, it can be beneficial to go to practice interview and job-hunting skills, and some companies may have a branch office in your desired country. It is highly recommended for leaving JETs to attend at least one of these career fairs if you don’t have employment lined up after JET and don’t know where to start. Keep an eye on the CLAIR Newsletters to found out about events in your area.

 

Prepare for your successor

Be the awesome pred you are and pass along your wisdom. Compile lists of all the information you were happy to know from the start or wish someone had told you about. Make photo guides for tricky home appliances. Explain how to order lunch or request photocopies at school etc. Consider leaving a file for your coworkers to give to the new ALT and consider reminding your coworkers that the new ALT will not be a carbon copy of you. You have likely taken on many additional responsibilities since you got here. All those responsibilities could be overwhelming for your successor if your teachers don’t scale back things a bit and are expecting them to fill your shoes right away.

Useful Resource – Fukuoka Leavers Guide