You can technically get by in Japan without a Japanese bank account. For those who are here on short-term visas, or who plan to move frequently from city to city, it’s perfectly possible to live and work in Japan without one. However, if you want to work a full-time job, rent an apartment, join social activities, or enroll your children in school, you’ll almost certainly need to make an account. Following is an overview on what you’ll need to open an account, some common problems foreigners encounter, and what banks will work best for your needs. If you don’t have a bank account . . . The “chicken-and-egg problem” is what many foreigners call it—that strange bureaucratic trap you encounter when moving to Japan. You need a local phone number to get an apartment, but you need a registered address to get a bank account, and you need a bank account to get a local phone number! Luckily, there is an order of operations that can get you all three as fast as possible. But let’s say you haven’t decided where you want to live yet, or there’s some other reason for delay. Can you get by in Japan without an account? Strangely enough, it’s not that difficult, thanks to Japan’s cash-based society. Getting paid Direct deposit is more common now, and most companies will also ask you to make an account with a specific bank to receive your paycheck. Nonetheless, they cannot require you to make an account with that bank. You are within your rights to insist on being paid to the account of your choice. Getting cash Be aware that Japan has two methods of getting cash from a machine: ATMs, which function generally like ATMs around the world, and cash machines, which are usually located in banks and are only usable with that bank’s cash card. For example, if you go into Mitsui Sumitomo and have a cash card for some other bank, you will not be able to use it. Many ATMs found at convenience stores, as well as Japan Post Bank ATMs, will allow you to withdraw yen from your foreign accounts. Of the various convenience store options, 7-Eleven ATMs are your best bet. There are some limitations: Depending on the ATM, additional fees may be charged Many ATMs can’t check your foreign account’s balance The single transaction withdrawal limit may be reduced—at Japan Post Bank ATMs, you can’t withdraw more than 50,000 yen from a foreign account at one time 7-Eleven ATMs do not allow you to freely select an amount to withdraw and instead require you to pick from options starting from 10,000 yen and up Using your foreign card In addition, most stores that accept credit or debit cards will also be able to process foreign-issued cards—at least, I’ve never had mine rejected. If the store is not large or is not part of a national chain, however, the odds of them not being able to process your card are higher. Additionally, some stores may not be able to support chips, so if your card does not have a magnetic stripe, you would be unable to use it. As a side note, one of the services that does not permit foreign credit cards is the one you’d least expect—Disneyland. If you want to purchase park tickets online, the website theoretically accepts most foreign cards, yet very few seem to actually work. Personally I got around this problem by using Klook, a third-party app that had no difficulty processing my credit card, and delivered my digital tickets without issue. Finding housing Finally, share-houses and other short-term, foreigner-friendly rental accommodations don’t require a Japanese bank account to rent. These often come furnished, may include utilities, and can be rented without the hassle of a deposit or key money. Of course, they will cost more overall than long-term housing, but they’re good options for those without a Japanese account. But you should make a bank account As you can see, it’s possible to live in Japan without a Japanese account, at least for a while. But it’s not convenient, and the longer you live in Japan, the more inconvenient it becomes. Renting Renting your own apartment with a long-term lease will almost certainly require a Japanese bank account. In this case, having a Japanese bank account and phone number is the bare minimum; they will also want to see your residency status, employment contract or income statement, and either guarantors or the endorsement of a guarantor company. In addition, while you can pay most utility bills with cash at a convenience store, it’s becoming more and more convenient to set up automatic withdrawal, with some companies attempting to discourage convenience store payments by applying a service fee for the paper bill. Automatic withdrawals also mean you’re less likely to miss a payment and have your gas turned off without warning, as happened to me! Employment Your employer will also want you to make a bank account, as almost all big businesses prefer direct deposits. Government benefits The government, at a certain point, requires you to have a local account. It’s how you can expect to receive your tax refund and any social benefits you may be entitled to, such as the child support allowance (jidou teate, 児童手当). Japanese society Aside from the basics of life, many social clubs, activities, and schools require participants to have bank accounts. This will depend somewhat on where you live. In Tokyo, my husband’s taiko club insisted that he set up monthly debits from a Japanese account in order to participate. My children’s public elementary school required us to make an entirely new account with their preferred bank, so that they could withdraw lunch fees. By contrast, in our new small town in Kansai, the children’s karate and ballet classes are cash-only. The school did ask us to make a new account at a regional bank for lunch fees, but when we were unsuccessful—a point I’ll explore below—they were fine with collecting the payments in cash. In short, it’s better to bite the bullet and make the account. The actual difficulty of doing so will depend on which bank you choose. The kinds of banks in Japan There are of course all kinds of banks in Japan, from online banks to large national institutions. From the immigrant’s point of view, however, there are several distinct categories. Japan Post Bank The Japan Post Bank (Yuucho Ginkou, ゆうちょ銀行) deserves a category of its own. Unlike other banks in Japan, the Japan Post Bank does not require six months residency or an employment contract in Japan to open an account. You must, however, have at least three months remaining on your residence card when you apply. In addition, if you have less than six months residency and no employment contract, your account will be treated as a non-resident account with limited services. There are branches all over Japan wherever a post office is; you can also open an account online. Conventional foreigner-friendly banks Several banks in Japan are well known for being foreigner-friendly and providing some English services. SMBC Trust Bank Prestia and SBI Shinsei Bank are the usual recommendations in this category. Both offer English-language online banking, and English support via chat. Online banks You can also select a bank that operates purely online (netto ginkou, ネット銀行). For simple bank procedures, such as acquiring a debit card and depositing your paycheck, these don’t operate much differently from conventional banks. Popular choices include: PayPay, which operates a thriving cashless payment service Sony Bank, which has 90,000 partner ATMs in Japan Seven Bank, the official online bank of 7-Eleven and has ATMs in every branch Japanese-speaking banks Aside from convenience, there’s really nothing stopping you from banking with any bank in Japan. You should be able to make an appointment at any branch and request their help in opening an account. Granted, this approach requires time, patience, possibly multiple