Getting hired for a remote job in US while living in Japan.

Before I invest too much time, energy, and hope into this half-brained idea. I was wondering what problems could I run into trying to get hired as a remote worker for a company based in my home country of the US but be living here in Japan. There are a lot of remote jobs being offered in the US if you check out r/remotejobs you will see. With how strong the dollar is to the yen right now it seems pretty tempting and being able to avoid the Japanese work-life imbalance.

I guess things I’m curious/worried about are taxes and if I would be able to fake out an employer that I’m in the US when I’m in Japan. I figure with my VPN and US bank account an a mailing address I still have use of there I should be ok, right?

4 comments
  1. You basically will be ineligible for the FEIE (form 2555) because you are earning money domestically, in the US.

    And then you’ll have to declare that income as foreign earned income here and pay Japanese taxes on that. You’ll also be responsible for your pension and Japanese health insurance.

    Not saying you can’t do it, but make sure it’ll be worth it.

    Also make sure the work is still allowed within the scope of your Japanese visa.

    Also don’t try to fake living in the US with the US employer. You’ll be in deep shit if they find out.

    Also if your US bank doesn’t know you’re living in Japan, that can be a thing. “Mailing address” is not equal to “legal address” which most banks require.

  2. > I guess things I’m curious/worried about are taxes and if I would be able to fake out an employer that I’m in the US when I’m in Japan. I figure with my VPN and US bank account an a mailing address I still have use of there I should be ok, right?

    No. You’re in japan, performing the work while here. Where the employer is, and where the bank account is, and what currency you are paid in, are not relevant. You’re in japan, and you’re working here.

    Also, if you are an employee (not a contractor) of the US company, the company needs to be compliant in japan–which means either a physical/business presence here, or they need to work thru an intermediary which provides that service to companies that don’t have that (legal) presence here. If they don’t do one of those things, the company can get into trouble by employing you in japan.

    If you’re on a spouse status, or PR, okay. But any other status (visa) and you’ll likely need to do some explaining–japan doesn’t have a digital nomad visa.

  3. > trying to get hired as a remote worker for a company based in my home country of the US but be living here in Japan

    So…What [kind of visa](https://www.reddit.com/r/movingtojapan/wiki/visas) do you plan to use to live in Japan? Japan does not have a [Digital Nomad Visa](https://www.reddit.com/r/movingtojapan/comments/ph8vqx/digital_nomad_visa/) and actively hates the idea foreigners just hanging out and not paying taxes/working.

    #**No visa = No living here.**

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