Leaving Japan Checklist

A Checklist of Everything You Need To Do

Regardless of how long you have lived in the amazing country of Japan, it is now time for the goodbye parties, farewells, and a seemingly list of things you have to do to in order to move out. In the same vein of getting into the country, leaving Japan can be a stressful and very expensive process if you don’t prepare accordingly. Here is a guide to making moving out of Japan as hassle-free as possible.

Shipping your goods home

If you are leaving Japan, you probably have at least some personal belongings to take home. We are an international shipping company specialized in personal effects. As we reiterate on this website, we always stress the importance of selecting the most suitable mode of transport depending on the volume/weight of the goods you want to ship. If you are shipping only a small amount, generally Japan Post will be the cheapest while if you have several boxes or more, it would make sense to use the services of a shipping company like ourselves. If you would like to know what the best option would be for you when shipping your belongings, visit the page of cheapest way to ship your personal effects home. Our website has quite comprehensive information on shipping. Be sure to read relevant pages on this website to make your shipping experience a success.

Your Apartment and Vehicle

The first thing you should do about 3 to 4 months in advance is get to work on packing up your belongings and getting the issuing of housing out of the way. You should inform your landlord as soon as possible to avoid any time constraints that you could be penalized for. Usually, the landlord will arrange for an apartment inspection and charge cleaning fees.

During this time, sort through your belongings. Throw out anything that you don’t have to bring along. Box up valuables. Sell what you can to second hand stores or give away in-demand appliances on websites like Gaijinpot.

In the meantime, call your city’s garbage collection service to find out which days you can throw away oversized items, such as furniture or things that cannot be recycled. You will need to buy the corresponding stickers from the convenience store and put them on the items before placing them out for collection.

If you own a car, you need to decide whether to dispose of it or sell it. First obtain you Certificate of Seal Registration (印鑑証明書/inkan shomeisho) and the Certificate of Automobile Inspection (自動車車険証/ jidousha shakensho). Go to the Land Transportation Office near you to fill out necessary paperwork. If selling, you will need the Certification of Parking Space (車庫証明/shako shomei), a transfer deed (譲渡証明書/jouto shomeisho), and a letter of attorney that has been stamped with your seal.

Pets

If you have pets and plan on taking them with you when you leave Japan (please don’t abandon them), there is a certain amount of paperwork you have to fill out. Look up the animal import requirements for your destination country to see if you need an import certificate and certain vaccines. Some animal import authorities are going to want the official documents couriered to them before your pets arrive.

You will also have to arrange for an “export check” with the Animal Quarantine Service at the airport you plan on exiting from. It will take place when you leave. The process is usually 15 minutes in length, so give yourself some extra time.

Finally, don’t forget to either your book your fur baby a plane ticket or make sure the airline can accept animals as manifest cargo. You don’t want any mix-ups.

Contracts and Bills

Now it is time to take out all of your service contracts and have a look at how to terminate services. Ensure that bills have been paid, including local taxes. Make all final payments in cash so you can cancel your Japanese bank account. When calling the utilities suppliers, have the service end on the day you leave the apartment. You may be expected to pay the final bill on the spot or can have the last bill mailed to your new address.

When canceling your cell phone and internet contract, you may have to visit an actual storefront. Not many places allow for you to terminate a contract over the phone or online. Bring any information you have, as well as any rental equipment. Also, you should anticipate early termination fees. You may also need to pay off your phone.

The same process applies for car insurance.

Legal Residence Status

Always, always check your visa prior to leaving. If you are making the necessary preparations to leave but know that the date of your leave will be beyond the expiration date on the visa, you need to stop by the local immigration office to apply for a Temporary Visitor visa. This will allow you to finish up with leaving Japan and smoothing everything over without getting penalized for overstaying.

How bad can that penalty be? You could be permanently banned from ever entering Japan again, so always check the expiration date on your visa.

Secondly, you have to visit the city hall or ward office to inform them you are moving out of Japan. Bring your residence card, inkan (if you have one), and fill out the required Moving Out Certificate (転出届/tenshutsu todoke). At this time, you are not required to turn in your Residence Card, only your National Insurance Card-because you’ll need to withdraw from that as well. That is the last thing you do at the airport, once you have signed a document stating you understand you are giving up your status of residence in Japan. You will receive your card back with a hole in it. Keep it, because you might need it later.

A train in Japan

Pensions and Tax Refunds

For those who have been paying into pension, there is some good news. You can claim that money back once you have returned to your home country. Remember the hole-punched Residence Card? Make a copy of it, including your pension book and the “Claim Form for the Lump-Sum Withdrawal Payments.” Do this within two years of leaving Japan. The money will be deposited into your foreign bank account, no questions asked.

Of course, the pension payment may be subject to a 20% tax, but that can also be refunded if you appoint a tax representative in Japan who can submit some forms for you to the local tax office.

Other Things to Do

Aside from a lot of bureaucratic procedures that you have to deal with, there are a couple of things you might want to do to make life easier before and after leaving Japan. One of these additional steps might be receiving medication from your Japanese doctor. If you need chronic medication for a disorder or disease, go to your GP and explain that you are leaving Japan but are short on your medication. You can receive up to 6 months worth. Do this before handing in your health insurance card.

For professionals continuing their careers abroad or back in your home country, don’t pass up the chance to get some reference letters from your Japanese employer or instructor. You should allow for at least two months prior to leaving in order to ask for these reference letters. When you decide to resign, try to give at least two months’ notice, as Japanese companies are not keen on even a one-month notice let alone two weeks.

And, while it might not seem important, you might want to pick up the special things that you love about Japan, like omiyage for your friends and family if you are repatriating. Eat your favorite foods. Go to your favorite places. Spend the last of your days in the country doing what you loved to do while you were here, so the memories of the final days are full of smiles instead of stress and sadness.

Just don’t forget to book your flight during all this madness!

Japanese town

Summarizing All of the Above

So to encapsulate everything that has been talked about above, here is a checklist of everything you need to do when leaving Japan. Remember that not all steps included here are necessary.

Notification

Terminating Agreements

Bank Accounts

Stopping Services

Submit Required Documents

Withdrawal From Programs

Proper Waste Disposal

Exiting Procedure

Conclusion

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