appointments, and—if you don’t speak Japanese—a lot of translation. Nonetheless it can be done, and will probably even be necessary at one point or another, since jobs, schools, and activities in Japan may ask you to work with their preferred bank. What you’ll need to apply Typically, this is what you’ll need to open an account with a bank: Your residence card. This is always required. A second form of ID. This could include your My Number card, your student ID, your Residence Certificate (住民票, juuminhyo), or a utility bill or other document with your full name in katakana. The exact specifications for a second form of ID differ from bank to bank, so check their instructions carefully. An employment contract and/or Employee ID. For most banks, if you want to open an account before you’ve lived in the country for six months, you will need to provide proof of employment. A local phone number Do I need a hanko? A hanko (判子, also called an inkan 印鑑) is a stamp which, on many Japanese documents, serves as your official signature. Do you absolutely need to have one to open an account? Not necessarily. Some banks, such as Japan Post Bank, will permit you to start banking with only your signature. Should you buy and use one anyway? Yes, for several good reasons: You may need it later for more advanced procedures, such as renting an apartment, getting a loan, or car registration. If your signature doesn’t match exactly when you’re submitting paperwork in the future, your bank may reject it. A hanko will remain the same, as long as it is not damaged. If you damage or lose your hanko, the bank will require you to re-register the imprint so that they have a current copy on file. If you sign up for a bank account with your signature, but later acquire and use a hanko, this can lead to confusion with your bank. Again, a Japanese bank will reject paperwork with any inconsistencies. This may not seem like a hard thing to keep straight, but if and when you have multiple accounts in Japan, remembering which requires your signature and which requires hanko can be a hassle. Why not? Hanko are not that expensive, they make great souvenirs, and they’re an easy way to integrate. My own hanko has my surname in katakana, and receives a lot of interest from Japanese people due to its unique appearance. If you’re intimidated by the process of buying a hanko in person, you can order one online. I used Google Translate to buy mine at Shibuya Stamp Shop, but there are English websites available as well. Be careful not to buy a hanko that is self-stamping (such as a shachihata), as many banks will refuse to accept them. Additionally, you should make sure that you carefully store the hanko you use for bank accounts and use it only for bank accounts. It is fine to use one hanko for multiple bank accounts. People commonly have several hanko, each for different levels of tasks; you don’t want to be stamping delivery slips or kids’ homework with the same security device you use to control your finances! U.S. citizen requirements U.S. citizens and green card holders will require a few more documents, thanks to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). If you’re opening an account in person, you should bring your passport and social security card with you. If you’re opening the account online, expect to fill out additional forms to establish your TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number). Usually these forms will be requested by mail, which delays the so-called “online application” process considerably. For U.S. citizens and green card holders, it’s faster to apply for an account in person. Should I apply online? Quite a few banks now claim to offer online applications in English, to ease account opening procedures. But what is meant by an “online application” can differ hugely. By smartphone is best First, if you want to apply online, it’s best to have a smartphone with a domestic SIM. Smartphones are the main way consumers access the internet in Japan, so many solutions are built smartphone-first. You can often save several steps by using a smartphone. For example, if you apply via smartphone with SMBC Trust Bank Prestia, you have the option to take a selfie as one form of ID, which means you only need your residence card. Do note that the facial ID process can be finicky for these systems, and may reject your photo. If you use a computer or tablet, however, the bank requires two forms of ID. Seven Bank, as an online bank, also strongly prefers customers to use a smartphone; those who don’t have one can use a Debit Card and conduct transactions from its ATMs, but won’t be able to use their Direct Banking Service. Is it really online? “Applying online” isn’t always as simple as it sounds. Japan Post Bank and Sony Bank both allow users to make an account via the bank’s app, a process that they claim takes around 30 minutes. But Shinsei’s online application barely qualifies as such. While you do fill out the initial form on the website, it’s only so you can receive a printed application form in the mail around one week later. You’ll then have to send back copies of your IDs to the bank via mail, for an additional 7-10 business days of processing—at which point, you might be better served by visiting a branch with Google Translate. Online-only banks often have similar processing times for foreigners, but with an additional down side: since they’re online-only, there is no option to visit a local branch and hammer everything out in one go! These estimated application times also depend on everything going smoothly via the bank’s app or website, which is not guaranteed. Modern banks often rely on relatively new MyNumber card integrations, or “AI” facial/document recognition, and bugs are unfortunately common. Common problems Forewarned is forearmed, and in that spirit, here are some of the most common issues experienced by foreigners banking in Japan. Technical difficulties Personally I bank with Japan Post Bank, and am very happy with the service I receive—-except when I need to try and set up a new direct withdrawal online. For whatever reason, I’ve found that trying to access the forms via Chrome causes all sorts of problems. Switch to Safari, though, and suddenly everything works. Using VPNs, adblockers, or other common security extensions can also frequently cause issues with financial sites in Japan. Name issues If you take away one important thing from this article, let it be this. From the beginning, choose the Japanese version of your name and keep it consistent. It’s a given that if you do not have a Japanese name, you will need to spell it out in katakana. However, for many names there are several accepted katakana variations. For example, I prefer to spell my surname Callahan as カラハン (Karahan), but it was spelled (without my input) as キャラハン (Kyarahan) on my health insurance card. Fortunately I didn’t run into any issues and was able to change it later. However, that would have caused issues with opening a bank account, if I’d attempted to use my health insurance card as a secondary form of ID. Long names and middle names will also cause problems—unfortunately, these are mostly unavoidable. There frequently isn’t enough space in a form to write your name properly, either in the Roman alphabet or in katakana. You might be tempted to leave out your middle name whenever possible, but you risk your application not being accepted because it doesn’t match your full legal name. For me personally, a long legal name has been only a minor inconvenience. However, for my Sri Lankan neighbor, her long name created so many problems that she was unable to open an account at our local bank. Although she is a permanent resident and speaks Japanese fluently, even after three separate trips to the bank, she was still