TL;DR
Leaving Japan without a financial exit plan and you'll owe a full year of resident tax, miss your pension refund window, and get locked out of your bank account from abroad. Pension refunds take 3-6 months. Most banks won't close accounts remotely. The resident tax bill arrives in June, months after you're gone. Start this checklist 90 days before your flight, not 7.
This article provides general information about financial procedures for foreigners departing Japan. It is NOT financial or tax advice. Verify all procedures with the relevant institutions before acting.
Why This Needs a Checklist
"I left Japan and now I owe taxes I didn't know about."
That sentence shows up in r/japanlife and GaijinPot forums constantly. Someone left in February and got a resident tax bill in June for the full year. Someone missed the 2-year pension refund deadline and lost hundreds of thousands of yen. Someone kept their bank account open, then couldn't access it when the app required a Japanese phone number they no longer had.
All avoidable.
Every step below has a deadline, and most of them are earlier than you think. This is the financial checklist for foreigners leaving Japan, the counterpart to our Leaving Korea Money Checklist. Same concept: get your money out clean.
D-90: Three Months Before Departure
The Resident Tax Trap (住民税)
This is the single most expensive mistake foreigners make when leaving Japan.
If you are registered as a resident on January 1, you owe resident tax (住民税, juuminzei) for the entire fiscal year, based on the previous year's income. Leave on January 2? Full year. The bill arrives in June, months after departure. Leave on December 31? Nothing for the following year.
Japan is polite about everything except tax collection.
If you have any flexibility on departure timing, this date matters more than almost anything else on this list.
For employees leaving between January and May, the municipality can demand lump-sum collection (一括徴収) from your final paycheck. Your employer withholds the remaining tax before you leave.
If you can't pay before departure, appoint a tax representative (納税管理人, nouzei kanrinin) at your ward office. This person receives bills and pays on your behalf. File the declaration form (納税管理人申告書) at the tax division of your ward office.
Check Your Pension Refund Eligibility
If you contributed to Japanese pension for 6 months or more, you can claim a lump-sum withdrawal after departure. Two types:
- National Pension (国民年金): fixed amounts by contribution period, up to ~JPY 509,400 for 60+ months
- Employee Pension (厚生年金): salary-based calculation, often significantly more
The critical deadline: you must apply within 2 years of leaving Japan. Miss it, and the money stays in the system.
Since April 2021, the cap increased from 36 to 60 months. Contributions beyond 60 months don't increase your payout, and those extra months are lost once you claim. If you've contributed more than 10 years, you may qualify for an actual old-age pension instead. Check with Japan Pension Service before deciding.
Tax and pension obligations depend on your visa type, income, and personal situation. Consult a licensed tax professional (税理士) for personalized advice.
Plan Your Income Tax Filing
If you earned income in Japan, you likely need to file a quasi-final return (準確定申告) covering January 1 through your departure date. Without a tax representative, this must be filed and paid before you leave. No extensions.
With a tax representative, the filing can wait until the regular deadline (February 16 to March 15 of the following year). The representative handles everything on your behalf.
Salary-only employees whose employer handles year-end adjustment (年末調整) may not need to file individually. Confirm with your company's HR.
D-30: One Month Before
Start the Pension Application Process
You cannot actually submit the lump-sum withdrawal application while still in Japan. The application is filed by mail from abroad after departure. But you can prepare now:
Required documents:
- Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment Request Form (脱退一時金裁定請求書)
- Passport copy (pages showing name, date of birth, nationality, signature, residence permit stamps)
- Document confirming you no longer have an address in Japan (moving-out certificate from ward office)
- Bank account information for receiving payment (Japanese or overseas account, with SWIFT code for international transfers)
Download the form from Japan Pension Service. Get your documents ready so you can mail them shortly after departure.
Tax on pension refund: 20.42% income tax is withheld from the lump-sum payment. You can claim this back by appointing a tax representative who files a refund request with the NTA.
Worth it for larger amounts. (Pension bureaucracy is universal.)
Cancel Health Insurance (国民健康保険)
Visit your ward office to cancel NHI enrollment. Bring your health insurance card, residence card, and passport. This is typically done on the same day as your moving-out notification.
The municipality recalculates premiums pro-rata. If you overpaid, you get a refund to your Japanese bank account. If you underpaid, you settle the balance before leaving.
If you don't formally cancel, the municipality keeps billing you. Unpaid premiums become a formal municipal debt.
Give Apartment Move-Out Notice
Check your lease for the required notice period. Most contracts require 1 month written notice (解約予告期間), some require 2 months.
Key money (礼金, reikin) is non-refundable. Your security deposit (敷金, shikikin) comes back minus cleaning fees and any damage beyond normal wear (spoiler: the cleaning fees are creative). Expect the refund 1-2 months after move-out inspection. For more on navigating Japanese housing, see our Japan housing guide for digital nomads.
Professional cleaning is almost always charged: roughly JPY 1,000-2,000 per square meter. Normal wear (faded wallpaper, small nail holes, furniture marks) is the landlord's responsibility per MLIT guidelines. Cigarette damage, pet damage, and unauthorized modifications are yours.
D-7: Final Week
Bank Account: Close or Keep?
Option A: Close it. Visit the bank with your passport, bankbook, cash card, and registered seal (if applicable). Takes 15-20 minutes. No fees.
