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Good salary in Japan 2012/1/18 21:11
Hi,

My company is offering me to move to Tokyo, the base salary will be around 8million yen plus transportation, pension, healthcare. I am not so sure if this is good, OK or basic for Japanese standards... or I will be shopping in 100yen shops before closing to survive?

Thanking you in advance.
Tomodachi
by Tomodachi (guest)  

Good but not the best 2012/1/19 12:02
8M should be good to survive and save a bit too for future.
By the way, how old are you and what into what field of work?
by Guest (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Good salary in Japan 2012/1/19 18:01
Hi Guest,
I'm 36 and it is in HR/TR for an IT company.
what about you?
by Tomodachi (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Good salary in Japan 2012/1/19 18:28
8 milion yen????? it's quite a lot if you consider the average salary of a japanese salaryman in his 30s!!!!
by ella (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Good salary in Japan 2012/1/19 19:30
Hi Ella,
what is the normal salary in Japan for that age bracket?
The data I have is quite confusing (not age related and this seems to be a big factor in Japan)... some places said 300k per month is ok, others that is not sufficient... and the market data says that 8million a year is ok. but I need the local input to really understand what 8millions a year mean.

Thanks in advance.
by Tomodachi (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Good salary in Japan 2012/1/19 19:45
8m JPY per annum is considerably above the national average and will be easily enough to live well on and have enough left over to save.

Of course, these things are all relative though and if you lead an extravagant lifestyle and enjoy eating out at top restaurants every evening, you'll no doubt find things harder.

Your monthly rent is likely to be the biggest issue and Tokyo is of course the most expensive place. What sort of monthly rent are you looking at?
by Sarumo Kikara (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Good salary in Japan 2012/1/19 20:45
The rent is one of the biggest problems, I am clueless... I read that 80-100k will provide 1- bedroom flat, but I need 2-bedroom flat and I guess this will take me to 200k (I think I want to leave in east Tokyo as it seems a bit cheaper), so there is a bit of damage that will have impact on the rest.
I think that 200k for rent will leave me with 400k for groceries shopping, drinks and some trips once a month to places around Tokyo (Kamakura, Hakone, etc). Am I pointing to high above?

Thanking you in advance.
by Tomodachi (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Good salary in Japan 2012/1/20 13:33
I am 29, work in the IT Industry, live in Akasaka (one of the most expensive places you can find in Tokyo) and earn roughly 7bn JPY per year at the moment.

Since I will only stay here for 8 months I had to rent a furnished apartement and I wanted to live close to the office. So I pay 200k per month for a 25 sqm room...which is a lot for such a tiny place but ok for me. Depending on where you work you can easily find an unfurnished apartement for 150-200k with more than 50sqm though. Yes I know, this might not sound like a lot of space if you used to live in a 120 sqm flat, but this is Japan :)

I go out almost every night to all the poshy places in Roppongi Hills, Shinjuku, Ginza etc. and dont choose my food at the store depending on the price. I make loads of trips on the weekend and simply put: enjoy life.

To sum it up: Even though I do not save any money at all during my stay, I have a luxourious life, lots of fun and get by pretty well with 1bn JPY per year less than what you earn. So there is definitely no need to worry for you.
by Tuna (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Good salary in Japan 2012/1/20 13:49
I'm thinking Tuna might mean million rather than billion.
But even so you can have a good standard of living on 8million yen annual salary. Reckon on about 500-550k take home on that salary after compulsory national pension contribution/tax (if you stay a second year you will pay more in tax as local taxes will kick in based on your previous year salary). After rent and utilities etc. you should have easily 250-300k spare income a month - this is plenty to eat very well and save or eat exceedingly well and live the high life.
by Lady Kodaira rate this post as useful

Re: Good salary in Japan 2012/1/20 18:13
Thanks for he answers. I am a bit happier now. I thought that it was a good salary in Japan and by the comments I can see that it is the case.

I think I will be there soon now the questions is where to live, I think I am going east Tokyo, but west is really nice (and expensive).

T

by Tomodachi (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Good salary in Japan 2012/1/21 15:58
Where to live? Depends. As easy as this.

If you dont feel like commuting with millions of other japanese in a metro for hours then live close to where you actually work.

If you feel like having a big apartment is important to you, then choose an apartment further out.

If you feel like you need a lot of foreigners around you, move to Roppongi.

If you feel like as much money as possible share your bathroom with 5 other families.

If you feel like you want some nightlife, move to Azabu Juban.

If you feel like waking up and enjoy the sea view move to Odaiba...

Lots of choices...all depends on what you want. As easy as that.
by Tuna (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Guest Again 2012/1/23 14:50
Hi Tomodachi,

This is Guest agian (1st replier to your post)
The thing is 7M JPY is quite a lot for Japanese people working in Japanese office (avg salary of 3-4M JPY/Year)
So in comparision to them your salary is much higher.
But for expats, working in IT companies, 8M YEN would be just good enough.
Ofcourse you can very comfortably live with this salary but if the purpose if to compare with the norm it will be classified as only decent
Depend on your company and type of work, For an IT consultant in his early 30's anything between 10-12M JPY should be good.
Anything below it is just fair enough.
by Guest (guest) rate this post as useful

To Tuna 2012/1/23 14:53
Tuna brother,
Just for the sake of comparision,You said you work for IT Company, Are you a consultant? Are you billingual? Is it an American or Japanese company?
by Guest (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Good salary in Japan 2012/1/23 20:08
I work for a british company. Not bilingual. Mainly involved in projectmanagement.
by Tuna (guest) rate this post as useful

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