unable to open the account. Banks will also unfortunately have different recommendations in the event that your full name does not fit their paper or electronic application; some will ask that you fill in as much as possible and truncate, while others may concede and allow only your first and last names. Still other banks may require you to use your English name and not accept a primary katakana rendering. These mismatches can cause issues when attempting to connect accounts in the future, and those can usually only be solved with human help—perhaps a reason to consider banking at an institution that has physical branches. Kanji difficulties Several times I’ve been asked to create a new account with a regional bank that didn’t offer service in English. Both times, I was asked by bank employees to fill out several forms with my address written in kanji. Best practice, of course, would be to have already memorized my own address in kanji. In reality, I ended up copying it from the tiny writing on the back of my residence card. At the first bank, the kind employees carefully showed me how to write some of the more complicated kanji. At the second, I was mostly left to my own devices, and the subsequent scrawl caused my application to be rejected; they asked me to come back with someone who spoke, and wrote, Japanese. If you do need to open an account at a Japanese-speaking bank, try keeping a copy of your address in your phone, or even printing out the kanji version in large characters that are easier to copy. Of course, if you have a Japanese-writing friend who is willing to accompany you that day, that will also speed things along. I’ll add that the bank that rejected me was the same bank that my neighbor applied to three times. I wouldn’t describe my visit there as an ordinary banking experience in Japan; this particular branch is clearly unwilling to assist or accommodate foreign residents. A cash card is not a debit card Perhaps this isn’t a widespread misunderstanding, but it caught me by surprise: most banks provide only cash cards by default, and debit cards are opt-in. A cash card is not a debit card—it is good only for pulling cash out of a cash machine or ATM. Some banks, such as Prestia and Sony, do give you a debit card straight away. Others, such as Japan Post Bank, require a subsequent application for a debit card once the account is open. You can distinguish a cash card from a debit card by looking for a network logo such as Visa, Mastercard, or JCB. If it does not have one, it’s likely a cash card. Holidays and ATM times If you live or work near convenience stores, you shouldn’t have much problem withdrawing cash whenever you want. However, you should still keep an eye out for ATM working hours or your bank’s maintenance hours. For example, many ATMs are unusable over a portion of the New Year or Golden Week. Japan Post Bank shuts down completely for part of Golden Week—a shutdown that includes ATMs, online services, the smartphone app, and even your debit card! You should also keep an eye on time-sensitive withdrawal fees. Many ATMs will display a screen that shows one withdrawal fee for business hours, and another for early morning or late-night transactions. The difference is fairly small—a business-hour withdrawal may cost 110 yen, as opposed to a late-night withdrawal at 220 yen—but if you’re cost-conscious, it’s good to take note. Sending and receiving money internationally The cost of sending and receiving money internationally adds up quickly. Not only do Japanese banks often charge steep fees for currency conversion and wiring, but there’s yet more paperwork involved. If you enjoy a prestigious bank account, such as the Sony Bank and Shinsei Platinum accounts, then one of the perks is lowered or waived fees for international transfers. If you don’t, then an online transfer service like Wise is certainly faster and frequently cheaper. If you are interested in moving large amounts of money and want to avoid fees as much as possible, here’s a detailed breakdown of the average transfer rates for various institutions and accounts. Frequently-recommended banks Following are some of the banks most often recommended by other immigrants, with a brief overview of their pros and cons. Japan Post Bank Japan Post Bank is one of the easiest banks to open an account with when you first arrive in Japan. Pros Doesn’t require six months residency or an employment contract to open an account Branches all over Japan in the post offices Can open an account and check your virtual bankbook via apps No monthly maintenance fees Cons Service is mostly in Japanese Services may be limited and fees may be high during the first six months if you do not have an employment contract Have to apply separately for a debit or bank card Access to ATMs on post office grounds is limited to the hours for that branch, which can be inconsistent High fees for international transfers SBI Shinsei Bank Shinsei is a good choice for those who want some service in English, and who intend to send and receive money internationally. Pros English Internet banking and online service Foreign currency accounts with high interest rates Free ATM withdrawals up to five times a month If you have a higher-level account (Diamond, Platinum, Gold, or Silver) you can receive foreign currency remittances for free Cons The “online” application procedure is really more by mail Initially only given a cash card Standard accounts are charged 2,200 yen per remittance SMBC Trust Bank Prestia Prestia is ideal for those who want a full-service bank that offers a travel-friendly debit card. Pros English-language bank app, online service, and assistance for housing loans, investment, etc. If you apply for an account via the app, you only need your residence card as a form of ID (assuming you meet the six-month residency requirement) Upon opening an account, automatically get both a yen account and a foreign currency account Immediately receive a GLOBAL PASS Visa debit card that can be used domestically and overseas Cons Monthly maintenance fee of 2,200 yen unless you keep a minimum balance of 500,000 yen or meet other requirements Easily confused with SMBC Bank, but the services and branches are not interchangeable Sony Bank For those who’d prefer an online bank, Sony Bank offers another international-friendly debit card and a comprehensive rewards system. Pros Automatically get the Sony Bank WALLET cash card, which can be used internationally Has Club S, a three-tier rewards system based on the balance of your yen and foreign currency accounts. Platinum members can get perks such as 2% cashback, unlimited free cash withdrawals, waived transfer and remittance fees, etc. Cons Only online banking is available in English (the app is in Japanese) As an online bank it has no physical branch to visit Special note: the Rakuten credit card Rakuten also has an online bank. While this is less often suggested as a bank for new immigrants, it is one of the few places foreigners can easily apply for a credit card. Conclusion Like most bureaucratic processes in Japan, opening an account can take quite a bit of time and paperwork, but is ultimately doable, not to mention beneficial in the long run. To recap: If you intend to live and work in Japan for more than a few months, you should open a local bank account. Japan Post Bank doesn’t require six months residency or employment to open an account, as other banks do. Banks such as SBI Shinsei, SMBC Trust Bank Prestia, and Sony Bank have a reputation for being foreigner-friendly; however, with proper preparation, you can have an account at any bank in Japan. The greatest difficulties in banking tend to be name-related. You can avoid most of them by keeping your legal name and its katakana spelling consistent from the beginning, as well as obtaining a hanko before opening the account. U.S. citizens and green card holders should expect more paperwork related to FATCA. Judging by these banks’ English-language sites, they’re pushing non-Japanese-speaking customers towards applying online or via mail rather than visiting their branches. However, if you’re a U.S. citizen, or just don’t want to download yet another app, don’t be afraid to go in person. With the exception of one local bank, I’ve consistently had positive experiences with bank personnel—they’ve often gone above and beyond to help me, despite the language barrier. So long as you’re patient with the process, and do your research on bank requirements, then opening an account will swiftly be one more item checked off that moving-to-Japan list.

