Hey All,
Been lurking for about 2 weeks and have seen a fair amount of good/bad posts (many 0 upvote posts here) and thought it was finally a good time to ask for some guidance and input.
Some key info:
* I grew up in Japan until 6th grade in Japanese school (English was my second language that I learned after moving to US), and my family decided to move to the US where I completed my B.S. in California
* I was a dual citizen until 18, where it made sense to claim US citizenship since I’ve been here since
* My mother’s side still has a home in Japan (Nagano), but it is a stretch from where I would ideally want to live in (Kansai – Osaka/Kyoto)
* I’m fluent enough in Japanese where locals asked me how I was so ぺらぺら so I took that as a good sign (yes I know, they could just be polite and my Japanese is slightly 訛ってる but I’m determined to get back to full fluency) that I can strike up a relatively mid level conversation even though my technical/business vocabulary will require studying if I want to do business in Japan
**Backstory & Reasoning**
I recently visited Japan for the first time in 6 years and had a conversation with my partner about potentially figuring out a hybrid living/work schedule by splitting our time in the US and Japan. I also thought it could be a nice “full-circle” moment to help take care of our house in Nagano where my grandparents + family spent every summer until we moved to US (no one currently lives there even though a family friend helps with some maintenance — it’s mostly just a hub for stopping by whenever anyone visits Japan).
**Employment**
I run an e-commerce business where I design and sell own clothing, and also work as a freelance designer/wholesaler whenever I get leads from people I want to work with. I have been strategically shifting my manufacturing process to have less involvement so I can be fully remote in the US without much issue in my current state. I have 9 years of experience in ecommerce/design/apparel, and have held a Director position for 2 years at my previous employer before leaving to start my own company. We currently live in LA so the biggest financial commitment in the US is rent, which comes out to about \~$3.5K with all utilities.
My partner works as a designer for a US based company, so I’m curious if she’s able to continue her work at her current employer as long as they’re okay with the international relocation. Not sure how taxes work here either.
**Main Question**
Are there any resources where I can learn about taxes (domestic, or international), or is it possible to get clients in Japan and/or figure out a different part-time job while I’m there? I’m a bit unclear on the tax implications of US vs Japan for the work I am doing there vs let’s say my ecommerce site sells things in the US, and I take on another gig in Japan for the reason of paying for things there where I’ll be taxes domestically. There there specific type of visas we should be looking into for this kind of arrangement?
Additionally, I’m open to doing some random work while being displaced in Japan but I’m curious if anyone has some input on this topic.
Thank you for reading all the way here and for your help!
by Seri0usbusiness