Living in Japan as a French National: Cities, Cost of Living, Housing and Settling In

Japan is welcoming a growing number of foreigners: the Immigration Services Agency (ISA) counts 4,125,395 foreign residents at the end of 2025, a record that exceeds 4 million for the first time. For a French national, several strengths stand out in the official sources.

• Universal health insurance: every resident must join a public insurance scheme, which covers 70% of costs for most insured people (ISA guidebook for living and working in Japan).
• A safe setting: France Diplomatie describes rare assaults; vigilance mainly concerns thefts in tourist areas and stations, and certain nightlife districts of Tokyo.
• Well-structured public services: foreign children are admitted to public elementary and junior high schools, with free schooling and textbooks (ISA), and the pension system covers residents aged 20 to 59.
• A very organised daily life: waste sorting rules, rents paid in advance, codified administrative procedures, which the ISA guidebook details in eighteen languages.

The trade-offs are well known: the language, because most procedures are in Japanese; exposure to earthquakes and typhoons; rental formalities, which require a guarantor; the distance from France; and residence rules tied to the activity carried out. The guide to working in Japan details the residence statuses that allow work.

France Diplomatie reminds us that French nationals enter Japan without a visa for a short stay of 90 days at most; a longer stay requires a residence status. On arrival, a holder of a medium- or long-term status receives the residence card (zairyu card).

• Address report: within 14 days of moving in, present the residence card (or the passport until the card is issued) at the city office. The address is then recorded on the card, and a residence certificate is drawn up (ISA). A move requires a moving-out notification and then a moving-in notification within 14 days; leaving Japan requires a notification before departure.
• My Number: the city office notifies a 12-digit individual number, needed for social protection, taxes, opening a bank account or sending money abroad. The first My Number card application is free and the card generally arrives about a month later; it can serve as a health insurance card (ISA, Ministry of Health, MHLW).
• Validity: the My Number card expires with the period of stay and must be extended at the city office after each renewal of the residence permit.
• Driving licence: France Diplomatie indicates that a French licence accompanied by a Japan Automobile Federation translation is accepted for twelve months after first entry; beyond that, a Japanese licence is required.
• Register of French nationals: registration on the register of French nationals living abroad is recommended beyond six months, free and valid for five years (French embassy in Japan).

The ISA has also published a revision of residence procedure fees applicable on 1 October 2026: check the amount in force before any filing. The mandatory health insurance formalities are explained in the guide to the Japanese healthcare system.

The choice of city weighs on the budget as much as on lifestyle. Two official benchmarks help compare: the price level by prefecture and the hourly minimum wage, which reflects local activity (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, MHLW).

• Tokyo: the capital and leading job hub, with the highest price level in the country (104.2) and the highest minimum wage (1,280 yen an hour). The French embassy is based there.
• Yokohama: Kanagawa prefecture, second in the price ranking (103.3) and a minimum wage of 1,279 yen, right next to Tokyo.
• Osaka: heart of the Kansai, minimum wage of 1,231 yen; an Employment Service Centre for Foreigners supports job seekers there (MOFA).
• Kyoto: minimum wage of 1,180 yen, taking effect on 16 November 2026, and seat of the French consulate general.
• Nagoya: Aichi prefecture, minimum wage of 1,195 yen and an Employment Service Centre for Foreigners.
• Fukuoka: minimum wage of 1,114 yen, gateway to Kyushu and an Employment Service Centre for Foreigners.
• Sapporo: Hokkaido, minimum wage of 1,131 yen, cold winters and an honorary French consul.

The Statistics Bureau measures a maximum gap of 1.08 between the most expensive prefecture (Tokyo) and the cheapest (Gunma, 96.2): differences in everyday prices remain moderate, with housing concentrating the largest difference (1.64 between Tokyo and Okayama).

The Statistics Bureau publishes the household budget survey every year. In 2025, a household of two or more people (2.87 people on average) spent 314,001 yen a month, 4.6% more than in 2024 in value terms, and a single person (58.6 years old on average) 173,042 yen. In this survey, the housing item represents 18,678 yen a month and that of water, electricity and gas 24,547 yen, on the national average.

These averages mix owners and tenants and smooth out the gaps between Tokyo and the provinces. For an expat tenant in Tokyo, Yokohama or Osaka, rent is the first item: compare local agency listings rather than a national average.

On prices, the Bank of Japan indicates that the consumer price index excluding fresh food has recently been rising between 1.5 and 2.0% over one year and that underlying inflation is approaching 2%. The “Economic indicators” block above gives the updated euro-yen exchange rate, useful for converting a rent or a salary.

The housing search guide of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) describes the costs of private rental, the most common route.

• Security deposit (shikikin): as a rule the equivalent of 2 months’ rent, returned after deduction of restoration costs. In some regions, it is called “guarantee money” and can reach 6 months.
• Reikin: a sum paid to the landlord at signing, of 1 or 2 months’ rent, often requested in the Kanto region and not refundable; some recent properties waive it.
• Agency fee: set within a limit of one month’s rent.
• Guarantor or rent guarantee company: the company often charges 35 to 50% of one month’s rent for two years.
• Home insurance, first rent, common charges: added at signing; the lease generally lasts two years, with renewal fees.

By way of illustration, for a rent of 100,000 yen, these scales mean gathering about 535,000 to 650,000 yen on entry: 200,000 of shikikin, 100,000 to 200,000 of reikin, 100,000 of agency fee, 100,000 of first rent and 35,000 to 50,000 of guarantee. Part of the restoration may be non-refundable in the Tokai, Kansai and Kyushu regions.

The “Safety Net Housing” site lists housing that accepts foreigners; Urban Renaissance Agency (UR) housing is open to holders of a medium- or long-term status, permanent residents included (ISA).

France Diplomatie stresses that Japan accounts for 20% of the planet’s largest earthquakes. The meteorological agency classifies intensity in ten grades, from 0 to 7. The ISA guidebook recommends preparing a family evacuation plan, taking part in neighbourhood drills, keeping food and water for at least three days (seven if possible) and securing furniture.

Typhoons and heavy rain affect the country from early summer to autumn; hazard maps show flood-prone areas and shelters. France Diplomatie also reports activity from the Sakurajima volcano in Kagoshima, classed at alert level 3, and 216 bear attacks, with 238 injured and 13 deaths, between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026, mainly in rural and mountain areas.

For emergency services, dial 110 (police) or 119 (fire brigade and ambulance). The Japan National Tourism Organization line (050-3816-2787, in English, 24 hours a day) informs travellers.

Learning Japanese makes every procedure easier. Local authorities, international associations and non-profit organisations offer lessons that are often inexpensive, sometimes free, at one or two sessions a week, and the Ministry of Education’s “Tsunahiro” site offers content in French (ISA).

For schooling, foreign children can be admitted to public elementary and junior high schools, with free schooling and textbooks; you just need to tell the city office. Compulsory schooling concerns children of Japanese nationality aged 6 to 15.

The Tokyo French international lycée, a school of the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE) network, has 1,570 pupils as of the September 2025 start of term, from the first year of nursery to the final year of secondary school. It is run by a foundation under Japanese law created on 23 December 2005 by the AEFE and the Tokyo metropolitan government, and runs a school grants campaign. Families preparing their departure will find other benchmarks in the expat family guide and the page on expat family insurance.

For health, enrolment in public insurance is mandatory; Expavy helps you compare the possible top-ups from the diagnostic and the reimbursement page details each situation.