Over my career, I’ve spent at least one thousand working hours on supporting local developer communities. My current business, TokyoDev, has spent over 8 million Japanese yen (about 53,000 USD) on community sponsorships. What have I received in return? That depends on your viewpoint. From a cold-hearted capitalist perspective, that time and money I invested hasn’t produced enough direct returns to justify the expense. Personally, I don’t see it as wasted—all of it has had a positive impact on society. What’s more, the three businesses I founded have owed much of their success to my community involvement. Those companies are: Mobalean, a technical consultancy that helped companies like PayPal, Match.com, and Estee Lauder build web apps for Japanese feature phones Doorkeeper, an event registration platform that hosted thousands of events per month TokyoDev, a job board that helps international software engineers get jobs in Japan If I hadn’t volunteered for and donated to various developer communities, two out of those three businesses would never have been founded at all, and TokyoDev certainly wouldn’t be the success story it is today. So, despite these “unequal” returns, one of the best strategies for my startups has been to get involved with communities whenever possible. I’ll go over some of the different ways communities have helped grow my businesses, and give specific examples of wins we’ve experienced over the years. Growing through existing communities There are two kinds of communities that can help you grow your startup: preexisting communities independent of your business, and communities you build around the business itself. My companies got their start due to my involvement in existing communities, and I think that is the easier place to begin. Already-established communities not only come with their own networks, but are usually easy to join and happy to receive support. Volunteering This was the origin of Doorkeeper. An industry event, Mobile Monday Tokyo, was registering hundreds of people for their events. Checking those people in at the door was always time-consuming, particularly as some names were in English and others in Japanese, giving no good way to sort the list. Seeing this, my cofounders and I proposed building some software to send out QR code tickets. Back in 2008, that was still a relatively novel idea. Mobile Monday was happy for us to do it, so we quickly built a one-off solution for them. We went further than that though—we also personally manned the doors for their events. I remember the first event where we checked in people using the new QR code tickets. It was quite rewarding to be able to tell the participants, “I built this.” That sense of satisfaction wasn’t the only immediate payoff—because we got involved in the event, it also served as marketing for Mobalean, our technical consultancy. We made connections with people in the industry, and when they had projects related to mobile web development, they started coming to us. Later, after we’d solved all of Mobile Monday’s event registration and ticketing needs, we thought other organizations might benefit from our work. We spent months rebuilding the tool to support multiple communities and launched it as Doorkeeper. Initially, though, it struggled to get users. Meanwhile, we continued to volunteer with other communities we were interested in, such as Startup Weekend Japan and RubyKaigi, Japan’s (and possibly the world’s) largest Ruby conference. We didn’t directly ask those communities to use our software, but after we got involved with them, they decided of their own accord to start using Doorkeeper. Because these events made quite an impact on the tech community in Japan, they helped us grow immensely, leading Doorkeeper to become the most popular platform for developer events in Japan. This wasn’t some sort of coldly-calculated strategy. I don’t think it would have worked if it had been. Sure, we knew that if we were running an event platform, it was a good idea to be involved with events, both to make connections and to personally experience our target audience’s problems. But our main motivation was just to help causes we believed in. I think our sincerity helped motivate the organizers to take a chance on a product that was still rather rough around the edges. Business-wise, Doorkeeper was never a runaway success. We struggled for years to monetize it. The turning point was when we announced we’d go from being a freemium service to an exclusively paid one. A lot of organizers stopped using us, but enough continued that I could finally pay myself a decent salary from the product’s revenue alone. What’s more, there was almost no backlash against the move. I think this was because we’d been socially connected to the organizers for the entire history of the company, and they could see that we were being genuine when we said there was no other way forward. I’ve since sold Doorkeeper, but the lessons I learned still stick with me. Speaking at community events Over the years, I’ve delivered numerous presentations on software development and entrepreneurship at different community events. At least for someone like myself, who doesn’t regularly give talks, preparing for them can be quite time-consuming. While I do believe it has helped keep my businesses in the minds of my target audience, I can’t think of a single example where giving a presentation led directly to a new lead. The closest we came to that was after speaking at a Ruby event about a library for handling subscriptions with PayPal. As part of the talk, we mentioned a new side project we were working on, a web app to make Japanese invoices. One of the attendees, a prominent member of the Japanese Ruby community, tweeted about the new service, effectively launching it. That initial buzz and the SEO-friendly domain name (the Japanese word for invoice), helped us become one of the top search results. The project didn’t end up going anywhere as a business, though, and we sold it around a year later. Starting your own independent community In 2010, I created Tokyo Rubyist Meetup, Japan’s first English-language community for Ruby developers. The goal of the group was to bring together the Japanese and international Ruby communities, and I believe we’ve succeeded. I think my efforts in organizing that community may have been why RubyKaigi chose to adopt Doorkeeper for their event registration. It also helped me connect with some of Mobalean’s best consulting clients. Finally—and most importantly—it indirectly led to developing TokyoDev as a business. The CTO of a local startup said something like, “Paul, I’ve been having trouble hiring developers. I know you’re well-connected with the community. Could I pay you to help hire some?” That CTO, along with others in similar situations, became the first clients for TokyoDev’s job board. Sponsoring existing organizations The methods I’ve talked about so far involve a lot of time but no cost. Sponsoring existing organizations is the opposite: