I’ve been learning Japanese and saving up just in case I move sometime in the future. I won’t elaborate on why I’m considering it since it’s off-topic, but I’m in the tech industry, and my wife is in ecology. Neither of us are Japanese. Sadly, from what I’ve read, I don’t think she’ll have a chance at getting a job relevant to her skills there even if she mastered the language, so if we do move I’ll probably have to take care of both of us financially. It seems doable if I play the right cards and save up a lot while I work in the US… But what really worries me is how we’d handle retirement.
All I keep reading, even from Japanese people themselves on the internet and on the news, is that Japan is very close to collapse (for real this time!). I don’t know how much of it is alarmism, but things seem pretty bad. Right now, working age people are holding the weight of the massive aging population on their shoulders, which might result in the collapse of social welfare programs. So if young people won’t be able to retire in 20-30 years, how would foreigners, who appear to be (sort of) second-class citizens, be able to?
I also can’t live most of my life here and then retire in Japan with my own funds, cause the government will have 0 reason to let me in, will they?
so if my wife were to stop working in her field early for one reason or another, and we decide to move to Japan, she’ll be entirely dependent on me. So let’s say we stay there. In 20 years, for some reason I drop dead. Will there be any safety nets for my wife besides our savings? I know some of this is impossible to answer since we can’t see in to the future, but what’s the worst case and most likely scenarios here?
Sorry if these are dumb questions, I’m ashamed to admit it but I’m barely financially literate, if at all.
3 comments
Honestly…. i would come to japan for a few years to work if you want, and dont really think to retire here (yet, anyways).
It’s not an easy place to retire to begin with but a LOT of foreigners come here with the “i am going to live in japan for the rest of my life aspect” and the majority… well, don’t. And many end up leaving within a few years. There are other fields your wife could work in if she has a degree, even english teaching if she wants/needs.
But yeah, i wouldnt waste too much time getting super worked up in a country you haven’t really experienced yet.
>is that Japan is very close to collapse (for real this time!)
Yes it has been the case for the past 40 years like anywhere else.
> she’ll be entirely dependent on me.
What would be keeping her from working in fields like hospitality, retail, service or even Eikaiwa jobs?
>Japan is very close to collapse (for real this time!)
Japan has been “very close to collapse” since the bubble burst in the 90s.
So has the US, and most of the developed world.
>Right now, working age people are holding the weight of the massive aging population on their shoulders, which might result in the collapse of social welfare programs.
See “Most of the developed world.
Before addressing any of your other questions you need to broaden your research about Japan in general. Stop reading the doom and gloom western articles and start reading some less biased alternatives.
Is Japan having economic problems? Yes. We’re in a worldwide recession caused by the pandemic and Russia’s “adventures”.
Is Japan having demographic problems? Yes. But so is every other developed nation.
Is Japan going to collapse into anarchy and cannibalism in the next few decades? ***Fuck no***.
Stop thinking about retirement in Japan until you’ve actually *lived* in Japan.