Japan tech and finance updates this week

Today’s edition of Michael in Asia has various updates from Japan, such as bank promotions, job opportunities, and a new digital nomad visa. I’ll try to keep readers well informed of interesting developments in Japan related to tech and finance!

Table of Contents

• Sony Bank promotions

• Jobs in Japan

• Japanese Digital Nomad Visa

• Conclusions

Sony Bank promotions

Sony is running a promotion until March 29, 2024 where if you transfer in foreign currency, you can earn a cash bonus. As I wrote previously, Sony Bank is one of the lowest fee banks for receiving foreign currency, just behind Shinsei Bank. For full details, see the campaign page.

You can earn the following bonus amounts for transferring the foreign currency equivalent of the following yen amounts, calculated with a historical exchange rate that you can see on a table on the campaign page.

• More than 1 million yen but less than 5 million yen: 5,000 yen

• More than 5 million yen but less than 10 million yen: 8,000 yen

• More than 10 million yen but less than 30 million yen: 20,000 yen

• More than 30 million yen but less than 50 million yen: 60,000 yen

• More than 50 million yen but less than 100 million yen: 100,000 yen

• More than 100 million yen: 200,000 yen

Doing the math for my case, the slightly higher exchange fees for Sony compared to say, Shinsei, were made up by the bonus amount I would receive.

There’s also another campaign running until February 29, 2024 that is giving 30.01% APR interest rate on yen and 4% on USD if you do a 3 month fixed term deposit with 25% being yen and 75% being USD. 4% for USD is a bit lower than the typical interest rate of 5% or more for USD deposits in other programs such as Shinsei Bank, but it is slightly made up by the very high yen interest rate. Overall you are earning 4.88% APR on your combined yen and USD balance, not factoring in exchange rate fluctuations. The foreign currency deposited amount is subject to exchange rate fluctuation, and I’ve noticed that you have to exchange the required foreign currency using your yen balance, even if you already have the foreign currency already in your account. Fortunately there’s also another campaign until March 30, 2024 to waive all exchange fees when buying foreign currency. At the end of these programs you are given the option to reinvest, or hold the foreign currency amount, or exchange it back to yen.

If you don’t already have a Sony Bank account, you can sign up with this referral link (valid until May 31, 2024, will try to keep it updated).

Jobs in Japan

I saw a few interesting tech positions in Japan come in this last week or so. I’m recommending them as culture and pay should be fairly good.

Attuned.ai is an AI company based out of Tokyo. They have a position open for a Fullstack Developer, though pay is a bit lower for this position.

Buffer is a long standing remote friendly company. They currently have a few positions open that are available to Japan hires.

Spider Labs is an ad fraud countermeasure tool based in Tokyo. They have a Senior Product Manager role available that is partially remote and supports relocation to Japan, with no Japanese required.

Autify is an AI Test Automation Platform. They have a VP of Product Role available that is fully remote, highly paid, supports relocation to Japan, with no Japanese required.

Japanese Digital Nomad Visa

Japan is planning to launch a digital nomad visa starting in March 2024. It allows a 6 month period of stay, and you must show you earn over 10 million yen a year (approximately $68,000 USD). Unfortunately it does not give you a residence card so you can be treated as a resident; essentially it is an extended tourist visa. This is following the trend of East Asian countries such as South Korea and Taiwan offering digital nomad visas to reflect the changing world.

Conclusions

Hopefully this edition of Japan focused updates were interesting to people. Reach out [email protected] if you have any questions! Remember, you can also support this publication by becoming a paid subscriber or a Patreon.