all it requires is money. The cost involved depends on the scale of the sponsorship, and the perceived value of the community. When I saw in TokyoDev’s own data that women software engineers were being compensated worse than men, I wanted to do something about it. The simplest solution I came up with was sponsoring local communities that empower women in technology. I sought out some local organizations and offered to sponsor them, including a few that had never had sponsors before. Since then, TokyoDev has also sponsored local tech conferences, including RubyKaigi. These sponsorships have ranged from 100,000 yen (about 665 USD) on the low end to 1.5 million yen (about 10,000 USD) on the high end. In total, TokyoDev has spent over 8 million yen (about 53,000 USD) on sponsorships. Some of the big-ticket sponsorships have come with booths at conferences, which do provide new opportunities, but also additional costs—staffing the booths, airfare, hotels, etc. The more expensive conference sponsorships have directly resulted in several new clients for the job board, but not yet in any additional revenue (because we take a success-based approach, and those clients haven’t made any hires through us yet). I think for sponsorships to be really cost-effective, the target audience of the community must match your startup perfectly. Part of our challenge has been that many of these communities are primarily composed of Japanese software engineers, who aren’t the main users of TokyoDev. Still, while these sponsorships haven’t been a cost-effective way of improving our bottom line, they have helped communities and gotten the word out, as well as offering some other knock-on benefits. One specific example is from 2024, when we gave away one of our sponsor tickets to a job-hunting developer, and they found a position through a connection they made at the conference. Another example is “in-house.” One of our contractors introduced her daughter to a community we’ve sponsored, which helps young women get into software development. This inspired her daughter to become interested in programming and eventually to enroll in the program—something nobody in her family had anticipated! Growing your own communities While TokyoDev got its start thanks to local, preexisting organizations, we’ve also worked hard to create our own TokyoDev community, both online and off. Running an online community One of the first articles I wrote for TokyoDev was in response to a reader’s question about how I got my job as a developer in Japan. Over the years, I continued to receive emails asking for personalized advice. While I was happy to respond to people individually, it felt like that knowledge could also be of use to other people, so I started a forum using Discourse. Over the years I’d get questions on there, and occasionally someone else might chime in with their experience, but it was mostly just me responding to queries, and so wasn’t anything I’d call a “community.” Along the way, one of our contractors pointed out that it would be nice to create a space where we could casually talk to our users. After he brought it up several times, I made a Discord community. This quickly took off, and currently sits at about 7,000 members. Growing such a community hasn’t been without its challenges. The primary difficulty is moderation—no matter how we handle it, some users feel alienated. Have too soft a hand? The loudest voices win, driving away other valuable contributors. Reprimand or ban people? You make enemies out of what were once fans. I can’t say I’ve always done everything right here, but one thing I did do right was bring on a moderator who cares about the community. Besides having someone to bounce ideas around with, it also helps to have an additional person enforcing the rules. We have seen several benefits from our online community. At least one client made a hire through us that I can directly attribute to our Discord. That said, it’s the indirect benefits that have proven most valuable. For instance, our Discord helped us identify common challenges that developers face when relocating to Japan, making it a good source of topics for articles. We’ve also been able to ask members with unique experiences to write articles for the site, and their posts have been some of the most popular, such as one on Japan’s digital nomad visa. Organizing offline events As our Discord community grew, members started asking us to host offline meetups. We held our first one with a dozen or so people at a space we rented out ourselves, and provided soft drinks. This cost us about 30,000 yen (200 USD). The meetup was a success and we continued to host. Eventually, one of our members offered to hold the meetups at their company. This change allowed us to grow the meetups further, and we started regularly maxing out their capacity with 40 or so attendees. It also meant we only needed to pay for the soft drinks, bringing our cost down to 5,000 yen (33 USD). Not only was that quite cost-effective, but the company hosting the event eventually became a client of ours. We also started using our offline meetings to bring our clients together with the larger developer community, by holding collaborative events where the client gives presentations that are technically interesting to our audience. We’re careful to make sure these aren’t direct recruiting events, as I think that would drive away the very people our clients are looking to hire. By indirectly highlighting why it is interesting to work with them, however, our clients have been able to find more prospects. Initially, we catered these events with pizza and soft drinks, which cost around 30,000 yen (200 USD) for a 40 person event. Since we haven’t been charging clients for organizing these talks, we began asking them to provide food and drinks instead. As a result, these events have been win-win for everyone involved. Our clients get better branding amongst the developer community. Our community members enjoy interesting content and new connections. We establish stronger relationships with everyone involved. In addition to this offline community for software engineers, we’ve also started to build another offline community for the internal recruiters using TokyoDev. We began by hosting small dinners with internal recruiters from three or four different clients. This gave them the opportunity to share about the challenges they faced hiring international engineers. Hosting such a dinner cost us about 30,000 yen (200 USD), and led one company that was on the fence to start using TokyoDev. The dinners have proven to be a big success, and recruiters tell us they want to attend more, but there’s only so much time we can spend on them. To augment these networking meals, we’ve also started holding seminars on the topic of hiring engineers, so we can bring together a larger number of our clients at once. These don’t have quite the impact as the small dinners, but they are more scalable. Conclusion Communities have been key to all of my businesses. If my focus had been solely on maximizing revenues, I think the time and money I’ve spent on community involvement could have been better used elsewhere. But the nice thing about being an entrepreneur is that you get to choose your own metrics for success. And unlike with other business strategies, I can always feel good about what we accomplish. Even if an activity doesn’t create value for me personally, it does for someone else, so my efforts are never wasted. If you’re an entrepreneur looking to combine business and the common good, I recommend finding ways to build your company through the community as well. Whether it’s by spending your own time volunteering, contributing part of your business’s revenues to causes you care about, or building up a community around your brand, all these avenues can help both your enterprise and the public at large.

