Japan first-year cost calculator
Last checked: 2026-11-06
Add up your main fixed costs for your first 1 to 12 months in Japan. The defaults are an example: one person under 40, not on a company plan. Replace them with your own figures. This is an estimate, and it runs in your browser.
How this estimate works
- Rent is your rent times the months in the plan, minus the months already in your move-in cost. This avoids counting the first rent twice.
- Phone is the one-time fee plus the monthly fee times the months. It leaves out calls and first-month proration.
- National Pension is the monthly amount you pick times the months.
- Health insurance is the yearly figure you enter, divided by 12, times the months, then rounded to the yen.
- Your own entries are added as you type them.
Worked example
Use the defaults: 12 months, 80,000 yen rent, a 320,000 yen move-in cost that includes 1 month of rent, the Mobal 5GB plan, the full pension premium and 60,744 yen of health insurance.
| Item | Sum | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Move-in cost | From the middle case on our deposit guide, with assumed terms | 320,000 yen |
| Rent after move-in | 80,000 x 11 | 880,000 yen |
| Phone | 4,950 + 3,190 x 12 | 43,230 yen |
| National Pension | 17,920 x 12 | 215,040 yen |
| National Health Insurance | 60,744 for 12 months | 60,744 yen |
| Total | About 126,585 yen a month on average | 1,519,014 yen |
Change the months to 1 and the total becomes 351,122 yen, which matches the first-month budget on our moving checklist.
Check these before you rely on the result
- The pension figure is for fiscal 2026. We apply it to every month. The premium is 18,290 yen from April 2027, so each month from then costs 370 yen more than shown.
- An exemption needs an application. Picking one here does not mean you qualify. You must apply, and income limits apply. See our exemption guide and check with your municipal pension desk.
- The health insurance default is one city's example. Each municipality sets its own premium from last year's income and your household. 60,744 yen is Kashiwa City's fiscal 2026 flat part for one adult under 40 with no income counted, before reductions. Ages 40 to 64 pay more there. Our health insurance page explains this. We do not estimate your premium. Ask your city.
- Income earned abroad. We could not confirm how it counts for health insurance or resident tax in your first year. Ask your city.
- Resident tax is your own entry. With no Japan address on January 1, you generally owe none for that fiscal year. Your first bill usually comes in the June after your first January 1. Rates can vary by municipality, so we do not estimate it. See our resident tax page.
- Company plans. If you pick a company plan and enter 0 for health insurance, your salary deductions are not counted. We have no figure for them. Ask your employer, and add them under other monthly costs.
- Phone prices were seen on November 6, 2026. Mobal's pages show different plans in places, so check at checkout. The list leaves out Mobal's 100GB and 200GB upgrades. See our phone plan page.
What it leaves out
It leaves out food, furniture, utilities, home internet, flights, income tax and daycare unless you add them yourself. For one-time fees, look them up in our government fees database. For your move-in figure, use the move-in cost calculator.
This is an estimate, not financial, tax or legal advice. Your real bills will differ.
Sources
- Japan Pension Service: National Pension premium (Japanese)
- Japan Pension Service: prepayment, with the fiscal 2027 premium (Japanese)
- Japan Pension Service: premium exemption and payment deferral, April 2026 (Japanese)
- Kashiwa City: FY2026 National Health Insurance premiums (Japanese)
- MHLW: National Health Insurance leaflet for foreign residents
- Mobal: Japan SIM cards (prices and terms)
- Sakura Mobile: monthly plan pricing
- Higashi-Hiroshima City: resident tax Q and A