RetireJapan

Don't sell it, the Japanese tax office will really go after you especially if you have been reporting it in your yearly tax return with depreciation. Although you probably will be able to subtract the capital gains tax you paid in the UK from anything owed in capital gains in Japan. I'm not plannin...

Don't sell it, the Japanese tax office will really go after you especially if you have been reporting it in your yearly tax return with depreciation. Although you probably will be able to subtract the capital gains tax you paid in the UK from anything owed in capital gains in Japan. I'm not plannin...

Hi. I bought a flat in the UK some years ago. Paid cash so no mortgage. At the time the yen rate against the pound was very favourable so now, even if the flat hadn't increased in value, it would be worth a lot more than it was in yen terms. I am not thinking of selling any time soon but my question...

I don't think we have ever claimed but I have had students fall off chairs more times than I can remember and one once managed to smash a lower pane of glass in a sliding door when she did so. Luckily nobody was injured. Also had a car bump into the wall of the car park, and a few kids fall in the g...

We have juku hoken and I think it is based on how many students we have. Have never had to make a claim, thankfully, but think it is worth having.

One thing that doesn't appear to be very common in Japan, but we insisted on was a full survey. If you are buying a new house it shoudl be ok to skip but we went for a 30+ year old home so I wanted to make sure there were no nasties down the line. The surveryors went into all the crawlways, up in t...

I flew at Christmas and took the view that it was worth paying a bit more for a ticket that could be cancelled just in case. I booked with Emirates on their website, from Narita to Dubai To Glasgow. As it happens my wife did have to cancel and getting the refund for her was incredibly easy and painl...

We paid (I think) 33 million for 24 year-old renovated house on 88 tsubo of land. 35 year mortgage but paid off in 11. Two floors, small garden, nice big mikan tree, 4 / 5 parking spaces. Had only had my own small English school for just less than 2 years and no PR so was lucky to get a loan at all....

... I think social connections are a good reason to keep working, but as most of my work-related connections are with kids between 6 and 18 years old, I am not sure that really applies to me! My wife's main concern is what I will write on any forms that require me to fill in profession. I don't thi...

I had a Generali policy ( a 15 year one). I cashed it in after 10 years with a modest gain, but was glad to get out! One thing I did check before cashing in was when the bonuses come in. I waited till the ten year mark so I would get a bonus and then cashed in, so not sure why you didn't get a bonus...