Leaving Japan: A Checklist Before You Go

Leaving Japan for good involves more than packing. You need to move out of your home, handle official paperwork, and deal with money matters, often in a short time. This guide lists what to do and when.

Want these steps with dates? Choose “I am leaving Japan for good” in our moving checklist.

One to two months before you leave

• Give notice to your landlord or share house operator. Apartment leases often require one month’s notice. Share houses have their own rules, so check your contract.
• Plan what to do with your things. Sell or give away what you can. Large items need a bulky trash pickup, which you book with your city or ward. Air conditioners, TVs, refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, and clothes dryers cannot be put out as bulky trash. They must be recycled for a fee.
• Check your internet and phone contracts. Find out about cancellation fees and when you can cancel.

About two weeks before you leave

• File a moving-out notice at your city or ward office. You must do this before you leave Japan. You can usually file it as early as about two weeks before you leave. If you have National Health Insurance, ask the office what to do with your insurance card at the same time.
• Ask about resident tax. Resident tax is charged on the previous year’s income, so you may still owe some. Ask your city or ward office how to pay it. If you leave before paying, you may need to choose someone in Japan (a tax representative) to pay it for you.
• Plan how to get your deposit back. If you rent an apartment, ask the landlord how and when they will return your deposit.
• Decide what to do with your bank account. Ask your bank about closing it. If you are still waiting for your last salary or your apartment deposit, or still have bills to pay, keep it open until they are settled.

In your last week

• Ask each utility company to stop service on your move-out date, and return any rented internet equipment.
• Be there for the move-out inspection if you rent an apartment. Bring the photos you took when you moved in.
• Cancel your phone plan when you no longer need it. You may need your phone number to get security codes from your bank until your last day.

At the airport

If you are leaving Japan for good, tell the officer at departure immigration and hand in your residence card.

If you plan to come back within one year (or before your status of residence expires, if that is sooner), you may be able to leave using the special re-entry permit instead. In that case, you keep your card: check the box on the embarkation card that says you plan to return, and show your residence card. This is not available to everyone, so check the rules for your status of residence before you go.

After you leave: your pension

If you paid into a Japanese pension plan (the National Pension or your employer’s pension plan) for at least six months, you may be able to get some of it back as a lump-sum withdrawal payment. You must apply within two years of leaving Japan. Check the Japan Pension Service website for the documents you need.

If you are coming back to Japan later

If you plan to return to Japan someday, a share house is an easy place to start again: it is furnished, quick to move into, and has low move-in costs. To learn what to do after you arrive, read our guide: Your First Weeks in Japan: Address, Phone, and Bank Account in the Right Order.

Sources

• Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Returning Your Residence Card. moj.go.jp (Japanese)
• Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Special Re-entry Permit. moj.go.jp (Japanese)
• Japan Pension Service, Lump-Sum Withdrawal Payments. nenkin.go.jp (Japanese)
• Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Moving In and Moving Out (Foreign Residents). soumu.go.jp (Japanese)
• Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Home Appliance Recycling Law. meti.go.jp (Japanese)