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How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

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Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#151

Post by MichaelZuo »

Foobar8568 wrote: post #66
flemhans wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rented a flat in Tokyo for a month too as a tourist. But it wasn't cheap. Around $1500/month, in 2011. But it was 3 rooms, and very nice. So maybe not so bad, actually? But then again, it was many years ago.

3 rooms, in Tokyo, for a month, is bloody cheap unless I miss something.

Pretty much all non-luxury housing in Tokyo is built to a much lower standard than equivalent housing built in say Canada or the US in the same time period.

Much thinner wall insulation, single glazed windows (until recently), much smaller elevators in high rises, etc…

So on a quality and square footage adjusted basis it’s still quite expensive.

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#152

Post by triceratops »

wdrw wrote: post #149
triceratops wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Clearly (B) is better for Japan economically? Scenario B is amazing for the US. I don't see how it's clearly better for Japan. I don't know about you but I pay far more in income tax than sales tax. You spend money but you also consume government services and infrastructure while paying less in tax to Japan than a resident employed in Japan would.

But in scenario (B) you're spending money in Japan, basically you're directly injecting US money (your US salary) into the Japanese economy. Don't see why it's "amazing" for the US and not for Japan.

> Don't see why it's "amazing" for the US

Because you're paying US income taxes while consuming next to no US government services or infrastructure.

> But in scenario (B) you're spending money in Japan

Anyone who lives and works in Japan spends money in Japan. What's great about that? Most of those people also pay taxes.

> basically you're directly injecting US money (your US salary) into the Japanese economy

Japan might say: if this US company doesn't mind someone working from Japan and paying them an American salary, why not a person who already lives there and pays taxes there? That's obviously better than someone new who doesn't pay taxes there.

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#153

Post by alibarber »

eftychis wrote: post #150
andy_ppp wrote: post #106

When the girlfriend was living in Japan I stayed for 89 days and then went to Taiwan (amazing country, highly recommended) and came back for another 87 days and nobody cared. I guess if you did this a lot it would be an issue but you’re reasonably fine to do it once I think. I was not working but I did have “free” accommodation in the smallest apartment I’ve ever been in so I’d be more concerned about this if I was a…

As the sibling comment noted, you were within the legal prescribed boundaries. The flag is automatic if something is off. No person (I think/in general/most countries) sits and counts days. The computer does. In fact if they note they can not track exactly how many days you were in and out of the country that is a separate flag, that would likely in most jurisdiction lead to questioning. (Source: friend had to pull h…

Currently in the countries of the Schengen area - a person is supposed to do preciesly that at border control, the electronic entry-exit system, targeted for launch in 2022 is (was) supposed to be that computer however.

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#154

Post by imp0cat »

cedws wrote: post #147
Ylpertnodi wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Serious question, and not being flippant: crine in .jp vs .uk? Noticeable?

I had never felt so safe while I was there. I knew I didn't have to check over my shoulder, or walk down a side road if I wanted to use my phone so as to avoid having it grabbed from my hands. When I rented a bike, I could simply park it up without a lock, and knew I would come back to see it exactly where I left it. I forgot my bag in a taxi and got it back the next morning by going to the taxi office. I left my umb…

> walk down a side road if I wanted to use my phone so as to avoid having it grabbed from my hands.

Is this really a thing in London?

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#155

Post by cedws »

imp0cat wrote: post #154
cedws wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had never felt so safe while I was there. I knew I didn't have to check over my shoulder, or walk down a side road if I wanted to use my phone so as to avoid having it grabbed from my hands. When I rented a bike, I could simply park it up without a lock, and knew I would come back to see it exactly where I left it. I forgot my bag in a taxi and got it back the next morning by going to the taxi office. I left my umb…

> walk down a side road if I wanted to use my phone so as to avoid having it grabbed from my hands. Is this really a thing in London?

Yes, phone theft is rampant in London. The thieves are rarely caught and if they are, they get off lightly. Or released early from prison, because our prisons are full.

