On Leaving Japan

After happily living in Japan for over 7 years, I made the difficult decision to move on. I’ve been asked repeatedly for my reasoning by many of those close to me, and those considering living there, so I’m sharing the notes that I had been compiling over the final years.

I fought with the idea of publishing this, as I didn’t want to come off as negative, but I think they are important topics to discuss. Of course, nowhere is perfect, and you will always find these imperfections as you put any culture under a microscope as an expact.

I feel most of the points I’ve outlined are slowly being addressed, but we’ll need to wait and see how the next 5-10 years play out. If great improvmenets are made, moving back to Japan is absolutely on the table. Until then, I’ll continue to enjoy Japan as a tourist for a few months per year.

For some situational context, I created a successful software development firm in Tokyo, as well as lead various large tech community initiatives. I put a copious amount of effort into instigating and fortifying the community around me.

“Will Japan gradually fade into irrelevance, or re-invent itself? My head tells me that to prosper anew Japan must embrace change. But my heart aches at the thought of it losing the things that make it so special.” - by Rupert Wingfield-Hayes here

DRAFT POST - WORK IN PROGRESS

Economy / business / tax

Energy security is very weak. Currently importing 93% of consumed energy.
Food security quite bad in Japan, currently importing 62% of consumed calories. ((More)[https://thediplomat.com/2022/05/japans-food-self-sufficiency-debate-overlooks-the-core-problem/])
Overbearing red tape everywhere
Cards are stacked against any foreign companies entering Japan at gov level to protect legacy giants
Economic trajectory is bleak overall
Still living like they have 80s money, so the debt is crazy
The obsession with new houses drives some wastefulness that would otherwise be better spent on longer lasting buildings. That said, the earthquake proofing regulations keep expanding which is helpful
Plenty of bribery going on in bigger business deals.
Not being able to file extensions for personal tax is a pain. Even if you are need to file in multiple countries (like US) beforehand, and have multiple pass-through businesses, they don’t allow it. Essentially I needed to file and then re-file every year.
Taxes for freelancers in Japan are pretty difficult, as they require you to pre-pay tax (予定納税額)

Possible solutions: Make it much easier for entrpreneurs, both local and foreign. Read more by Richard Katz on the topic.

Nature

The ERC estimates that the 30-year occurrence probability of a great Nankai megathrust earthquake is 70–80% as of January 2022 [source]. There will be an estimated 323,000 deaths [source].
Most solutions to issues in nature often involve just adding more concrete, insetad of adjusting to live/work around nature. See: rivers, road banks, sea walls.

Possible solution: Live in a quite modern building, likely in the countryside, and be well prepared

Politics

Bad geopolitical neighborhood
Foreigner ban during covid showed how the gov thinks
Your visa is always at risk, constantly doing renewal with risk of deny
Systemic barriers against foreign nationals at every level of life (housing, banking, etc)
Very poor gov handling of 3/11, covid, etc
Some of the lowest freedom of press in the developed world
PR is sometimes massively difficult to obtain. Friend said “If this is how they treat the good foreigners, then they really don’t want us”

Possible solution: Like most countries, we need younger politicians

Cultural

A culture obsessed with teen girls to an uncomfortable extent
Cheating in romantic relationships is pretty common. Prostituion industry commonly not seen as cheating (citation needed)
Not allowed to ride bike to work because their insurance says so
High risk of parental kidnapping, supported by the government and contended by UN
Most international / mixed families seem to strongly want to get their kids out of the Japan school system by middle school due to bullying / quality of education / type of upbringing.

Possible solution: This will naturally work itself out as the older generation doesn’t have as much decision making power, and more foreigners move in questioning some of these points

Tourism

Gov pushing through massive tourism expansion, much to displeasure of locals
A largely pacifist country that will have a difficult time protecting their culture as tourism and immigration finally ramp up. Gentrification pains included.

Possible solution: It seems they really want (need) the tourism money, but should apply higher taxes to tourists to earn the same amount without causing too much damage with overtourism.

Expats

Vast majority of long term foreign residents skew introverted
Constant churn of high value / socially active foreign residents
Huge cultural barriers leading to foreigners often staying together. Difficult to find those deep conversations. Many feel the only options are to hang out with foreigners primarily, or “become Japanese”

Possible solution: Fixes are in progress. More tourism leads to more immigration, leads to a better balance of foreigners, leads to a stronger international community which will be easier to stay in long term.

Real estate

Overly sub-divided real estate. Lots are way too small, even in tiny small towns that are 80% dead. This makes sense in a growing economy, but many of those are post-bubble remnants.
Small towns (and most cities) in Japan are cookie cutter and depressing. No children. “Shutter towns”. Covid helped a bit with getting families to be able to work outside of Tokyo, but we need more incentive.

Possible solution: The prices of land in once-great areas and the building laws need to react accordingly to allow for easier redevelopment. More remote working friendly companies allowing families to move out of Tokyo.

Do you think I got something wrong? Should I clarify something further? I’d be more than happy to hear your feedback.