Leaving Japan: The short exit checklist for foreign residents

A short guide (23 A5 pages) for foreign residents leaving Japan. A countdown checklist from 90 days out to after you have gone, plus the essentials: moving-out notice, residence card and re-entry permits, resident tax and the 1 January rule, choosing a tax agent (納税管理人), claiming the pension lump-sum withdrawal payment (脱退一時金) and the 20.42% refund, bank accounts, phone, utilities and NHK, getting your deposit back, bulky garbage and the departure tax. New: a "Questions people actually ask" section answering the 18 questions that come up most on Reddit, X and Yahoo!知恵袋, from keeping your bank account and getting the pension paid abroad to iDeCo, NISA, Furusato Nozei, mail forwarding and pets, each with an official source. Japanese terms in brackets, clickable contents, numbered official sources. Data as of 30 October 2026.