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#156

Post by carlosjobim »

diggan wrote: post #135
carlosjobim wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but parasites like AirBnB and similar companies making a killing off offering apartments 5x above normal asking price to rich nomads who will say "wow, it's so cheap!" without realizing they're being ripped off, and killing neighborhoods by driving rent prices up. The parasites in this case are the landlords, not AirBnB. And they're the one driving the rent prices up, not the renters. Why does everybody refuse to a…

> The parasites in this case are the landlords, not AirBnB. And they're the one driving the rent prices up, not the renters. What about considering both as parasites, just different methods for achieving basically the same thing: "More money for me". Obviously, the landlords are the ones who raise the prices. But I think it'd be ignoring reality if you didn't consider the fact that AirBnb made all of this so much eas…

AirBnB plays a very minor role in this. Yes, they make short-term rentals possible for landlords who are too dumb and lazy to be able to do it otherwise. There were other simliar platforms before AirBnB, there will be others after them.

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#157

Post by arandomusername »

grecy wrote: post #128
elzbardico wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those laws where designed before you had the relativelly new phenomenon of digital nomads. They were created so the local companies wouldn't hire foreign citizens under the table, skirting taxes and depressing wages for local workers, which would be an unpopular outcome amongst voters.

Working for a local company is an entirely different thing, and not what I’m asking about at all.

Because the laws were created before the idea of working remotely.

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#158

Post by rty32 »

carlosjobim wrote: post #156
diggan wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The parasites in this case are the landlords, not AirBnB. And they're the one driving the rent prices up, not the renters. What about considering both as parasites, just different methods for achieving basically the same thing: "More money for me". Obviously, the landlords are the ones who raise the prices. But I think it'd be ignoring reality if you didn't consider the fact that AirBnb made all of this so much eas…

AirBnB plays a very minor role in this. Yes, they make short-term rentals possible for landlords who are too dumb and lazy to be able to do it otherwise. There were other simliar platforms before AirBnB, there will be others after them.

That's why the original post says "like Airbnb", and laws like those in NYC ban all of them.

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#159

Post by junar »

chrisfosterelli wrote: post #121
hotspot_one wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If I’m employed in my home country, earning money there and paying taxes, what difference does it make if I happen to sit in another country? Why does "home country" have tax priority over "sitting in" country? How does that make sense vs having the taxes paid in "sitting in" country instead of "home country"? with perhaps the strongest argument being jurisdiction. What gives "home country" the legal right to claim…

> with perhaps the strongest argument being jurisdiction. What gives "home country" the legal right to claim taxes on income earned in "sitting country"? Usually a treaty. At least here in Canada the government has tax treaties with most other countries whereby both countries agree the citizen should pay taxes to the country they reside in the majority of the year.

The relevant portion of the US-Japan treaty is Article 14(2). As the IRS explains:

> Paragraph 2 sets forth an exception to the general rule in paragraph 1 that employment income may be taxed in the Contracting State where the employment is exercised. Under paragraph 2, the Contracting State where the employment is exercised may not tax the income from the employment if three conditions are satisfied: (1) the individual is present in the other Contracting State for a period or periods not exceeding 183 days in any 12-month period that begins or ends during the relevant (i.e., the year in which the services are performed) calendar year; (2) the remuneration is paid by, or on behalf of, an employer who is not a resident of that other Contracting State; and (3) the remuneration is not borne by a permanent establishment that the employer has in that other Contracting State. In order for the remuneration to be exempt from tax in the source State, all three conditions must be satisfied. This exception is identical to that set forth in the U.S. and OECD Models.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-trty/japante04.pdf

https://www.mof.go.jp/tax_policy/summary/international/tax_c...

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#160

Post by [deleted] »

makeitdouble wrote: post #112
csomar wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure why people want to stick to a rule that could get them in real trouble. I am speaking from real experience. The police is very unlikely to want to arrest/take you to the station for not having your passport. On the other hand, if you do lose your passport and you have a slow/far embassy then you are in real trouble.

The police will stop you for any random reason, including walking alone in the street at an unusual hour or just to check your bike. From there, if you have nothing to officially prove your identity you might totally spend a while at the station, and potentially have them kindly escort you to your home so they get a look while you're looking for your passport. All of this is just mild inconvenience, except it will ha…

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