Working in Japan offers numerous benefits. While many might dream of working in Japan to get better at Japanese or be immersed in Japanese culture, there are some practical employee benefits worth noting too. These employee benefits help make life in Japan more comfortable, and, in many cases, help with budgeting and financial planning as well. And chances are, many of these benefits may not be available in your home country.

• Housing Allowance:

Housing Assistance or Corporate Housing (shataku) will be provided by the company. This is popular today because this helps save time rather than commuting from the farthest home. You will either live with your co-workers and companies will offer this benefit with rent support. This is beneficial especially to those who are working from foreign countries.

• Commuting Allowance:

Most Japanese companies will provide a commuting allowance to employees to cover travel between the home and the office. This is a really helpful benefit given that many employees in Japan commute for an hour or longer to work. The expense will be based on the most economic route between an employee’s home and the workplace. Commuting Allowance is not subject to income tax up to a certain amount.

• Healthcare and Insurances:

Social insurance schemes are designed to secure the life of workers by paying income-based contributions in the case of old age, disability or death. An employer that is a corporation, or one that is a sole proprietor hiring five or more employees, has a legal obligation to provide its employees with the employee pension insurance and the employee health insurance. Furthermore, all employers are obliged to provide employees with the workers’ accident compensation insurance and the unemployment insurance. The benefits of the social insurance and labour insurance schemes are covered by the mandatory contributions paid by workers and employers. A worker employed in Japan will be insured, regardless of whether or not the worker is a Japanese national.

• Family Allowance:

In Japan, besides providing the usual maternity leave or childcare leave. Employees are also supported by the family allowance. This allowance is meant for the employee who has financial difficulties in providing for their families and can be entitled to this allowance. The amount given to the employees depends on the number of family members they have.  The spouse will be entitled to 10,000 yen while the child will be entitled to 20,000 yen. On average the amount given is typically 15,000 yen to 20,000 yen.

• Self-Development Allowance:

In Japan, companies are also supporting employees in terms of providing allowance for self-development activities. These include attending courses or seminars, overseas training and experience as well as subsidies for additional further studies. 

This allowance is extremely beneficial for the employees as they are able to get subsidies from the company while pursuing their own interests or courses which will benefit their career and skills-set in the future.

• Culture, Sports, and Recreation benefits:

In Japan, employees are known to have a stressful work life and the purpose of these benefits is to improve the well-being of the employees. The activities include company trips, discounts for drinking, and recreational activities.

Furthermore, club activities are also included. For example, mountain climbing and dance club. There is also a unique activity called the Ramen club where employees will go out to eat ramen noodles together. Having such activities can increase the bonding between the employees as well as employers.

• Benefits related to filial piety/disaster:

This is a welfare policy for employees when there are events to celebrate in life such as weddings, births, etc., or to condol such things as funerals, accidents, etc. Depending on the company, there is also a policy of financial support for children when they enter school, for employees when they get sick, or accidents.