There is a pretty good chance we will be transferred overseas (i.e. out of Japan) by a mega Japanese company.
My wife seems to think Japanese companies provide their staff with generous packages when they ask them to do an overseas transfer. In addition to paid housing, a significantly higher salary and paid Japanese school for the child for example (note – the transfer would most likely be to the US ). Level wise we are talking mid-level management.
Wondering if anyone has experience being transferred from Japan HQ to another country and what that experience was like?
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I was transferred to Boston from Big Japanese pharma and they paid for a pretty good apartment including utilities plus bonus overseas pay.
My salary was increased about 35% at the time (VP level). I was single but the HR mentioned they covered school for kids etc.
Mind you that’s a good 8 years ago and I was transferred with a specific date of return. If your move is permanent in the eyes of the company then you won’t be considered as an expat.
Edit: forgot to mention that since the move was for a year they paid also for my apartment in Tokyo till I was back.
Very normal when I was at a major domestic manufacturer (think Toyota/Sony). I wasn’t transferred myself, but I went on a business trip to the US where my colleague was transferred for 3 years and stayed with his family for a week. He was mid level management like you.
The house they stayed in was gorgeous and it was a super rich and safe neighborhood full of Japanese expats from the same company group. Car and private school all covered as well, though they opted for the local public school. I wasn’t privy to his salary but I know it was high enough that he set up a company to receive it for tax reasons. Probably double his domestic income, and this was before the yen devalued to toilet paper.
It was also a mandatory step toward senior management so he was happy to go.
My friend’s company covers the visa hassles, their housing (which is hit or miss – they’ve actually relocated to another housing complex because the first was so awful), one car, language lessons for the employee (before and during, but his wife is trilingual so I don’t think he used this much), flights to/from in business class and yearly visits after the first year (including for spouse, and now for child, too), moving expenses to/from (~$10k USD worth) and storage fees in Japan for things that did not go with them, and higher wages (paid in USD, about 30% more).
~Three year stint in US, mid-level manager position. No Japanese schools in the area, and their kid is not in school, so not sure about that side of the package. The company does have a good amount of people displaced to this area in a similar manner, enough to have a small community, which is both a blessing and a curse. Most people in this situation choose to just have their family stay in Japan, but wives with young children (before school age) tend to go overseas with them (I truly do not know why, most seem to dislike it immensely). It is not immediate to bring family, though – often they need to wait six months for the person to “adjust” (really, to prove they can “handle” the stresses of the new place).
Your wife is right. My wife’s childhood was full of such overseas moves since my father-in-law was a shoshaman and they always lived better abroad than Japan (comped living, drivers, and private school, while working less than at home). My brother-in-law at a multinational Japanese corporate is currently living in a big house in Dallas on a similar transfer and never wants to come back. Seems like a pretty sweet deal. (But I’m on an expat package in Japan myself so I shouldn’t complain.)
When my husband’s company sends people overseas, it included: cost of shipping furniture and stuff; lease payment for car (possibly for spouse too. Not sure); rent; a certain amount for private school tuition for kids. I think a few more things.
Typically they will pay for:
Housing (usually premium housing options)
Automobile lease
Schooling for children
Deployment bonus/% pay increase
Shipping of household goods — which may or not include furniture (which I wouldn’t bring anyway unless absolutely required)
One-time payment for the purchase of new household goods
Tax equalization and tax preparation services (they may or may not pay YOUR tax equalization).
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Some companies will do everything on a reimbursement remittance and some will just pay you a fixed amount (that adjusts to market rates) for each of the above and you manage how you see fit. I prefer the latter (which is rare) as you can save quite a bit and there are fewer issues of spousal benefits.
Construction industry pays mid-managers at least 2x base salary plus accomodation + children international school + round trip business tickets every 3 months to Japan regardless if its projects in US or Nigeria.
So as you can see on other comments, its highly depends on the industry.
A word of caution on the exchange rate.
An acquaintance got transferred to a European country recently as an expat from a large Japanese company. Due to the weak yen the more generous compensation package in the end did not compensate for the overall higher costs of living they are facing.
In the end they are now complaining that they are worse off than when they were working in Japan.