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Starting in 2027, a revised minimum tax regime will apply to certain high-income individuals in Japan. While JPY165 million is used as a calculation threshold, additional tax is only triggered where the minimum tax exceeds the regular income tax liability. The reform is intended to ensure a minimum level of taxation, particularly where a significant portion of income is derived from investment or equity-based sources.

If you are planning on doing business in Japan, knowledge of the investment environment and information on legal, accounting, taxation and human resource frameworks are essential to keeping you on the right track. This guide has been prepared for the assistance of those interested in doing business in Japan. It does not cover the subject exhaustively but is intended to answer some of the important, broad questions that may arise. When specific problems occur in practice, it will often be necessary to refer to the laws and regulations of Japan and to obtain appropriate accounting and legal advice. This guide contains only brief notes and includes legislation in force as of November 27, 2024.

As part of the 2025 tax reform, revisions have been introduced to reduce the tax burden amid rising wages and to aid flexible employment arrangements. The reform includes an increase in the basic exemption and the minimum amount of the employment income deduction, as well as the introduction of a new special exemption for specific dependents.

With the COVID-19 travel restrictions lifted, business travel has increased significantly. Some companies assume their employees are tax-exempt if their home country has an income tax treaty with the host country and the employee spends not more than 183 days in aggregate there.How to count the days can easily create confusion. This edition of the tax bulletin explains how to count 183 days and pitfalls you need to be aware of when counting travel days to Japan.

Expatriates residing in Japan for a limited duration may find themselves ineligible for old-age pension benefits, despite having made premium payments during their assignment in the country. To address such cases, the Japan Pension Service offers a Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment from Employees' Pension Insurance.

In accordance with the Japanese Income Tax Law, individuals are classified into two categories for tax residency status, namely residents and non-residents. Residents are classified further into permanent residents and non-permanent residents. Non-permanent residents are individuals who do not have Japanese nationality and have had a residence or address in Japan for less than five years in the past 10 years. Taxable income subject to income tax is different depending on individuals’ tax residency status.