Retiring in Japan: Visa, Tax on a French Pension, Health and Cost of Living

Japan has not created a residence status specific to retirees. France Diplomatie reminds us that a French national stays in Japan without a visa for 90 days at most; a longer stay requires a residence status. For a retirement plan, four routes stand out in the official sources.

• “Sightseeing and recreation” long stay: a temporary stay for people with substantial savings (next section).
• Spouse or child of a Japanese national: a status that, according to the ISA guidebook, allows any activity without restriction.
• Long-term resident (Long-term Resident): a status granted according to individual circumstances, which also allows any activity.
• Permanent residence: the most stable status, with no limit on duration or activity, accessible subject to conditions on length of stay, income and compliance with obligations.

Spouses of permanent residents also benefit from a status with unrestricted activity. The rules change: the ISA revised its permanent residence guidelines and its procedure fees as of 1 October 2026. The guide to retiring abroad and the page on retirement insurance abroad place this choice among the other destinations.

The MOFA describes a “designated activities” status (Long Stay for sightseeing and recreation), open to nationals and citizens of countries or regions exempt from short-stay visas. The conditions: be at least 18 and hold savings above 30 million yen, held by the person and their spouse. A spouse may accompany them, provided they live under the same roof and travel with them; if they stay separately, the couple must hold more than 60 million yen. Dependent children are not admitted.

The initial period of stay is 6 months, extended to 1 year at most if the extension is requested at the regional immigration bureau before expiry. The file includes the certificate of eligibility (or failing that the stay schedule, the bank statements of the last six months that prove the savings and private travel medical insurance covering death, injury and illness), proof of legal residence in the country of filing and, for the spouse, the marriage certificate. The MOFA sheet dates from 17 March 2023: always check the version in force. National health insurance does not apply to this status, hence the private insurance required. See also long-stay travel insurance.

The ISA guidelines revised on 1 October 2026 specify permanent residence. In principle, you must have resided in Japan continuously for 10 years, including at least 5 years on a work or residence status, and hold the maximum length of stay of your status; the transition period treats 3-year stays as maximum for applications filed up to 31 March 2027. The ISA also examines household income, which must exceed the average for a Japanese household of the same size, as well as the future pension level, assessed against thirty years of work at an above-average salary.

• Spouse of a Japanese national or permanent resident: 5 years of actual marriage and 3 years of continuous stay; the good conduct and financial independence conditions are not required.
• Long-term resident: 5 years of continuous stay with this status.
• Points-based profiles: 3 years with 70 points, 1 year with 80 points.

The ISA also assesses a level of Japanese equivalent to B1, knowledge of the rules through the “living and working” guidebook, regular payment of taxes and health insurance and pension contributions, and absences: a departure of 6 months or more, or 2.5 years cumulatively over the last ten years, counts against you.

The France-Japan social security convention of 25 February 2005, in force since 1 June 2007, coordinates disability, old age and survivors. It provides for the totalisation of insurance periods: each State pays for the periods completed under its legislation, and France calculates the pension by comparing the national pension with a pro-rated theoretical pension, before paying the more advantageous amount (CLEISS, the French liaison centre for international social security). Periods completed in a third country are not taken into account.

In Japan, the national pension concerns residents aged 20 to 59; the basic pension is received at 65 after at least 10 years of contributions, and its amount is full after 40 years. Between 60 and 69, some people can contribute voluntarily. The national contribution is 17,920 yen a month (Japan Pension Service). A foreigner who leaves Japan after at least 6 months of contributions and less than 10 years of insurance can request a lump-sum withdrawal within 2 years of leaving the register, calculated on 60 months at most; the ISA invites you to examine the possibility of a pension before claiming it, because it erases past periods.

The France-Japan tax treaty was signed in Paris on 3 March 1995, has been in force since 24 March 1996 and was amended by a protocol signed on 11 January 2007, in force since 1 December 2007 (BOFiP). According to the tax authority, private pensions paid in respect of past employment are taxable only in the beneficiary’s State of residence, whereas public pensions remain in principle taxable in the State of origin; the exact provisions of the treaty, notably for social security schemes and civil service pensions, should be checked on the tax authority’s website.

On the Japanese side, a resident is taxed on worldwide income. A non-permanent resident, that is a non-Japanese person resident for five years or less in the last ten, is taxed on Japanese-source income and on foreign-source income paid in Japan or transferred to Japan (ISA). A person who is no longer a French tax resident no longer pays the CSG, CRDS or CASA social contributions on their pension; a health insurance contribution is withheld if they fall under a French scheme (CLEISS). The National Tax Agency exempts from filing a return the recipient of a public pension paid in Japan, of 4 million yen at most, the whole of which is subject to withholding at source and whose other income does not exceed 200,000 yen. Individual tax advice remains useful.

The CLEISS specifies that the 2005 convention contains no provision for reimbursing, on the basis of the French pension, care received in Japan. The resident retiree therefore enrols in Kokumin Kenko Hoken if under 75, with a 30% co-payment from ages 6 to 69 and 20% from 70 to 74, then in the healthcare system for the elderly, with 10% for most insured people (ISA). From age 40, long-term care insurance is mandatory for residents of more than three months; the contribution is deducted from the pension from age 65.

To top up, the CLEISS cites voluntary enrolment in the CFE for French nationals, or private insurance. French pensioner status gives a permanent right to health insurance in France for temporary stays, whatever the residence. The details are in the guides to the healthcare system and reimbursement. Expavy compares the options with the diagnostic.

The Statistics Bureau tracks the budgets of households aged 65 and over with no occupation. In 2025, a couple spent 263,979 yen a month on an average income of 254,395 yen, an average propensity to consume of 119.2%, and a single person 148,445 yen on an income of 131,456 yen. By way of comparison, a household of two or more people of all ages spent 314,001 yen.

The price level varies: 104.2 in Tokyo, 103.3 in Kanagawa prefecture and 96.2 in Gunma for a national average of 100; housing concentrates the widest gap (1.64 between Tokyo and Okayama). The “Economic indicators” block above gives the euro-yen exchange rate, which weighs on the purchasing power of a pension paid in euros. Social housing from local authorities and that of the Urban Renaissance Agency are open to foreigners subject to status conditions, with permanent residence and medium- or long-term statuses admitted by the latter (ISA). The guide to living in Japan details rents, shikikin and reikin.