Japan already stipulates that employers must offer the option of reduced working hours to employees with children under three. However, the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act was amended in May 2024, with some of the new provisions coming into effect April 1 or October 1, 2025. The updates to the law address: Remote work Flexible start and end times Reduced hours On-site childcare facilities Compensation for lost salary And more Legal changes are one thing, of course, and social changes are another. Though employers are mandated to offer these options, how many employees in Japan actually avail themselves of these benefits? Does doing so create any stigma or resentment? Recent studies reveal an unsurprising gender disparity in accepting a modified work schedule, but generally positive attitudes toward these accommodations overall. The current reduced work options Reduced work schedules for employees with children under three years old are currently regulated by Article 23(1) of the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act. This Article stipulates that employers are required to offer accommodations to employees with children under three years old. Those accommodations must include the opportunity for a reduced work schedule of six hours a day. However, if the company is prepared to provide alternatives, and if the parent would prefer, this benefit can take other forms—for example, working seven hours a day or working fewer days per week. Eligible employees for the reduced work schedule are those who: Have children under three years old Normally work more than six hours a day Are not employed as day laborers Are not on childcare leave during the period to which the reduced work schedule applies Are not one of the following, which are exempted from the labor-management agreement Employees who have been employed by the company for less than one year Employees whose prescribed working days per week are two days or less Although the law requires employers to provide reduced work schedules only while the child is under three years old, some companies allow their employees with older children to work shorter hours as well. According to a 2020 survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 15.8% of companies permit their employees to use the system until their children enter primary school, while 5.7% allow it until their children turn nine years old or enter third grade. Around 4% offer reduced hours until children graduate from elementary school, and 15.4% of companies give the option even after children have entered middle school. If, considering the nature or conditions of the work, it is difficult to give a reduced work schedule to employees, the law stipulates other measures such as flexible working hours. This law has now been altered, though, to include other accommodations. Updates to The Child Care and Family Care Leave Act Previously, remote work was not an option for employees with young children. Now, from April 1, 2025, employers must make an effort to allow employees with children under the age of three to work remotely if they choose. From October 1, 2025, employers are also obligated to provide two or more of the following measures to employees with children between the ages of three and the time they enter elementary school. An altered start time without changing the daily working hours, either by using a flex time system or by changing both the start and finish time for the workday The option to work remotely without changing daily working hours, which can be used 10 or more days per month Company-sponsored childcare, by providing childcare facilities or other equivalent benefits (e.g., arranging for babysitters and covering the cost) 10 days of leave per year to support employees’ childcare without changing daily working hours A reduced work schedule, which must include the option of 6-hour days How much it’s used in practice Of course, there’s always a gap between what the law specifies, and what actually happens in practice. How many parents typically make use of these legally-mandated accommodations, and for how long? The numbers A survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in 2020 studied uptake of the reduced work schedule among employees with children under three years old. In this category, 40.8% of female permanent employees (正社員, seishain) and 21.6% of women who were not permanent employees answered that they use, or had used, the reduced work schedule. Only 12.3% of male permanent employees said the same. The same survey was conducted in 2022, and researchers found that the gap between female and male employees had actually widened. According to this second survey, 51.2% of female permanent employees and 24.3% of female non-permanent employees had reduced their hours, compared to only 7.6% of male permanent employees. Not only were fewer male employees using reduced work programs, but 41.2% of them said they did not intend to make use of them. By contrast, a mere 15.6% of female permanent employees answered they didn’t wish to claim the benefit. Of those employees who prefer the shorter schedule, how long do they typically use the benefit? The following charts, using data from the 2022 survey, show at what point those employees stop reducing their hours and return to a full-time schedule.   Female permanent employees Female non-permanent employees Male permanent employees Male non-permanent employees Until youngest child turns 1 13.7% 17.9% 50.0% 25.9% Until youngest child turns 2 11.5% 7.9% 14.5% 29.6% Until youngest child turns 3 23.0% 16.3% 10.5% 11.1% Until youngest child enters primary school 18.9% 10.5% 6.6% 11.1% Sometime after the youngest child enters primary school 22.8% 16.9% 6.5% 11.1% Not sure 10% 30.5% 11.8% 11.1% From the companies’ perspectives, according to a survey conducted by the Cabinet Office in 2023, 65.9% of employers answered that their reduced work schedule system is fully used by their employees. What’s the public perception? Some fear that the number of people using the reduced work program—and, especially, the number of women—has created an impression of unfairness for those employees who work full-time. This is a natural concern, but statistics paint a different picture. In a survey of 300 people conducted in 2024, 49% actually expressed a favorable opinion of people who work shorter hours. Also, 38% had “no opinion” toward colleagues with reduced work schedules, indicating that 87% total don’t negatively view those parents who work shorter hours. While attitudes may vary from company to company, the public overall doesn’t seem to attach any stigma to parents who reduce their work schedules. Is this “the Mommy Track”? Others are concerned that working shorter hours will detour their career path. According to this report by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 47.6% of male permanent employees indicated that, as the result of working fewer hours, they had been changed to a position with less responsibility. The same thing happened to 65.6% of male non-permanent employees, and 22.7% of female permanent employees. Therefore, it’s possible that using the reduced work schedule can affect one’s immediate chances for advancement. However, while 25% of male permanent employees and 15.5% of female permanent employees said the quality and importance of the work they were assigned had gone down, 21.4% of male and 18.1% of female permanent employees said the quality had gone up. Considering 53.6% of male and 66.4% of female permanent employees said it stayed the same, there seems to be no strong correlation between reducing one’s working hours, and being given less interesting or important tasks. Reduced work