Option B: Keep it open. Useful if you're expecting pension refunds or tax refunds deposited later. But know the risks: banking apps often stop working from abroad (Japanese phone verification), and after years of inactivity the account gets suspended. Sony Bank allows remote closure through English online banking. Major banks (MUFG, SMBC, Mizuho) generally require in-person visits.
Decision framework: Expecting pension or tax refunds? Keep the account open until deposits arrive, then close on a return visit or have a trusted friend assist. Not expecting anything? Close it now.
Phone Contract
Good news: all three major carriers (docomo, au, SoftBank) abolished early cancellation fees between October 2021 and early 2022. You can cancel anytime with no penalty. Remaining device installment payments are still owed.
SIM-only and MVNO plans are month-to-month. Cancel anytime.
If you need a Japanese phone number for 2FA on banking apps, consider keeping the line active briefly. Some MVNOs cost under JPY 1,000/month.
Transfer Your Money
Send large amounts via bank wire before closing your account. Japanese banks handle international transfers with SWIFT codes. Gather your purpose-of-transfer documentation (employment contract, tax records) for amounts that trigger bank questioning.
Note: unlike Korea, Japan doesn't have a hard statutory cap on outbound remittances. But banks may ask questions for large transfers, and you'll need documentation showing the source of funds.
D-Day: Departure
File Your Moving-Out Notification (転出届)
Visit your ward office up to 14 days before departure. Bring:
- Residence card (在留カード)
- Passport
- My Number card (マイナンバーカード)
- Health insurance card (for simultaneous NHI cancellation)
You receive a moving-out certificate (転出証明書). If you skip this step, your residency stays active in municipal records, causing continued health insurance billing and resident tax complications.
Return Your Cards
My Number card: return at the ward office during your moving-out notification. The card becomes invalid. If you return to Japan later, the same number is reassigned when you re-register.
Residence card (在留カード): return to the immigration inspector at the airport upon final departure. This is mandatory. (The reverse of everything on the Japan arrival checklist. That one gets you in. This one gets you out.)
D+30: After You Leave
Submit Pension Application
Mail your completed lump-sum withdrawal form to Japan Pension Service. Processing takes 3-6 months. The payment can be sent to a Japanese bank account (if still open) or an overseas account via international transfer.
Remember: 20.42% income tax is withheld. If you appointed a tax representative before departure, they can file for the refund on your behalf. The NTA procedure is well-documented.
Verify No Outstanding Bills
- Resident tax: if you were resident on Jan 1, confirm your tax representative received and paid the June bill
- NHI: confirm cancellation took effect. Contact the municipality if bills appear
- Phone: confirm termination or suspension. Unpaid bills accumulate penalties
The Full Timeline
| When | Action | Where |
|---|---|---|
| D-90 | Check Jan 1 resident tax exposure | Ward office tax division |
| D-90 | Check pension refund eligibility (6+ months) | nenkin.go.jp |
| D-90 | Appoint tax representative (納税管理人) if needed | Ward office / NTA |
| D-90 | Plan income tax filing (準確定申告) | Tax office / 税理士 |
| D-30 | Prepare pension application documents | Download from nenkin.go.jp |
| D-30 | Cancel NHI at ward office | Ward/city office |
| D-30 | Give apartment move-out notice | Landlord/management company |
| D-7 | Close bank account or confirm it's ready for refunds | Bank branch |
| D-7 | Cancel phone contract | Carrier shop or online |
| D-7 | Transfer remaining funds via bank wire | Bank branch |
| D-Day | File moving-out notification (転出届) | Ward office |
| D-Day | Return My Number card | Ward office |
| D-Day | Return residence card at airport | Immigration counter |
| D+30 | Mail pension lump-sum application | Japan Pension Service |
| D+30 | Verify no outstanding tax/NHI bills | Tax representative |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get my Japan pension refund from abroad?
Yes. The lump-sum withdrawal is designed to be filed from abroad. Mail the application to Japan Pension Service within 2 years of departure. Processing takes 3-6 months. Payment goes to a Japanese or overseas bank account. A 20.42% income tax is withheld, but you can claim it back through a tax representative filing with the NTA.
Do I owe resident tax if I leave Japan in March?
Yes. If you were registered as a resident on January 1, you owe resident tax for the full fiscal year based on the previous year's income. Leaving in March doesn't reduce the amount. The bill arrives in June. Appoint a tax representative or arrange lump-sum collection from your final paycheck before departure.
Can I close a Japanese bank account remotely?
Most major banks (MUFG, SMBC, Mizuho) require in-person closure. Sony Bank offers remote closure through English online banking. SBI Shinsei Bank also has a non-resident closure process. If you kept an account open and need to close it, you may need to return to Japan or have a representative with power of attorney visit the branch.
The Bottom Line
Japan's departure finances are less forgiving than most people expect. The resident tax bill that arrives six months after you leave. The pension refund window that closes after two years. The bank account that works fine until it doesn't.
None of this is hard. All of it has a deadline. The difference between leaving Japan clean and leaving Japan with trailing financial obligations is about three months of planning.
Start at D-90. Your future self will thank you.
Staying in Japan on a digital nomad visa? Check what you actually owe in taxes before the clock starts running.
LocalNomad is not a financial advisory service. The information in this post is general in nature and may not reflect the most current regulations. Professional consultation is recommended before making financial decisions based on this content. Verify all procedures directly with the relevant Japanese institutions before acting.