means reduced salary These reduced work schedules usually entail dropping below the originally-contracted work hours, which means the employer does not have to pay the employee for the time they did not work. For example, consider a person who normally works 8 hours a day reducing their work time to 6 hours a day (a 25% reduction). If their monthly salary is 300,000 yen, it would also decrease accordingly by 25% to 225,000 yen. Previously, both men and women have avoided reduced work schedules, because they do not want to lose income. As more mothers than fathers choose to work shorter hours, this financial burden tends to fall more heavily on women. To address this issue, childcare short-time employment benefits (育児時短就業給付) will start from April 2025. These benefits cover both male and female employees who work shorter hours to care for a child under two years old, and pay a stipend equivalent to 10% of their adjusted monthly salary during the reduced work schedule. Returning to the previous example, this stipend would grant 10% of the reduced salary, or 22,500 yen per month, bringing the total monthly paycheck to 247,500 yen, or 82.5% of the normal salary. This additional stipend, while helpful, may not be enough to persuade some families to accept shorter hours. The childcare short-time employment benefits are available to employees who meet the following criteria: The person is insured, and is working shorter hours to care for a child under two years old. The person started a reduced work schedule immediately after using the childcare leave covered by childcare leave benefits, or the person has been insured for 12 months in the two years prior to the reduced work schedule. Conclusion Japan’s newly-mandated options for reduced schedules, remote work, financial benefits, and other childcare accommodations could help many families in Japan. However, these programs will only prove beneficial if enough employees take advantage of them. As of now, there’s some concern that parents who accept shorter schedules could look bad or end up damaging their careers in the long run. Statistically speaking, some of the news is good: most people view parents who reduce their hours either positively or neutrally, not negatively. But other surveys indicate that a reduction in work hours often equates to a reduction in responsibility, which could indeed have long-term effects. That’s why it’s important for more parents to use these accommodations freely. Not only will doing so directly benefit the children, but it will also lessen any negative stigma associated with claiming them. This is particularly true for fathers, who can help even the playing field for their female colleagues by using these perks just as much as the mothers in their offices. And since the state is now offering a stipend to help compensate for lost income, there’s less and less reason not to take full advantage of these programs.

Since November 2023, I’ve been living in Karuizawa, a small resort town that’s 70 minutes away from Tokyo by Shinkansen. The elevation is approximately 1000 meters above sea level, making the summers relatively mild. Unlike other colder places in Japan, it doesn’t get much snow, and has the same sunny winters I came to love in Tokyo. With COVID and the remote work boom, it’s also become popular among professionals such as myself who want to live somewhere with an abundance of nature, but who still need to commute into Tokyo on a semi-regular basis. While I have a home office, I sometimes like to work outside. So I thought I’d share my impressions of the coworking spaces in town that I’ve personally visited, and a few other places where you can get some work done when you’re in town. Sawamura Roastery 11am on a Friday morning and there was only one other customer. Sawamura Roastery is technically a cafe, but it’s my personal favourite coworking space. It has free wifi, outlets, and comfortable chairs. While their coffees are on the expensive side, at about 750 yen for a cafe latte, they are also some of Karuizawa’s best. It’s empty enough on weekday mornings that I feel fine about staying there for hours, making it a deal compared to official drop-in coworking spaces. Another bonus is that it opens early: 7 a.m. (or 8 a.m. during the winter months). This allows me to start working right after I drop off my kids at daycare, rather than having 20 odd minutes to kill before heading to the other places that open at 9 a.m. If you’re having an online meeting, you can make use of the outdoor seating. It’s perfect when the weather is nice, but they also have heating for when it isn’t. The downsides are that their playlist is rather short, so I’m constantly hearing the same songs, and their roasting machine sometimes gets quite noisy. Gokalab Gokalab is my favourite dedicated coworking space in Karuizawa. Technically it is in Miyota, the next town over, which is sometimes called “Nishikaruizawa”. But it’s the only coworking space in the area I’ve been to that feels like it has a real community. When you want to work here, you have three options: buy a drink (600 yen for a cafe au lait—no cafe lattes, unfortunately, but if you prefer black coffee they have a good selection) and work out of the cafe area on the first floor; pay their daily drop-in fee of 1,000 yen; or become a “researcher” (研究員, kenkyuin) for 3,000 yen per month and enjoy unlimited usage. Now you may be thinking that the last option is a steal. That’s because it is. However, to become a researcher you need to go through a workshop that involves making something out of LEGO, and submit an essay about why you want to use the space. The thinking behind this is that they want to support people who actually share their vision, and aren’t just after a cheap space to work or study. Kind of zany, but that sort of out-of-the-box thinking is exactly what I want in a coworking space. When I first moved to Karuizawa, my youngest child couldn’t get into the local daycare. However, we found out that in Miyota, Suginoko Kindergarten had part-time spots available for two year olds. My wife and I ended up taking turns driving my kid there, and then spending the morning working out of Gokalab. Since my youngest is now in a local daycare, I haven’t made it out to Gokalab much. It’s just a bit too far for me (about a 15-minute drive from my house, while other options on this list are at most a 15-minute bicycle ride). But if I was living closer, I’d be a regular there. 232 Coworking Space & Hotel Noon on a Monday morning at 232 Coworking Space. If you’re looking for a coworking space near Karuizawa station, 232 Coworking Space & Hotel is the best option I’ve come across. The “hotel” part of the name made me think they were focused on “workcations,” but the space seems like it caters to locals as well. The space offers free coffee via an automatic espresso machine, along with other drinks, and a decent number of desks. When I used it on a Monday morning in the off-season, it was moderately occupied at perhaps a quarter capacity. Everyone spoke in whispers, so it felt a bit like a library. There were two booths for calls, but unfortunately they were both occupied when I wanted to have mine, so I had to sit in the hall instead. If the weather was a bit warmer I would have taken it outside, as there was some nice covered seating available. The decor was nice, though the chairs weren’t that comfortable. After a couple of hours I was getting sore. It was also too dimly lit for me, without much natural light. The price for drop-ins is reasonable, starting at 1,500 yen for four hours. They also have monthly plans starting from 10,000 yen for five days per month. WhatI found missing was a feeling of community. I didn’t see any small talk between the people working there, though I was only there for a couple hours, and maybe this occurs at other times. Their webpage also mentioned that they host events, but apparently they don’t have any upcoming ones planned and haven’t had any in a while. Shozo Coffee Karuizawa The latte is just okay here, but the atmosphere is nice. Shozo Coffee Karuizawa is a cafe on the first floor of the bookstore in Karuizawa Commongrounds. The second floor has a dedicated coworking space, but for me personally, the cafe is a better deal. Their cafe latte is mid-tier and 700 yen. In the afternoons I’ll go for their chai to avoid over-caffeination. They offer free wifi and have signs posted asking you not to hold online meetings, implicitly making it clear that otherwise they don’t mind you working there. Location-wise, this place is very convenient for me, but it suffers from a fatal flaw that prevents me from working there for an extended amount of time: the tables are way too low for me to type comfortably. I’m tall though (190 cm), so they aren’t designed with me in mind. Sheridan Coffee and a popover \- my entrance fee to this “coworking space”. Sheridan is a western breakfast and brunch restaurant. They aren’t that busy on weekdays and have free wifi, plus the owner was happy to let me work there. The coffee comes in a pot with enough for at least one refill. There’s also some covered outdoor seating. I used this spot to get some work done when my child was sick and being looked after at the wonderful Hochi Lodge (ほっちのロージ). It’s a clinic and sick childcare facility that does its best to not let on that it’s a medical facility. The doctors and nurses don’t wear uniforms, and appointments there feel more like you’re visiting someone’s home. Sheridan is within walking distance of it. Natural Cafeina An excellent cappuccino but only an okay place to work. If you’d like to get a bit of work done over an excellent cappuccino, Natural Cafeina is a good option. This cafe feels a bit cramped, and as there isn’t much seating, I wouldn’t want to use it for an extended period of time. Also, the music was also a bit loud. But they do have free wifi, and when I visited, there were a couple of other customers besides myself working there. Nakakaruizawa Library The Nakakaruizawa Library is a beautiful space with plenty of desks facing the windows and free wifi. Anyone can use it for free, making it the most economical coworking space in town. I’ve tried working out of it, but found that, for me personally, it wasn’t conducive to work. It is still a library, and there’s something about the vibes that just doesn’t inspire me. Karuizawa Commongrounds Bookstore Coworking Space The renowned bookstore Tsutaya operates Karuizawa Books in the Karuizawa Commongrounds development. The second floor has a coworking space that features the “cheap chic” look common among hip coworking spaces. Unfinished plywood is everywhere, as are books. I’d never actually worked at this space until writing this article. The price is just too high for me to justify it, as it starts at 1,100 yen for a mere hour, to a max of 4,000 yen per day. At 22,000 yen per month, it’s a more reasonable price for someone using it as an office full time. But I already have a home office and just want somewhere I can drop in at occasionally. There are a couple options, seating-wise. Most of the seats are in booths, which I found rather dark but with comfortable chairs. Then there’s a row of stools next to the window, which offer a good view, but are too uncomfortable for me. Depending on your height, the bar there may work as a standing desk. Lastly, there are two coveted seats with office chairs by a window, but they were both occupied when I visited. The emphasis here seems to be on individual deep work, and though there were a number of other people working, I’d have felt uncomfortable striking up a conversation with one of them. That’s enough to make me give it a pass. Coworking Space Ikoi Villa Coworking Space Ikoi Villa is located in Naka-Karuizawa, relatively close to my home. I’ve only used it once though. It’s part of a hotel, and they converted the lobby to a coworking space by putting a bunch of desks and chairs in it. If all you need is wifi and space to work, it gets the job done. But it’s a shame they didn’t invest a bit more in making it feel like a nice place to work. I went during the summer on one of the hottest days. My house only had one AC unit and couldn’t keep up, so I was hoping to find somewhere cooler to work. But they just had the windows open with some fans going, which left me disappointed. This was ostensibly the peak season for Karuizawa, but only a couple of others were working there that day. Maybe the regulars knew it’d be too hot, but it felt kind of lonely for a coworking space. The drop-in fee starts at 1,000 yen for four hours. It comes with free drinks from a machine: green tea, coffee, and water, if I recall correctly. Karuizawa Prince The Workation Core Do you like corporate vibes? Then this is the place for you. Karuizawa Prince The Workation Core is a coworking space located in my least favourite part of the town—the outlet mall. The throngs of shoppers and rampant commercialism are in stark contrast to the serenity found farther away from the station. This is another coworking space I visited expressly for this article. The fee is 660 yen per 30 minutes, to a maximum of 6,336 yen per day. Even now, just reading that maximum, my heart skipped a beat. This is certainly the most expensive coworking space I’ve ever worked from—I better get this article done fast. The facilities include a large open space with reasonably comfortable seating. There are a number of booths with monitors. As they are 23.8 inch monitors with 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, they’re a step down from the resolution of modern laptops, and so not of much use. Though there was room for 40 plus people, I was the only person working . Granted this was on a Sunday morning, so not when most people would typically attend. I don’t think I’ll be back here again. The price and sterile corporate vibe just aren’t for me. If you’re staying at The Prince Hotel, I think you get a discount. In that case, maybe it’s worth it, but otherwise I think there are better options. Sawamura Bakery & Restaurant Kyukaruizawa Sawamura Bakery & Restaurant is across the street from the Roastery. It offers slightly cheaper prices, with about 100 yen off the cafe latte, though the quality is worse, as is the vibe of the place as a whole. They do have a bigger selection of baked goods, though. As a cafe for doing some work, there’s nothing wrong with it per se. The upstairs cafe area has ample seating outside of peak hours. But I just don’t have a good reason to work here over the Roastery. The Pie Hole Los Angles Karuizawa The best (and only) pecan pie that I’ve had in Japan. The name of this place is a mouthful. Technically, it shouldn’t be on this list because I’ve never worked out of it. But they have wonderful pie, free wifi, and not many customers, so I could see working here. The chairs are a bit uncomfortable though, so I wouldn’t want to stop by for more than an hour or two. While this place had been on my radar for a while, I’d avoided it because there’s no good bicycle parking nearby—-or so I thought. I just found that the relatively close Church Street shopping street has a bit of bicycle parking off to the side. If you come to Karuizawa… When I was living in Tokyo, there were just too many opportunities to meet people, and so I found myself having to frequently turn down offers to go out for coffee. Since moving here, I’ve made some local connections, but the pace has been a lot slower. If you’re ever passing through Karuizawa, do get in touch, and I’d be happy to meet up for a cafe latte and possibly some pie.